Peptalash: Before and After. My 45 day trial

At the end of June, to celebrate the release of 'Peptalash', the latest eyelash enhancement product from Indeed Laboratories (The people who released Nanoblur) Boots launched a special offer: If you bought a £24.99 tube of Hydraluron (Moisture Boost Serum with hyaluronic acid) you could get a free tube of Peptalash. I had been dying to try Hydraluron so it was the perfect time for me make the plunge and try Peptalash too.

  
I waited until I was on holidays (1 August 2012) to start my intense Peptalash regime, the same time as I embarked on a serious diet to shed some unwanted weight. So for 45 days, twice a day, morning and evening, I set myself the goal to apply religiously my bi-daily dose of peptalash on my poor 'anemic' lashes. The routine was surprisingly easy to stick to and by week two, applying Peptalash had become a habit. Sometimes, I think I was applying three times a day, to make sure I didn't forget.





The recommended minimum trial period is 2 weeks but I never listen to what instructions say: If they say that epilation would make your legs hair free for 4 weeks, I usually halve that time and count myself lucky if my legs are smooth for 2 weeks. Same for a hair colour from a packet: if they say to let it apply on your hair for 15 minutes, I usually leave the colour for double the time. So I thought I would give Peptalash its best shot and apply it for 1 month and a half (45 days) instead of just 2 weeks.






The result? I let you judge by the photos.

   
   






Has it made my lashes longer, thicker and more luscious?
Has it bollocks heck.

   
I felt that my lashes look and felt more conditioned at the time. Looking at them in real life (as opposed to looking at them on photos) I was quite pleased because I felt they looked better even though  I didn’t notice a dramatic change in length or thickness. Now that I look at the photos, I can’t help but feeling a little bit, erm, what’s the polite word, disappointed, shall I say.


Times like these I am so happy that 1) it was free 2) I wasn't sent the product for review purposes as I don't think I would have had the courage to post about it and give Peptalash not such a glorious review.

  
Long live false eyelashes, I say.
What can be done anyway with such ridiculously small, short, poker straight, thin, rubbish lashes anyway? Maybe there is no hope for lashes like mine? Maybe my lashes were a challenge too far for Peptalash.



what: Indeed ‘Peptalash’
how much: £24.99
where: sold exclusively at Boots.

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Missguided Monochromes

We've all been there before. It's the last stretch of road before pay day and we're planning to only spend money on basics to tie us up until the beginning of the next month. And then, some special offer comes up and tests our willpower. The already very affordable Missguided Clothing range has just launched a special 48-hour offer and is offering 10% on all dresses. Delivery is only £1.95 (you can't even send a lipstick in the post for that amount anymore) and I am tempted, very tempted. I wanted to share with you some of my favourite dresses from the website.


This is so weird as I never planned for a black and white only selection and it's only when I finished my wishlist that I realised the coincidence of it all.









1. Peter Pan (£21.99) Not a chance I could carry this dress off on bare legs but I could see myself wearing this top/dress with a pair of black tights, or smart leggings. This is perfect for my body shape: shows the waist, and not clinging on the hips, and very floating all around.

  



2. Marle (£29.99) I would need to choose my best add-a-cup strapless bra to be able to wear this number and the dress is potentially a wardrobe malfunction in disguise (will I flash some boobage if I raise my arms?) but I don't care. The lace bustier is just divine. Colour scheme is spot on: light at the top to give the illusion that this part of the body is bigger, and darker on the bottom half, to minimise the sheer size of my child bearing hips.






3. Evangeline (26.99) How cute is this dress! With my short torso, the low neck is probably low enough to reveal my belly button but perhaps I wear a bit of lace there? I don't know. It is so pretty!
  
   
   




4. Bertha (£16.99) This dress/blouse looks very similar in style to the Peter Pan dress/tunic and would definitely require some thick tights or leggings to avoid flashing my modesty to the world. 

   
   




5. And last but not least, my favourite of them all. This is Bibietta (£21.99) and this dress makes me feel weak at the knees. The lace is very similar to Marle but the whole dress is much more wearable than Marle. I could see myself wearing this little number during the day, with a coloured jacket to break up the black and white theme and I really want it.






Now, if only this offer lasted a few more days, say, until Wednesday (Pay Day) then Bibietta would have definitely be mine. For now, it will have to remain in my wishlist.

  
Do you own any dresses from Missguided?

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A trip to Tahiti

I cannot help but feeling nostalgic this week end. It definitely has gone cooler and I need to come to terms that Summer, however late coming and never hot enough is over. I can't bear it. As a consequence, there might be a succession of 'summery' posts on my blog, in an attempt to enjoy the last drops of summer and try to combat (using a typical face cream expression here, ha!) its disappearance.



Today, I would like to share with you, a big favourite of mine: it's the iconic after sun body butter from Hawaiian Tropic. You're supposed to use it to soothe and nourish your skin after sun exposure but I like to use in times like this when I feel nostalgic about summer, and in the middle of winter, just to transport myself to the land of summer in minutes. I don't use it too often (as in too many days in row) because the smell is quite strong.







Of course, it does smell of coconut but, to me, most of all it smells of Monoi, the oil they make from the Frangipani flower (also known as the plumeria or tiaré flower). The flower itself, on its own, in its natural state, is very fragrant. I know that because the neighbour opposite our house used to have a whole wall of it. It's a bit like walking next to a bush of jasmine, it's very strong, very recognisable and therefore needs to be enjoyed in small doses, every now and then.







Right now, I want to douse every inch of my body in it. While some of you had the chance to have a little week in the sun at some point this year, I spent most of my 'summer' indoors *and* on a diet, so I feel I have missed out. For many of you, monoi will just be the archetypical fragrance of sun lotions. For me, it's that and memories from my 26 degrees celsius home.







How does Hawaiian Tropic after sun body butter compare to the Body Shop Coconut butter?
They are very different from each other, so different in fact that I don't think they can be compared to one another but I'll try anyway. For starters, the Bodyshop coconut butter doesn't have the monoi dimension to its fragrance, is much more compact and is housed quite neatly in a chocolate brown tub. The Hawaiian Tropic, to me, deserves more its name of butter (look at its yummy buttery colour) and looks a bit more raw and 'authentic' in its massive Polynesian blue sea tub. Despite their differences, both of them have a lovely thick consistency, and give me amazing moisturisation, with no greasy, heavy or sticky feeling. The Hawaiian Tropic, however, to me, wins the 'exotic / holiday abroad / beaches' card hands down and therefore feels more special.







If you too, want to be transported to the sunny islands of the Pacific, please don't buy your tub of Hawaiian Tropic body butter at Boots as they will charge you £10 for the ticket. You should be able to find it around £5. I get mine at Asda. 

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When an eyebrow wax goes wrong…

This was supposed to be a routine exercise, when I go and have my eyebrows tidied at the beautician, because the arch of my brow always looks neater when they do it. I have been going to this place for years. Today, I was unlucky to be in the hands of a beautician who went a bit overboard with the wax and chopped a whole chunk off my brows in the middle.






It’s horrible and it makes me feel like so crap. Thank you Naomi for messing my brows up. I will make sure never to visit your place again. Bad enough I’ve grown paranoid about having my fringe cut off at the hairdressers in case I fall in the hands of a scissors maniac hairdressers, now I am going to be scared whenever I go for an eyebrow wax. Or maybe I need outline them in white pencil or something, with the white indicating where they are supposed to take the hair from. I look like a knob with these brows which are so far apart, you could park a campavan in the middle.

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Free Fluttering Falsies courtesy of Cosmo

Wait, another magazine freebie? What can I say? I like reading magazines. I am massive fan of false eyelashes. One of my favourite brand of eyelashes is Eylure so when the September issue of Cosmopolitan was released with a pair of exclusive lashes, it was a no brainer for me: I just had to buy the magazine. That's right, if you buy the September edition of Cosmopolitan Magazine (£3.50) you can get your hands on a free pair of 115 Eylure lashes.






Straight from the packet, I could see right away that these lashes were the right size for my smalls eyes and wouldn't need any trimming whatsoever. I love it when I don't need to trim the lashes and I can just pop them right on.





They have an invisiband type of lashline which I am not a fan of. I much prefer solid yet thin lashlines, as I do not like the appearance of the little gaps of emptiness.





The little gaps of emptiness, in close up action shot:
They could have done with being applied a smidge closer to the lashline





The Eylure 115 flare on the outside corner. This not my preferred shape of lashes but you might like it. I am paranoid enough about the my droopy lids and I feel that this particular shape doesn't suit my eyes. Ideally, I would have preferred them either straight or the same length as the inner corner.






And with a little bit of eyeliner on. I’ve misplaced my trusty H&M eyeliner, so I had to use my basic 2true eyeliner. Sorry for the wobbly hand and the lack of liner opacity.





And with a bit of slap on:







Final Verdict: These lashes are very good quality, were easy to apply and needed no trimming. However, I am not a fan of the invisiband lashline and the outer flaring shape. The human hair material gives an added natural look to the lashes but they will need plenty of eyeliner to conceal the ‘the little gaps of emptiness’. If you do like the shape of the lashes, they are very good value for money: the vertical curl is superb, the horizontal curve is spot on,  and you won’t be disappointed.


Happy false lashing :) x

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Speechless Saturday (well nearly…)

Good job, those women tried the product on both eyes, imagine the uneven effect *cough*
This was supposed to be one of these ‘wordless wednesdays’ à la lipglossiping and bicky, but I just can’t help saying something. On these photos it actually look like the AFTER picture was the BEFORE picture and that the ageing/wrinkles were added afterwards. I mean, look at the woman on the picture right above, who gets overlapping hanging skin like that just located in the inner corner. Never seen anything like it before in my life.


Radialabs: you’re letting yourself down. Your pictures are so unrealistic that it really puts me off.

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