Shop Dixi - Mini haul and review

Hi all,

Like most people I think, Shop Dixi first some under my radar due to Instagram. I'd seen a lot of their jewellery in posts and also linkied YouTube videos ( I'm pretty sure Bunny from Grav3yard Girl has a necklace from there) and I sort of dismissed them. Why? For example, the large crystal necklace I had my eye on was out of my price range, and they were probably an American company who would cost me loads in shipping and customs right? Wrong. 

I only bothered to do some actual research into them when I saw the "Lone Wolf" ring ( now sold out, sorry guys). Becoming recently single for the first time in ten years ( I'm 26) it seemed fitting for the strength I believe I have shown and am planning on continuing to show while I learn how to just be me, without another  person.  I had to have it. Unfortunately I used a ring sizer which indicated to me that my size would be a 17.5", which was  sold out. Wah.  I tweeted the company a couple of times but didn't get a definitive response. Sort of fair though, companies don't always know when exactly stock will be in of specific items and probably don't want to make promises that they then cannot keep.

 I then received a newsletter email from ShopDixi, informing me that they had 20% off all rings. I couldn't resist that. There were others I wanted. First one I put in my basket was a thin, sterling silver band reading "Moon child" which is another perfect description for me. The full price for this was £22. I also ordered their "casket" ring which is a small sterling silver coffin ring prices at only £26 (not including discount)

 The final ring of this order is the beautiful "Sunset lovers ocean blue " ring which I got a really good deal on as it was from one of the sample trays. It is  sterling silver and due to being worn on a photo shoot was discounted down to £14. 

The only sign that it had been worn was the sample sticker attached.

 It's perfect and I would really reccomed checking the sample trays out to snap up rings that you like at a discounted price. Obviously there is usually only one or a couple of each though so act fast if you find one that you love. 

I also purchased a heart necklace which was on sale for £5 and reads "witch" not to everyone's taste but it suits my style perfectly 

In my excitement of checking out, and the pain of using terrible hotel wifi, I realised I had mistyped my email address and so did not receive the confirmation email (rooky mistake) I emailed ShopDixi customer service and also included another request about the "Lone Wolf" ring. They got back to me very quickly (within a couple of hours) resent my email and advised that unfortunately they would not be getting any more stock in of the ring now but I could keep an eye on the sample trays as it might appear there. I panicked and immediately ordered the ring in 18" with the intentions of getting it resized.

 As I was in holiday at the time I got all packages at once when I got home, however shipping was incredibly quick (a couple of days max) and cost only £1.95! Bargain! The " Lone Wolf" ring was £36 but was reduced down to £24 with the 20% off. Turns out that, as the band is thicker, I would have needed the larger size anyway, and it fits perfectly stacked with my other purchases. As all the rings are sterling silver, my fingers won't be going green anytime soon! Hurrah! 

To sum up, Shop Dixi DOES have expensive things out of my personal price range but they also have very good value, affordable products, are a UK company and have quicker, cheaper shipping then most! What's not to love?! Unfortunately that particular promotion of 20% off of rings has now ended however I would definitely recommend signing up to their newsletter before buying as they seem to have discount codes on a lot! They also do special offers on specific items which I believe changes daily so keep an eye out for those too! All in all I'm very happy with my purchases and am sure I will be shopping with them again sooner than my bank balance would appreciate  

Has anyone else bought anything Shop Dixi? What are your thoughts? 

Xxx 

1 minute review - Loreal infallible 24hr matte primer and foundation

My favourite foundation that I have found in my 25 years on this earth is Estée Lauder Double Wear. . I bought mine from a cosmetics company outlet so it could be a shade lighter, but apart from that it's perfect. Heavy coverage, can be set to matte and extremely long lasting. This stuff isn't cheap so if anything comes into the drugstore market promising any of these things I'm interested. 

Sadly, this time I was disappointed. You win some, you loose some. (Friendly reminder, what doesn't work for me, may work for you... This is my experience with the products) 

These were on introductory offer at boots (I think) for £5.99 each and it was 3 for 2 so I splurged. They are meant to be used together and have nifty instructions on the back for the best way to apply. 

The primer? Who knows. I'm not sure if any of them do what they say they do... Except porefessional which DOES reduce the visable pores on my face anyway.. This one does not claim to fill/blur your pores and thank god because it seriously doesn't! Does it make my makeup last longer? Guess I'll have to try it with a different foundation before I really know. 

The foundation. Sad face.Now I don't know if my skin just rejects this stuff (combination sensitive) , or if it doesn't agree with my moisturiser or what, but it just would not blend properly on applicaton. Like from far away it looked like it blended but up close it was forming into weird patches that are hard to explain. People who wear glasses; you know how the foundation sits on your nose weird and sort of rubs off where you glasses are over the course of the day? Like that only in multiple places. When I try to blend it, it just rubs off!! 

This gets worse during the day. It's medium coverage but my pores are on full display by lunch time, with random patches missing/ redness showing through. Waa. Not happy. 

So hard to show in a photo! Plus from far away it's fineish, it's just up close that's the real problem. 

It's such a shame as for me the colour was near perfect. I'm a NC15 in MAC and got the shade "porcelain" which is the lightest that they offer. 

It's left me wondering, what does everyone else think? 

1 minute review - Rimmel London "Eastend snob" lip liner

Fear. Harsh lines. Looking like a clown. These are all things I associated with lip liner. Until now. 

I recently purchased Rimmel London exaggerate lip liner in "Eastend Snob" after hearing Dani (from "coffee break with Dani" on YouTube) talking about it. Basically if Dani likes it, I want it! If you don't know Dani ( are you under a rock?!), give her a look up and let her know I mentioned her. 

Anyhoo here it is 

  

It's a retractable lip liner in a pinkish mauve colour. For me, it's the perfect "My lips but better" shade. The end of the product is gently shaped to allow easy application, especially when it comes to the Cupid bow ( which is good for me because my Cupid's bow is quite prominent)  What really shocked me is just how easy this is to apply.. It's super creamy, matte yet not drying and just beautiful. Don't get me wrong, my application is far from perfect but I haven't stopped wearing it since it arrived and practice does make perfect!  Obsessed!

Here is a swatch. On the left is "East end snob", middle is MAC "Taupe" and right are the two together 

This is it on my "regular" lips

As usual my skin was nice and red and sensitive in these photos! 

Here is the lip liner combined with Mac "Taupe" on the lips 

WARNING WARNING - If you hate overdrawn lips look away NOW! You are about to be very offended 

Kylie Jenner eat your heart out! 

I have also combined it with Mac "Velvet teddy" ( my personal favourite so far) and MAC "Twig" which is also very, very pretty. 

Basically I love it and in my opinion, every girl should own it! I purchased mine from

Boots ( it's normal price is £3.99) but I purchased the gel liner as well so I got the " 2 for £10" promotion which is currently active

Here's the link, you can thank me later 

http://m.boots.com/h5/cat_hub?path=%2Fen%2FRimmel-Exaggerate-Lip-Liner_6938%2F&colId=Eastend_Snob&unCountry=uk

My milk_shake brings all the boys to the yard...

*cough* Ahem.. I couldnt resist.. sorry not sorry.

Anyway, the milkshake that is drawing my attention is milk_shake hair products, specifically their conditioners. I learnt about the brand by stumbling randomly accoss You Tuber Hollie Wakeham, who is also a hair dresser. I believe it was her who described these products as the best kept secret in hair care, and I have to say I agree!

I love any products that smell sweet as a rule, and this is literally the nicest smelling brand in the world. As the name suggests, the products smell of vanilla strawberry milkshake and are just as delicious (not literally, don't eat them please). 

The first thing I tried was the "Leave in conditioning whipped cream" (£11.99) that comes straight out of a spray can with the consistency of (I bet you can guess) It makes my hair soft, aids towards detangling and the scent lingers in my hair. Safe to say I never looked back and this is now an essential in my hair care routine. 

I then decided I wanted to branch out, but didn't want to be disappointed if the scent was different across the line, so I bought a mini version of their hair mask to try (£3.99) Luckily it is the same, and provided a luxurious weekly treat for my hair (I say provided as Im out at the moment, the heart bleeds!)

Now for the regular conditioner. I am always super unsure about investing money into regular conditioner as it literally goes on my hair and down the drain, I rarely have the patience to leave it on for the three or so minutes required for it to actually do something. Also, I discovered a conditioner from the £1 shop which is amaze, so I tend to just stick with that one. However, one day, out of conditioning whipped cream, I decided to be rebellious and order the regular conditioner along side it (£12.99). It has the same smell that I keep banging on about, and has a thinner, runnier consistency to most conditioners that Im used to, but still I love it! It makes my hair legitimately soft, rather than the overly fake silky/ borderline greasy texture my hair can get when using some conditioners (normally ones with too much silicone in) It actually feels like its making a difference to my hair thats permanent, which in my opinion is a rare thing to find.

So the bottles say that milk_shake is only found in professional salons, but I buy mine from Fragrance Direct, who kindly let me steal the photos off their website for this post, as my photography skills are really lacking.

Find the products here  http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/m1/milkshake/icat/milkshake#esp_hitsperpage=60

and heres a photo of my hair, so, you know, you know its half decent and Im worth taking any advice from

Thia post is not sponsered, and no one sends me anything so I definately paid for all this myself (unfortunately :D)

Thats all for today! On a personal note, there haven't been many posts of late as I have a tooth infection that spread to a throat infection and is generally being a pain.. pun intended. I promise when Im up and about and back at work I will get back to my regular schedule. Thanks!

Bex