First Impressions: Magnitone Lucid

During the #BHTwitterParty that happened a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Magnitone Lucid* to try out! I've seen these nifty little cleansing brushes and I am so excited to finally have my hands on one.

This is a really cool piece of kit that is definitely going to up my skincare game. The Magnitone Lucid is powered by Active Electromagnetic Technology, which means they send electromagnetic pulsations into the skin which will naturally cleanse your pores and remove dead skin cells, which will leave you with bright, clear and fresh skin.

Use the Magnitone Lucid with your favourite cleanser, only needing to use for 1 minute. It has a built in timer too, which will help tell you when your minutes up. I used mine with my favourite Superdrug Tea Tree Grapefruit face wash. It's also totally waterproof, which makes it a great shower accessory.

I really love the charging system. As it's waterproof, there are no electrical outputs on this. It's charger is a wireless magnetic "stone", that you plug into the mains to charge. It also comes with an adapter so you can take it on holiday too! It's a small detail but one that makes a huge difference. Also, each charge lasts for about 2 weeks, which I'm super impressed with!

I am so impressed with this, I really can't wait to see what my skins looks like after 7 days. I'll report back with that next week. So far all I can say is after 1 use, my skin looked a lot brighter, clearer and was so smooth!

You can buy the Magnitone Lucid here

Ellie x

* These items were kindly gifted to me for the purpose of review

Recent Instagrams #5

The 5th installment to my Recent Instagrams, and I'm getting way better at updating it. I think it's just one of those things you have to get into, now it's probably my most clicked-on app...

1 - Over Easter at work we had a face/body painter in, and I couldn't not get something painted on me. I had a matching pattern on my face too!

2 - The Lash Sensational mascara by Maybelline, my new favourite mascara. It's amazing - as good as Roller Lash for a fraction of the price.

3 - Eep, my beautiful pink and white hydrangea! I totally gave in and bought this. I just need to keep it alive for a year or so in a pot before Aaron can put it in our garden!

4 - Major glow factor with my top 3 bronzing and highlighting products. I'm still so in love with the Sleek Precious Metals palette!

5 - Some new in products, which I did a post on! Thank you Gosh for introducing me to velvet lip products!

6 - A little outfit snap whilst I was waiting for my friend in town. I really love this outfit - I'm loving the pastels mixed with my usual monochrome!

7 - Gorgeous heart-shaped flowers from the pretty awesome Dicentra. I couldn't believe how well my camera performed for this photo! You go Galaxy S4 Mini, you go.

8 - Aaron helps buy in the plants at work, so when one of our suppliers came in he picked up some cactus just for me. Haha!

9 - I'm still loving MAC Plumful! For a more spring-summer feel, I sheer it out by applying lip balm before applying the lipstick. Gorgeous!

10 - I am a huge cat lover and a serious cat-mom so this mug is right up my street! So cute! (Plus I am definitely Greedy Cat right, eating a bar of Hotel Chocolat Raspberry Riot!)

11 - The Makeup Revolution Ultra Brow Palette and The One Stick in Matte Malibu. Both equally awesome products, I am so happy my local Superdrug stocks these!

12 - My absolute favourite lip product at the moment is the Maybelline Colour Elixir gloss in Caramel Infused. I wear it everywhere, it's got a moisturising feel and lasts so long, plus the colour is pretty much perfect!

13 - Spring is in the air now the blossoms are out! So in love with flowering cherries, I am definitely getting one in my future garden!

14 - My new favourite contour prouct, I wish I had switched to cream contouring ages ago, it's so easy and looks amazing. This is the Makeup Revolution One Stick in Matte Malibu.

15 - My awesome birthday cake made by my awesome friend, Ally. I absolutely love it! Aside from the amazing decoration, it's really yummy red velvet inside, mmmm...

16 - I went to Bristol shopping for my birthday and picked these biscuit joggers up from Primark. They just have the best loungewear! 

17 - Some tiny flowering cactus from work,

18 - The MR Ultra Brow palette! This thing is brilliant, best £6 I've spent!

So here's my catch-up! Like my posts? Follow my Instagram! :)

Ellie x

Flower Feature: May - Peonies

I have a real growing interest in horticulture, mainly because I'm around plants and plant care all day long at my job (and I'm learning all the time!) aaand having a gardener boyfriend really means I can't get away from the world of plants. I'm not so much into plants, but flowers. I really like cut flowers and arrangements and I love looking in florists - you just can't resist some gorgeous fresh flowers!

So, I thought I'd create a new feature on blog that shows off a flower in bloom for the month which you can pick up from your local florist to add some fresh colour into your home. Love!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Peonies are available as cut flowers from April to July.

Ellie x

Makeup Revolution Ultra Brow Palette

One of the newer palettes to be released from Makeup Revolution is the Ultra Brow palette! Available in 3 different tones, there is something for everyone. My palette is the shade Medium to Dark.

Like all Makeup Revolution palettes, this is housed in a black plastic case with gold lettering. Inside features 4 powders, 2 tinted waxes, a creamy arch-enhancer and a powder highlight. Plus, a pretty huge mirror! 

As well as the products themselves, this kit also features a brow pencil, a small angled brush, a small flat brush and some little tweezers - perfect when you are on the go or away from home!

The product itself is absolutely incredible, especially when you think that this whole palette is only £6. Everything is so blendable, and is just so nice to work with. 

One side of the palette is a lot lighter than the other side, so I tend to use the darker side as it suits my brows and colouring a lot better. The brow arch cream blends out into the skin nicely, giving you a sharper edge to your brows, and the highlighting powder gives it the perfect lift without it being too shimmery or obvious.

HOW I USE

There;s a lot of colour choice here for your brows, so the best thing to do is have a play with the colours and see which suits you best.

1. I fill in my brows with their rough shape using the Real Techniques brow brush and using the lighter wax.

2. Taking a smaller angled brush, and using the darker wax, I create sharp lines to the outline of my brows, then fill in.

3. Using the RT brow brush and taking the lightest powder shade from the dark side, I brush over the inner front half of my brows.

4. Using the same brush and the darker powder, I set the rest of my brows.

5. Taking the angled brush from the palette, I take the arch enhancer to sharpen up the bottom line of my brows. Although some people use it on the upper half, I prefer not to.

6. Finally, using the small flat brush from the palette, I pat over the highlighter to my brow bone.

I am so in love with this brow palette! My eyebrows have seriously never looked better, I couldn't recommend this any more! 

Ellie x

Caring for Cacti

I've noticed a huge increase in people having house plants, especially those of the cactus variety! Although they are easy to care for, and can't really go wrong with, I thought I'd write a little bit about their care so you can make sure you keep your spiky friends happy!

WATERING & FEEDING

Although cactus can survive without water (and won't die if you forget about them for a while) they don't really live without it, especially from spring to autumn when they are active. The best thing to do for your cactus is to water them once or twice a week until the water runs out the bottom of the pot, to really give them a good drink. During winter, they don't require as much watering so only watering them when the soil looks dry is good enough.

You can feed your cactus through spring to autumn using a cacti and succulent feed, which you can find in bottles or in drip feeds, which slowly feed your plant with the nutrients it needs.

POTS & SOIL

It doesn't really matter what material pot your cactus is kept in, although terracotta pots will keep it more stable, especially if it's a tall one. Make sure your pots have a hole in the bottom, as cactus need good drainage!
For soil, make sure you have a well-draining compost. You can either buy pre-made cactus compost from your local garden centre, or you can mix your own by using horticultural sand, horticultural grit and multi-purpose compost.

LIGHT

Cacti like to be in the light, but not in harsh sunlight as it will scorch the plant. Your plant may start to lean slightly toward the light, so slowly turning it round when you have noticed a slight lean will help even it out.

Overall, cacti are a really easy plant to keep if you are inexperienced with houseplants or if you just want some low maintenance green in your house!

Ellie x

Makeup Revolution The One Stick Blush in Matte Malibu

Something I am very happy to finally have my hands on - Makeup Revolutions The One Stick in Matte Malibu. Dupe for the NARS Matte Multiples, I couldn't wait to try this out. I feel like I am upping the levels in my contouring game with this product!

As with all MR products, this is held in sleek matte black plastic casing with gold lettering. Like a giant lipstick tube, this is a twist-up tube which makes life so much easier!

The product itself is absolutely fantastic. I can't really fault it, especially for £5! It looks slightly scary in the tube, but blends out beautifully. You don't need a lot of product either, a tiny bit goes a long, long way as it blends so well. I don't think this is something for everyone though, due to its's colour and tone.

I really can't see myself using anything other than cream contour from now on... I just feel like it looks so much better on the face than powder, and definitely won't go anywhere as quickly! However I do like to set it with powder, I hate the thought of my makeup disappearing whilst I'm still out having fun!

I really like this product, I think I'll definitely be repurchasing it!

Have you tried this? How does it compare to the NARS Matte Multiple?

Ellie x