BeautyOnTheSide

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Peel, Reveal, Beauty Steal…

Rating; The world says Halloween is over & the Christmas Countdown can now begin in style, I say indulge, invest and get your sparkle 0n!

Inside scoop; ’tis the season to get sparkly. Beauty advent calendars, been there, done that : think again. https://www.cultbeauty.co.uk 2022 Advent calendar is HERE. Much coveted, often sold out before on sale, grab yours now.

@cultbeauty 2022 advent calendar

In a sea of pessism and doom everyone needs a little sparkle and shine, so if you can afford the price tag it won’t disappoint.

Having bought this one for years I know first-hand how packed with party-tastic, skin-saving, glamour goodies it is. No need to ‘un box’ this one, the excitement is the 25 days of beauty discovery.

Yes it’s £200 plus but it also contains 37 products, many full size, worth over £1000 so it’s really a beauty steal.

From glow, to glimmer to ready-set-party it looks like it has everything I’ll need this festive season to party in style.

Top tip : perhaps drop a hint to your partner to treat you instead #becauseyoureworthit

But suspect it won’t stop me squirreling away a few more…if you’re on a budget or like more than one beauty advent [like me…] try :

https://www.marksandspencer.com/the-advent-calendar-2022/p/hbp60575215#intid=bac_lp_promo_271022_1_txt_beauty-box

A beauty steal at just £40 [*when you spend £30 instore].

#beautyadvent #tistheseason #beautysteal #pamper #christmasiscoming #festive #sparkle

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Go under the influence; with oils AND jewels… aroma-goodness

Aroma-bling…check out the new bling-tastic way to look AND feel good…

Rating; Love jewellery, into aromatherapy, need a post-weekend chill : Aroma-Jewellery ; who knew?!?

Inside scoop; Ok bit of a no brainier for me here, love jewellery, believe in and use aromatherapy, so now : how terrible I : can combine them BOTH for a bliss-like chill that looks great too!

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Friday Rant alert : Johnson’s – Ear buds – I know but REALLY

Environment WIN, product FAIL

Rating; annoyed, annoying, angry…and that’s just me. If you don’t use ear buds switch off now, if you don’t but do like a good old rant for fun then, read on!

Inside scoop; I’m a mum, I’m a woman, I wear make-up that means collectively I’ve 20+ years experience of using cotton wool buds which makes me fully fully qualified to tell Johnson & Johnson they are MISTAKEN in their ear bud re-design. Read on before you judge me ;)!

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If life gives you lemons ; suck away I say! Why? Well they’re great for the skin! And more

If life gives you lemons…don’t make lemonade … turn them in a beauty therapy which packs a punch!

Rating; luscious, lovely, like-able, lively, live-longer, LEMONS ; who knew the humble LEMON had so many beauty uses & health benefits…I didn’t until now.

Inside scoop; 2 rather gorgeous kind ladies who I’d be utterly lost without (you know who you are….Kerry and Alex!) bought me a lemon tree as a present for my birthday and as a cheer me up from them and my team, having not been well. So at first I thought err ok erm thanks (and inside my head EEK EEK EEK how the hell am I going to keep THIS alive : see Facebook fake cactus post, I digress!). BUT then I read the letter it came with :

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/uses-for-lemons

And I was less Sour and more Lemon POWER…and pursued my lemon growing dream…with a little help.

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V : for very, Very, VERY lovely : not ME for sure, the DRESS, oh the dress….

V for V V V VERY lovely dress alert from … easy … very.co.uk

Rating; I don’t really do ‘fashion’ per se, in fact my mum often says I’ve the style sense of a small squirrel, maybe not fair she doesn’t exactly say that, but she does say I have a ‘particular look’ not sure it’s properly a compliment! But heck this time even she LOVED this dress and so do I…hurry hurry before it’s gone if you like it.

Inside scoop; Of course fashion’s a very personal thing, one girls super chic is another girls ‘OMG-so no-eek’. But I did feel I needed to share this very Very VERY nice dress from….erm can you guess Very! What’s more it’s my first EVER purchase from them. Pretty sure it won’t be my last…

I don’t normally use pics of myself either, but I just love this dress and felt better than I’d felt in ages in it, so here you go :).

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Tasty Tempting Thursday Or Wicked Wednesday! ; Mamma M-M-Mia! It’s Mmm Macarons

Ma-MaMia it’s mmm mmmm Macaron heaven : check out Tasty Thursday Treats to tempt….MMMMMM

Rating; park Throwback Thursday Its still WICKED WEDNESDAY; this is a tasty tempting teasingly tongue tastic treat that beats lip plumpers any day to put a smile on your face!! So no, not strictly beauty but BEAUTIFUL. These are THE Macarons…I mean THE, the big Daddy, the full Monty, the bees knees…and so much more.https://www.pierreherme.com/

Inside scoop; Macarons ; why? Why blog? Well ok tell me something not to LOVE about this pillow like chewy meringuey mouth wateringly melty marvellous miniature treats. That’s it really macarons for me (and my Macaron obsessed Mum and Daughter) aren’t guilt free, but are ‘manageable’ as a mini treat. And they don’t come more fragrant and feast like than Pierre Herme’s gourmandise selection.

Freaky Friday ; Lip smackingly plump FREEBIE alert

FREAKY FRIDAY : I SAY FREEBIE FRIDAY FANCY NEW LOOK ; AND NO COST HURRY!

Rating ; here’s a very quick fix FREE one for a Friday! Elle mag this month giving away a FAB free lippy; boom simple as that actually not : as I got ALSO got Cosmo free with Elle with the lippy. So less of a review more of a HURRY grab yours

http://www.elleuk.com/beauty/news/a38720/get-your-free-benefit-double-the-lip/

Inside scoop; Spotted this in WH Smith’s and boom grab yours now Elle Magazine this month has a FREE Cosmopolitan magazine attached AND a FREE new Benefit lipstick erm what’s the catch ; oh yup all this for £4.50 ok job done : ruuuunnnn.

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Wistful Wednesday; or is that mid-week mindful? Zen-out the easy way

Wistful Wednesday I’m going all Zen like and mindful…well mini-mindful if there’s such a phrase!

Rating ; Yin-Yang , zen zen, mindfuller than full, no time to be mindful. Take a breath! My mum is at a class tonight starting a new course of mindfulness ; whilst I might not be able to join her (one day in my next life), instead I’m indulging in a little at home zen-spaness tonight with my very own home sanctuary.

Inside scoop; Mindfulness I’m told takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master, or maybe the other way around ; either way given I’m at home not on a course, I’m indulging in a few cheat’s steps to a more zen you! Or me. Heck even 5 minutes blissing out can reap wonders for mind, body and spirit. And it doesn’t come more ‘quick fix’ than these ‘Life elixirs’…

Mindfulness in a mini bottle yes please!

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Looks Good : DOES Good ; do something special this weekend

Looks good : Does good thats my kind of Saturday shopping check out this beautiful well named ‘Fortitude’ bracelet in aid of Breast Cancer awareness.

Rating ; I love Rose Gold, I love jewellery, I love bracelets, I love sparkly things and I love good causes ; so what’s not to love about a BRACELET that combines ALL of that into one dinky on trend, stylish little number!

Inside scoop ; If you love what I love, then why not do something special this weekend and get yourself – your mum – your friend one of these gorgeous new Stella & Dot bracelets. I’m told / assured 100% of the sale price net profits go to Breast Cancer awareness.

Snuggle up butter cup ; transition wardrobe essential

Furr-mazing check out this seasonal transition wardrobe essential

Rating; Furr-mazing well Faux fur to be precise, coupled with a little Mexican wave…if you’ve not yet discovered Poncho Power, read on for Autumn’s perfect warm to cold to cover-up essential.

Inside scoop; Cold – hot – warm – not – rain – sun – cloud and everything in between Fall is soooo fickle. And so is my wardrobe; too soon for Winter boots? Too sunny for black tights, too warm for winter coats, too cool for thin macs aghhhhhhh…whether it’s work wear, home wear, or out-wear I find Autumn Awful ; at times. Well until I went all Mexican…

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Misty, manky, miserable, mizzly, mean Monday ; and that is just my HAIR today!

Banish bad hair days and misty manky Monday blues with this Monday hair-saviour!

Rating ; Does your hair have the Monday blues? Or is it just manky messy and miserable like mine? Maybe not, but I confess I was NOT blessed with camera ready hair. Actually it’s fair to say I was not really overly blessed in the hair department at all, so I rate this one HAIR-RAISINGLY fab.

Inside scoop; Bumble & Bumble, I guess you’ve heard of them no doubt? But, tried this hidden in their range product, maybe not? Whether your hair hates the weather : or the weather hates your hair ; this might be your go-to lucky locks fixer this Autumn.

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Sumptuous, sultry, sizzling SMOKIN’ Saturday

Sizzling sexy smokin hot; discover this A/W season’s MUST wear danglers! From gorgeous artisan brand Shiver and Duke

Rating ; Saturday night out – in – or anywhere make a STATEMENT with these stunning shimmering oh so dangly must-buy NEW A/W season earrings from Shiver & Duke. SADLY they come in a stunning array of colours meaning it’s very likely ONE pair will NOT be enough.

Inside scoop; Shiver-me-timbers again it’s Shiver & Duke. Shiver and Who I hear you say??? Well if you missed my last post read on for an artisan fashion find your friends WON’T have yet. I found mine in my local too cool for school boutique ‘Escape’.

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Flawless Friday; as easy as 1-2-G!

Flawless Friday it’s as easy as 1-2-G for GLOW gorgeous skin

Rating ; G stands for GLOW : glow getter, look BETTER. Friday’s top pre-weekend tip is a light dusting of my favourite super-fine ‘finishing powder’ from those clever folks at bareminerals.

Inside scoop ; Finishing powder might sound like one of those REALLY, come on REALLY do I need it type products. Well I guess it depends….shiny slippy off make-up your thing? Nasty craggy collecty-in-the-creases foundation your go-to look. Ah ok NO, then YUP, it’s handy stuff and pretty much the staple insider beauty trick for any MUA worth her brushes!

So glowing skin at any age as is as easy as brush – swish – finish ; READ MORE >>>

Kind of like Fairy dust for your skin! I kid you not

Continue reading “Flawless Friday; as easy as 1-2-G!”

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Wicked Wednesday ; how Berry nice to meet you

Berry Berry nice ; I’m head over Autumn leaves in love with BERRY lips

Rating ; Berry Berry nice ; I’m head over Autumn Leaves in Love with almost ALL the new Berry lipstick shades popping up this season. So today I’m pretty much recommending BERRY in particular and none exactly specifically!

Inside scoop ; You can’t say Plum Crumble (mmm) without turning a magazine to find the latest greatest Berry shade in fact I’ve spent a happy hour tonight just scrolling through the 100’s of reviews / swatches and deeply richly seriously indulgent plum, berry, red, nearly red, almost plum shades around this season.

So how to wear and choose…Read more

Continue reading “Wicked Wednesday ; how Berry nice to meet you”

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Back to School ; the kids RULE ; I put a spell on you…

Back to School skin BLUES or just September skin sadness ; perk yourself up with this CLEAN skincare range

Rating ; Back to School ok maybe you’ve got kids, or maybe NOT and you’ve just got sensitive skin ; often kids and sensitive skin mix and not in a good way ESPECIALLY at this time of year. As a mum the LAST thing you need on top of back to School madness is skin rashes, skin troubles and bad hair days; sooooo much else to JUGGLE.

Inside scoop ; SHH don’t tell the Teacher (or maybe take her some of this instead of an apple ;)!) here is a natural, no nasties, gentle on young ones, kind to older ones range which will pretty much suit all skin types. Oh and it’s got a CUTE name which makes me come over all Bewitched…Pure Potions come on, how fab a name is that. So now good skin doesn’t take a magic wand…READ MORE

Continue reading “Back to School ; the kids RULE ; I put a spell on you…”

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Soulful Sunday ; distress or de-stress don’t be lavender blue…

Sad weekend is over, dreading Monday…don’t be Lavender Blue check out my top must buy must try today

Rating ; On a rainy Sunday, before kids go back to school, things can get a little MEH so here’s a product that will have you zen-like and labelling school uniform with a gentle smile in a heartbeat. Don’t be Lavender Blue try a little Lavender oil.

Inside scoop ; if you’ve not discovered the wonder (ok actually near MIRACLE) benefits of lavender oil then check out this power-packed duo. One sits in Vogue’s hall of Fame – ohhhhh – one sits in amazon’s top sellers. Both worth a try ; both do a similar job. I discovered the ‘steal’ vs spree version when I realised how much I was using, so longer-term needed a little more cost-effective alternative….read on

Continue reading “Soulful Sunday ; distress or de-stress don’t be lavender blue…”

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Frantic? Flirty? Feisty? Frivolous? Or just plain Fabulous Friday ; the cuffs are off for ROSE GOLD

A rose by any other name = ROSE GOLD this year’s hottest shade of gold…

Rating ; The cuffs are off for Rose Gold jewllery this year’s hottest go to colour. Whether it’s Frantic Friday, Flirty Friday or somewhere in between let me make this easy ; need / want / buy these…it’s Friday, time to think beauty AND accessories

Inside scoop ; Check out my very look-y-likeys below for bracelets you won’t be able to resist ; Stella & Dot vs. Super chic net a porter vs. Tiffany ; CLEARLY both / all if you can, but I say Stella for the hands down for a Friday Fab luxe-deluxe but affordable quick win, for all that glitters.

A rose by any other name = ROSE GOLD it’s Friday, or actually all of 2017’s go to jewellery colour…READ MORE

Tempting N-A-Porter

Tantilising Tiffany

Stella & Dot liscious

Continue reading “Frantic? Flirty? Feisty? Frivolous? Or just plain Fabulous Friday ; the cuffs are off for ROSE GOLD”

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Heaven Scent : Burn Baby Burn! Bali Spa : to HOME spa at the flick of a match

Burn baby burn heaven scent from a world of neroli mimosa and pretty much any lovelyiness you can imagine

Rating ; Heaven Scent is a de-stress candle from Neom, perfect to accompany My Top 5 T’s earlier 🙂 light her up and stress be gone. Your home will go from Bali Spa to Home spa at the flick of a match.

Inside scoop ; NEOM start end finish there. Think it must stand for Nice Energising Ohmygoodness Marvels ; well possibly not. Or yes if you are quite as in love with them as a brand as I am. Heaven-scent, easily-sent mail order, or in most if not ALL beauty emporiums, there’s is nothing this brand doesn’t do, including wonders for my Karma….ohmmmm

BLISS OUT – CHILL OUT – TIME OUT read more…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — NEOM BURNING BRIGHT

Continue reading “Heaven Scent : Burn Baby Burn! Bali Spa : to HOME spa at the flick of a match”

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Thirsty Thursday? ; Power-up your beauty routine tonight with my Top 5 T’s!

Thirsty Thursday calls ; don’t give in make tonight a pre-weekend beauty pamper night instead!

Rating ; Thirsty Thursday – that’s tip number 1 make Thursday a water-packed day to prepare you for the weekend ahead, albeit come Thursday I’m more than reaching for the wine! So if like me you’ve been way under your 5 a day too, throw in some vitamins as well. Next up for me in my Top 5 tips is anything beginning with a T!

Inside scoop ; Thursday is usually my Power-it-up for the weekend beauty night when I tend to Tan-Trim-Treat & Try. Whatever I’m up to I like to go into the weekend having at least scrubbed off some of a usually stressful week.

So if you’ve a quiet night in tonight and Thursday isn’t the new Friday for you then throw on the laundry, turn the volume up on the music and power through some of these for a quick fix beauty makeover which will have you Fresh for Friday.

Bright eyes ; Spree vs Steal, Luxe vs High street : Eyes-down for the results

Spree vs Steal ; Charlotte and Kate go head to head in the ring! Who’s gonna win??? Eyes down for the big reveal…

Rating ; The eyes have it with these 2 hot, on trend must try palettes for effortless ‘nude’ eyes. So which is it Spree vs. STEAL? I put 2 pretty much EYE-dentical palettes under the microscope...

Inside scoop ; Nude eyes – must buys; suit all shades from subtle Sunday to sizzling Saturday everyone needs a palette of suit-all nude eyeshadow. But do you splurge or save…sure we’d all like both. So I tested Rimmel London nudes eyes vs Charlotte Tilbury’s holiday eyes Xmas ’17 (well I will be if I can get my hands on it….).

Palettes are my go-to format for eyes, cheeks and anything powdery. Why? Gives you options, lets you experiment and you rarely get bored.

So the question is Spree? Or Steal? …read ON…Charlotte T or Kate Moss for Rimmel…

Covet-able

Buying wearing now

Continue reading “Bright eyes ; Spree vs Steal, Luxe vs High street : Eyes-down for the results”

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Wicked Wednesday ; Unicorn Make-up your beauty ESSENTIAL??!

Wicked Wednesday Went Wild : WITH…Unicorn glitter, just because you can.

Rating ; Flippant Flirty Fun & absolutely Frivolous. Don’t read on if you’re easily DAZZLED and WARNING you definitely do NOT need this product. But – sometimes especially on a grey wet Wednesday just say ‘whatever’ and grab some. Festival season isn’t over yet so go on its wild Wednesday.

Inside scoop ; Unicorn Glitter bring it ON. Ok it’s Wednesday, you’re probably in a serious meeting, or bored, or grumpy, or just wishing for the weekend 🙂 to hurry on up, then along came UNICORN GLITTER. Wrong, OTT, sparkling magic dust ; just for the sheer heck of it : Unicorn glitter. YES!

Can’t say you need it, nor will you wear it everyday, but whilst Festival Season is still just about in swing then I say rock on, glitter up and work it.

Dress down Friday??

Ideal for a subtle office look!!

Perfect for the boardroom

Continue reading “Wicked Wednesday ; Unicorn Make-up your beauty ESSENTIAL??!”

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Friday Feathery Fabulous

Fine, Feathery, Fabulous ; Friday finery ; check out these gorgeous earrings from cute niche US brand Shiver&Duke

Rating ; Feathery-fantastic-feeling-fine-for-Friday ok NOT strictly a beauty product but a beautifying FIND and a bit of Friday fun so I thought it counted. Especially as earrings can make as much of a difference in lifting your look as a new lipstick, so I had to share these flirty-feathers.

Inside scoop; Shiver-me-timbers it’s Shiver & Duke. Shiver and Who I hear you say??? Well, I just discovered this cute little brand in a cool boutique where I live which have begun stocking it. They called to me – loud – from their window. I resisted, for about an hour, then rushed back and scooped them up.

What are they – straight up, unashamed ear candy of course. This gorgeous range of feathery earrings are literally feather light meaning statement-heavy but NOT heavy-on-the ear. I wear them for day, most might possibly save them for night.
Continue reading “Friday Feathery Fabulous”

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Moroccanoil Monday ; No more frizz alert

Frizz-alert, Misty-Monday hair care dilemmas solved with this heavenly-scented super-serum.

Rating ; Hair-raisingly good well actually hair-smoothingly good to be precise. I’m doubtful I’ll find a reader here who HASN’T heard of Moroccanoil’s magic charms? But having just had my brother & his wife visit for the weekend I was reminded to write a quick post on it. Why? well as we wandered past a local hair salon out wafted that familiar & to me instantly recognisable scent. My brother said “wow what’s the amazing smell“, I knew in an instant it was my fav hair-saviour!

Inside scoop; Frizz-be-gone Ok so today here where I live; it’s a misty-mizzly grey day. You know the glorious kind that basically RUINS your oh-so-carefully-straightened hair in a heart beat the second you walk out the door in morning. Taking you from Office-babe (well ok Office-acceptable-ish-just in my case) to arghhh quick immediately scrag back the hair it’s now going to have to be a ponytail day! Super-quick. Continue reading “Moroccanoil Monday ; No more frizz alert”

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Welcome to BOTS; BeautyOnTheSide

This is a lunchtime/ anytime/ evening time bite-size beauty blog & review site.

Perfect for a quick peek at what’s hot, what’s not :> from a beauty insider who knows. So whether you’re looking for a quick fix, a new look, a lunchtime pay-day splurge or just some inspiration & the real truth please explore.

Me? Well I’m a full time working, single mum, with a passion for beauty skincare & all things fragrant [ who created her own brand a while back now just enjoy others ], so if you want to know the REAL beauty scoop – look no further. My reviews are short, sometimes brutal, always real and NEVER paid for ; I try – I write – I tell you…you decide

There’s no place like home Dorothy: park that stay in the EMERALD CITY…

Eyes to go with Cargo : Limited Edition Lovely-ness ALERT HOT EYES start here

Rating ; Dorothy maybe said there’s no place like home in the Wizard of Oz; but I say click your heels and STAY in the Emerald City any day with Cargo’s EYE-POPPING Limited Edition Palette of lovely-ness!

Inside scoop; found this in TK Maxx (yup AGAIN a TK Maxx haul) and couldn’t believe the price or the dazzling colours. Cargo are my go – to eye brand and I just can’t stop buying their palettes, fine powders, last all day NO creasing, blend / change / shade / contour / highlight ; that’s less than a penny a look!!!

Cider with Rosie ; erm nope Lipstick from Rosie…!

High CHIC on the High STREET Rosie glow

Rating; Rose tinted spectacles actually rose tinted beauty alert!

Inside scoop; Ok I don’t especially do Celebrity-endorsed products (not sure why but they mildly aggravate me) : nor do I especially do High Street beauty products (not snobby just sometimes quality fails) but today PARK the prejudice PICK the beauty.

Rosie Rosie where for art though : at M&S ?!?! Yup M&S OMRosie-ness ok I’m all in…

Mmm M&S vs. V-ery…easy : hands down VERY

V for V V V VERY lovely dress alert from … easy … very.co.uk and so no to the Stars I’m afraid…

Rating; A short P.s to my last post here….well also a mini rant. So if it were currently iconic High Street dress. vs iconic High Street dress…just to reassure you : so NO on ‘the’ Star dress.

Inside scoop; M&S do alot of things brilliantly but nothing annoys me more than a dress selling out before I can even get it, in fact selling out twice. I appreciate that’s the whole intention of Limited Edition. But frankly I just find it annoying. That is all.