CODE VLM | My new love

Recently the lovely girls over at CODE Beautiful sent me out their 'Volumising Lenthening' Mascara. After having read reviews on it previously, I was longing for it and all the magic it claims to do for your eyelashes. My mascara past is long, confusing and complicated. I'll find a mascara, love it for a week and then as the mascara gets a little older I find that they just flake off my lashes throughout the day and leave me with little dots of black scattered across my nose and under eyes. This mascara was created by two Ladies that also had experienced mascaras that just didn't do the job. They spend a year, testing a tweaking this mascara until it was exactly how they wanted it, clump free, without smudging or flaking. 

They suggest that you use a a technique that they call the 'Roots, wriggle, Roll' Which really does help to make the most of your lashes, you feel as though they are all fully coated with their luxurious, fiber based formula.This really helps your lashes to hold the curl all day long. The formula reminds me a little of the L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara which I  loved for a long time. It retails for £19.95 and available at many stores, here is a few:

-http://www.feelunique.com/p/CODE-Beautiful-VLM-Volumising-Lengthening-Mascara-12ml
-http://www.beautybay.com/cosmetics/codebeautiful/volumisinglengtheningmascara/

This mascara has lots of features that make it the little beauty that it is:
- A build-able formula, length and volume can be adjusted to suit day and night
-Tear proof for emotion moments
- Designed to encourage lash growth with waxes and vitamins.
-Paraben-free, not tested on animals 

As you can tell by the photo the brush is pretty simple. No huge curve, no plastic brush, it's stripped right back to the basic form. However it works amazingly. Maybe other companys should look at this, nothing too fancy yet it manages to make my lashes look fluttery, long, full and defined. I am converted. I am now a CODE Beautiful girl. I do believe this mascaras going to be hanging around with me for a very long time. I cannot recommend this anymore if you are sick of the search for that perfect mascara. I love finding a new Holy Grail product! I going to be doing a Mascara comparison post soon, so look out for that!

If you're interesting in this mascara or the company all their links are below:

CODE Beautifuls: Facebook

CODE Beautifuls: Twitter

Has anyone else found a new holy grail product recently?

Thanks for reading,

all my love x

Liebster Award | Finding your feet as a blogger

Yay, I've wanted to do this for a while now. I was nominated to do this by the lovely Sophia over at MAKEUPOWER. Check out her blog while you're here, it's lush.

The rules:

1. Link back to the person that nominated you

2. Answer all the questions that you are given
3. Choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers to nominate
4. Pick 11 questions for them to answer and let them know

My questions:

1. What is your favorite babble bath or shower gel fragrance?

I have two that I utterly could not choose between. I love Rose Jam by lush as a shower gel however it's limited edition and only around at Christmas time *sigh* however through the summer months I've being loving Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush body wash. It doubles as a bubble bath too so it's amazing. It has a super sweet scent of limes.

2. Tea or coffee?

I'm a tea girl. I've tried coffee, I don't really enjoy it at all. Tea makes me feel happy (probably sad, I know) There's just nothing better than getting home from a long day and having a cup of tea. 

3. What is the last film you watched in cinema? 

I haven't being to the cinema in that long that I cant even remember what it was that I watched *slaps wrist*. I actually really love the cinema even if the films rubbish. Probably just the atmosphere, or the food. The food.

4. What type of blog post do you enjoy reading the most? 

I really love reading peoples Tags, I feel as though then I get to know my fellow bloggers. I also love reading first impressions of products too. 

5. All time favourite makeup trend?

Bright orange lips, by far. Probably not everyone's cup of tea but I've really being enjoying them. Not the most wearable day-to-day colour but super fun.

6. What do you love about yourself?

The fact I started a blog. (Sneaky answer there, I know) I'm really enjoying writing on my blog at the moment and I feel like it's picked up a lot from where I left off a little. I didnt really blog much from March to July because it was my exam season but now I've fallen back in love.

7. What is your favourite TV show at the moment?

My favourite TV show of has got to be 'Randys Wedding Rescue' it really excites me. I just guess I love watching people pick out their wedding dresses. Randy is such a lovely man too, I want him to be there to help me choose mine.

8. What is you favourite way to travel? (car, plane ...)

I actually really like traveling by plane. I love the in flight service and the excitement of where you are going. Off subject a little, but I also really love airports because of things like DUTY FREE *inserts sounds of angels singing* I know now it isn't really much cheaper but there is a MAC store and where I live, it's a long drive away from any form of MAC store/counter.

9. Your favourite lipstick/lipgloss colour? (brand, name)

This is quite apt to my blog at the moment because in one of my last posts I stated all five. Click here to view all of them. However My number one must  be the YSL volupte shine in the shade '12' its a buttery coral lipstick with a gorgeous glossy finish.

10. Favourite Disney princess?

Hands down, it has to be Ariel. She's just so sassy and determined. ''Bright young women, sick of swimmin', ready to stand''. I really love Elsa though, I love that she's the only Disney princess not to be rescued by a man.

11. Do you have a pet? who is it? Or, what animal do you like?

I do have a pet. I have two Beddlington terriers. Named Archie and Ralph. One's like a old man and the other is like a baby. 

I nominate: 

Katie -Fashion Ebullience

Asbenna- Belle Histoires

Emma- Everything Beauty

Jennifer- Oh Dreaming

Kirsten- Kirsten Gillies

Chelsea- Chubby Sticks and Crumpets

Lisa- Blog 18

Nadia - NSQUARED

Nicole -Natter With Nic

Kyle - Yours Truly, Kyle

Caroline- CC Hearts

Check out all their blogs while you're there!

My Questions:

1. If you could only have one beauty product, what would you pick and why?

2. What is your dream job?

3.What is your favourite season?

4. If money was no object, where would you holiday?

5. What's your best beauty secret?

6. If you had to pick an actress to play your life story, who would you choose?

7. What is your current evening moisturizer, would you recommend it? 

8. What's the first thing you notice about people?

9. Brights or pastels when painting your nails?

10. Are you a hot drinks person, or a cold drinks person?

11. Who is your fashion/beauty inspiration?

And.. 'Oh Dear Antonia' was born

About a month ago now, I had my own idea to paint a phone case, purely because I wanted one for my self. So it began. I ordered my self a few phone cases to practice on incase they didn't go right. It too me a few goes until I felt happy with how it went. Cases where scraped, designs altered, paints spilled and the first 'successful' case was born. All white, with mint green details and I was so pleased with my self. 

I ordered some more cases because I quite enjoyed making them. This obviously sparked an idea, maybe if i liked them, some others may too. I set up my own BigCartel store named http://ohdearantonia.bigcartel.com and I started to get orders. This brings to me today. My website features all my current designs and cases. I'm really enjoying my little business venture and 100% recommend anyone to give it a go if they have a unique idea! I'm not at all a professional but I try my hardest to make them to the best standard. 

'Oh Dear Antonia'- contact details:

Instagram: OhDearAntonia

Twitter: OhDearAntonia

Email: ohdearantonia@hotmail.com

My Summer face | Five lip favourites

Hey! I'm back again, this time letting you know my top 5 summer lip products that I personally have being enjoying to wear in the summer months. I've being going for nudes, corals and oranges and really being happy with them. I haven't really being reaching for anything with a matte finish, it's been gloss and shine all the way through these summer months.

Soap & Glorys: Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in 'Nudist'-

I have being absolutely loving this product now I have a little bit of a tan. I had it bought as a Christmas present and I tried it in Winter when I was pale and it didn't really suit me. Now my skin is a little darker, it warms up my complexion and looks lovely. The finish of this 'gloss stick' is super glossy considering it game in stick form. They're only £8.00 in boots etc. I loves mine and I 100% recommend this to anyone looking for the perfect nude gloss! Click here to check them out on their own website for more details.

MAC: Lip stick in 'Costa Chic'-

I've had this lipstick quite a while, I've really fell in love with it even more recently. It's a frost lipstick, which usually isn't my favorite however this one I really like. It's super creamy and glides on easily. It's described as a 'light coral' which I cannot agree with. It's a borderline neon coral with a really good pigment. It;s £14.00 from Mac and I truly believe that most Mac lipsticks are worth their money.

Tanya Burr: Lip gloss in 'chic'-
Chic is one of the lovely Tanya Burrs lip glosses from her 2014 range which I LOVE. Most of all I love their smell, mm strawberry's. These lip glosses have really good staying power on my lips which usually doesn't happen. I'm always on the search for a lip gloss that is going to last for longer than one hour. Chic has a really good pigment and wearable with or without lipstick underneath. It's the perfect pinky, nude. Really cheap at only £6.99.

Revlon: Lip butter in 'Juicy papaya'-
I've loved these for over a year now. They have a creamy texture and not drying on the lips at all. They are perfect through the summer months and I have being wearing all of mine, yet out of them, Juicy Papaya the most. It's a glossy coral and really flattering on lots of skin tones. These lipsticks are considerably more sheer than anything from Mac. Perfect for a laid back afternoon or lunch with the family.

YSL: Volupte Shine in '12'-
The most luxurious of all at £25.00. These Lipsticks are buttery, silky goodness. I absolutely love them. They are so soft on the lips and have the ability to make me feel like a princess. I love, I love, I love. This coral shade is really elegant, not too in your face. It's one of those lip sticks that you can wear all day, or night. 

Seven Deadly Sins of beauty | TAG

I quite enjoyed doing my last tag, so I thought I would search the internet for another. I came across this one and got quite excited. I know it's being around a while, I've seen it on Youtube and on beauty blogs for years now. I guess it's a classic.



1. GREED: What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive? My most inexpensive beauty item are by Baby Lips by Maybelline which last year I absolutely fell in love with last year. They're really cheap at £2.99 and usually always on 3 for 2 at boots which makes them work out super cheap each. Previous to finding them I always used to find really cheap beauty items on http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/ when they used to have sales. It's always fun to try out new things and something's they have are amazing and I really enjoy! My most expensive beauty item is probably my Naked 3 pallet. It's amazing yet i'm super lazy when it comes to eye shadow and its something I still need to perfect. The naked pallet is £37.00 yet it's super pigmented. It has some fall out yet that can just be dusted away, it's not too drastic.


2. WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What product has been the hardest to get?

One product I definitely have a love/hate relationship with is definitely lip glosses. It's really hard to find one that actually lasts on my lips, isn't sticky, one that wont have all my hair stuck in it after five minutes. Despite this, I still love the way gloss looks on lips at the moment. Some lip glosses I have found to really last on my lips and suit me and my skin tone are:
-Tanya Burr's lipglosses
Soap and Glorys- Gloss sticks


3. GLUTTONY: What are your most delicious beauty products?
The most delicious product I own is definitely 'Lush's Lip scrub' in the bubblegum flavour. It leaves a yummy taste. I would definitely recommend this for anyone that struggles with dry lips. It's so super easy to use and if used before lipstick, It makes your lips look flawless.


4. SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness?
As I mentioned before the product I neglect due to laziness is definitely any form of eye shadow. I absolutely love the pallets I own I just don't think i'm particularly good at using them. It's 100% the one thing I want to get better at for the future and I aim to use my pallets lots more soon.

5. PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most self confidence?
In general, the product that gives me the most confidence is my foundation of choice for the moment. It changes a lot throughout the year depending on what look I want to go for. I just love having a flawless looking skin, it boosts my confidence so much.


6. LUST: What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?
Not too sure how this relates to beauty but hey ho. The thing that I find most attractive is having a sense of humour, being able to laugh with someone is key. But ya gotta smell good too.

7. ENVY: What items would you most like to receive as a gift?
I'm grateful for all the gifts that I get however I at the moment I am really longing for is Cliniques Moisture Surge foundation. I've read so many amazing views about that but also how amazing would it be to receive the Lush Legends gift set.

Thanks for reading,

Antonia x

What's in my holiday makeup bag?

Today I set my self the challenge to sort out the make-up and beauty things that I am going to be taking on my holidays. I'm heading off to Gran Canaria for a week in the sun and I am honestly so excited. I just cannot wait to get away for a little while. So, I thought I would share with you all what I am planning on taking and a few of my holiday tips.

Firstly, You've got to have a perfume. I am choosing to take with me this perfume by Jimmy Choo. It's quite a fruity perfume yet its not a sickly scent. I usually find when I go on the search for a fruity perfume they're quite over the top and heavy however this one is not despite its unique scent it still remains quite fresh and light which I love. It has amazing staying power and I would definitely recommend to anyone! It's perfect for summer '14.

The next things I decided on was what I was going to take out of my makeup collection. This was the hardest part for me however I started making a few choices anyway.

Foundation: The foundation I went for was the Naked Skin foundation because I absolutely trust it. It contains no SPF which on holiday is not a great choice of mine however I wont be wearing it throughout the day when the sun rays are at their strongest. On a night I will be teaming it with a moisturiser containing a high SPF incase the sun is still out.  Read a more in-depth review about my favourite summer foundations here!

Setting Spray: I went for the matching setting spray to my foundation called 'all nighter' by Urban Decay. I haven't really used this much but i'm excited to put it too the test on holiday when it will be under more intense conditions with the heat being higher. I'll get back to you on my thoughts on that one as it claims to have 'temperature control technology'. I chose to take the setting spray as well because at the moment i'm really enjoying my skin looking dewy and fresh and a setting spray is great to achieve that look. 

Lip products: The two lip products I have opted for at the moment are Nivea's pearly shine which is a lip balm that leaves a metallic shine on the lips and they're only £1.99. I also think im going to pick up this one which contains SPF 15 which will be great for throughout the day when i'm in the sun. The lipstick I went for was 'Costa chic' by Mac which I absolutely love. It's amazing for summer and super bright. It's a frost lipstick and leaves a beautiful finish on the lips. Such a pigmented lipstick with a corally, orange colour.

highlight: Of course, I went for Soft and Gentle by Mac. This is one of those products that makes me feel better about my self. It leaves the most amazing glow on the tops of my cheek bones and also if I ever want a really quick eye look. I quickly sweep some over the eyelid. After that I contour my eye with a medium brown eye shadow and it looks effortless and amazing.

Pallet: The pallet I went for was the naked basics pallet which is a perfect little pallet and doesn't take up much room at all yet it can still create lots of different looks. Swatches will be featured below.



 My holiday tips:

The higher the SPF the better for you! You can still get an amazing tan through SPF 30 +. The lower the SPF the more skin damage you will get.

Check your sun glasses! You can go unaware that your sun glasses do not have any UV protection in them! They should say on them that they do! If they don't pop to Primark, currently they have some really nice ones starting at £1.00 that have complete UV protection.

Drink lots of water, as the weather is hotter you will be loosing a lot more fluids through sweating and things (ew). Water will improve the look of your skin and how you feel.

if anyone has any more  tips please leave they below! I hope you all are having a great summer.

Lots of love,

Antonia x

My Summer face | Brush & Foundation favourites

Throughout summer I've being enjoying quite a few different foundations. Having quite dry skin, I enjoy to look glow and bright and don't always want the typical matte finish. If you're living in Brittan right now you'll probably be experiencing 'summer', well a kind of hot, clammy yet still miserable weather and its hard to find a foundation that's going to stay put all day and not budge no matter what the day brings whether it's rain or shine. So I'm going to go ahead and share with you all what I've been enjoying recently:

Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow- Benefit: I have had this foundation in my collection for a little while now as I got it in a set by benefit but through the winter, when I first tried it I didn't like it in the slightest. Mostly because it was far too dark for my skin tone. I have it in the colour 'Cheers to me: champagne' I recently tried it again and I absolutely fell in love. It had a flawless finish and somehow, perfectly matched my skin now I have a little bit of a tan. The coverage is quite light however as the packaging claims 'brightening makeup' it definitely lives up to the name. It's oil free and factor 25 which we all know is great for summer! In my opinion, I think it's quite a pricey foundation at £26.50 and can be picked up anywhere like House of Frazer and Debenhams and also on the benefit website here!

Healthy Mix serum- BOJOIS Paris: This foundation has been one of my faves since about march this year when I first discovered it. I say foundation it actually is called a 'serum'. Honestly, i'm not too sure on the difference apart from the fact the foundation is a lot lighter than many others which personally, in the summer I prefer. It blends in perfectly with my skin and leaves a gorgeous finish. This foundation is quite hard to describe however I would say its kind of like a tinted moisturiser however not a moisturiser, a gel. I currently have it in the shade '52 vanilla' which is too light for my skin now and I need to repurchase it a little darker to match my new found tan. This foundation is super cheap for the quality and radiance it gives to your skin. It can be picked up in any store in the UK like boots etc for only £10.99 which I think is amazing. Plus, it contains loads of amazing vitamins which are great for the skin and stop you looking so tired.

Moisture surge tinted moisturiser- Clinique: Again, not a 'full' foundation however this still gives the face a gorgeous glow and coverage. It is light however it's still leaves the face looking flawless. This tinted moisturiser is really hydration for the skin and feels amazing to apply. Despite it being a moisturiser, I still like to apply it with a brush and buff it well into the skin. For this I used the Real Techniques 'Buffing brush' which does the job perfectly. I haven't really ever enjoyed tinted moisturisers before because I feel as though they always look streaky on the skin however this one does not! I have it in the shade '02 ivory' which matches lovely. It can be purchased in boots for £22.50.

NAKED Skin- Urban Decay: This foundation is one of those foundations that gradually looks better throughout the day. I've been raving about this foundation for ages now and I think its absolutely perfect for summer evenings and nights out. It has no spf, so not great for the sun rays but amazing under the light as it doesn't reflect like so no white, washed out faces all round, woo. Naked skin looks flawless on the skin and is probably around a medium coverage but is definitely buildable if you'd like a higher coverage. It feels weightless on the skin and it's the one I go for when I definitely want my foundation to last all day and night. I bought that from Debenhams and it was £27.00.

The face blender- Bobbi Brown: This brush is £33.00 from Bobbi Brown and I believe that its supposed to be used for things like bronzers and highlighters. I've being using mine for foundation and its unbelievable. It blends my foundation to a flawless finish and gives me an even coverage. It lives up to its name, it blends and perfectly at that. It is a very versatile brush. I put the foundation on the back of my hand and dip in the brush and use circular motions until it is blended right into my skin and there are no harsh lines or shadows.

Real Techniques- buffing brush: This brush is a lot harder than the Bobbi Brown one yet it also leaves my face with a flawless finish. This foundation is great for a quick application and is really soft on the skin. It's a lot cheaper than the Bobbi Brown brush however it has to be bought in the core collection which is still under £20.00.