Sephora in the UK

FeelUnique is one of my favourite online beauty stores in the UK. I particularly like their loyalty scheme of getting circa 10% off two brands you love. I wear Chanel Chance perfume and have done for many years, which is very expensive so whenever I see an opportunity to get it cheaper I’m very happy. Normally this only happens at duty free in the airport but at FeelUnique having the opportunity all the time was exceptional. They also sent you really high quality free gifts based on how much you spent. I recently received a full Elemis facial set.

However, FeelUnique does not compare to my favourite beauty store overall and that is Sephora. Whenever I visited America I would also make a point of going to the store and stocking up on all my makeup and beauty items. I wrote a blog post a long time ago this beauty palette I found excellent for travelling (http://modernmrsbeetonblog.uk/2018/03/07/sephora-makeup-palette/).

So when I got the email from FeelUnique advising they were becoming Sephora I could not have been more excited. The online presence launches today in the UK, enjoy!!

https://m.sephora.co.uk/welcome-to-sephora

https://m.sephora.co.uk

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Decoupage shoes

I used to have a really obsessive hobby in covering anything and everything in pretty paper. Decoupage is very therapeutic. One of the things I’ve previously made were my night before my wedding shoes that I covered in a video game theme. Recently a friend who is getting married asked me to make custom ones for her and her theme is some Marvel comic characters.

I therefore proceeded to make some wedding shoes. Decoupage is super simple especially if you don’t get caught up in the expensive kits. All you need is some PVA glue; water, a brush and some light weight paper with a pattern. Very simply you mix the glue with a splash of water and brush on whatever item you want to cover. Then smooth on the paper and coat again. That very simple is decoupage.

There are however some tips I can give you from over the years. The surface of whatever you are covering needs to be clean and dry. It helps if it’s shiny to be roughed up a bit. For example these shoes were patent gloss so I sanded them slightly with sand paper and a nail file. You should also try to use neatly cut; not torn bits of paper to keep it neat and use as small as is sensible especially around curves. I also like to cut out some blocks of matching colour from the same source. For example on the Green Lantern shoe I cut up small pieces of green from the comic book to provide a little background.

Finally PVA is waterproof to a degree but if you want your end product to last longer I’d recommend a light coat of craft clear spray varnish in very thin layers to prevent white bubbling.

Go decoupage!

Supplies:

https://amzn.to/3RZo18i

https://amzn.to/3VpsXqb

https://amzn.to/3yBeduu

https://amzn.to/3ekTODa

Personalised glass bottles for cleaning and bath products

I’m slightly obsessed with watching ‘clean with me’ vlogs at the moment. Does anyone else do that? A lot of these types of videos on ‘You Tube’ show recipes on how to make cleaning products. Now I’m not really (well yet) that into making cleaning products as I do like a good strong bleach, which I know isn’t great for you.

However, I am into the personalised bottles that you can decant your favourite cleaners into. I’ve also discovered the highly concentrated cleaners that you add water to to make up large batches at a much lower cost that buying over and over again. I do also like the idea of having pretty glass bottles on display and not constantly throwing plastic bottles away (into the recycling but you know what I mean).

So I started with some glass bottles I already had (old amaretto and gin bottles) and replaced the caps with some nice corks I had from my elderflower wine and beer making crafts (https://modernmrsbeeton.blog/2017/03/09/elderflower-champagne/). I also had a really cheap hand cleanser that I peeled off the label from.

Next I’ went to eBay and ordered some personalised labels which were very cheap for use now and in future projects.

The labels arrived and I stuck them on my lovely recyclable glass bottles.

I filled with what I had already such as hand cleanser and bubble bath.

I have on ordered now some classic bottles to make up with some Fabulosa cleanser for both glass and around the house. When they arrive, I’ll do another update.

See links to my Amazon products below if you are interested in doing the same:

Glass Bottles

https://amzn.to/3RQaCzz

Labels

https://amzn.to/3MuE8d8

Cleaning Products

https://amzn.to/3yvZL6L

May’s beauty finds

I don’t normally cover a lot of Health and Beauty items but in the interests of sharing a balanced set of lifestyle hints and tips and the fact I’ve discovered not only the best beauty finds in May but I they are of the year!

Firstly I’d highly recommend the Dr Botanicals pomegranate sleeping mask. I think I got this in a monthly beauty box but you seem to be able to get it on Amazon with a Dr Botanicals gift set (link below). If you put this on before you go to bed you wake up with lovely soft and clear skin. I used to walk up with slight lines from the pillow and that’s gone away on 2019, excellent! When this runs out I’m going to buying the larger version. I’ve also recommended to my sister and she fed back exactly the same results.

The next items is Caudalie face spray. I found this by watching some beauty vloggers on You Tube and they were using it as a makeup setting spray like Mac fix pro. I do this but also if you just need a little pick me in the day to really refresh your skin it makes such an incredible difference. It also smells amazing!

Happy trying…

https://amzn.to/3SYiXlR

Caudalie

https://amzn.to/3VosXqo

P.S. I’ll try and do the same in June as I’ve lot of good beauty items already purchased … eek.

Sephora Makeup Palette

I’m definitely not a beauty blogger but I did want to share and recommend this tip for storing makeup that I’d never seen before and have really fallen in love with. You can buy these but also I guess you could make one too. The American makeup company Sephora sells a container for your powdered makeup such as blush; bronzer and eye shadows. It’s a little palette with a clear lid and is completely empty when you buy it other than some little flat removable magnets. They then sell their powered makeup in metal containers so you pop each one out and place on the magnet and fill the palette with all your favorite items. It’s a great way to carry around your items rather than as individuals. I’ve taken mine all around the world and it’s never come open. What I also worked out was that most normal powdered makeup you buy comes in a thin metal container once you dig it out of its plastic container, so you don’t just have to use the Sephora branded stuff. Be careful doing this though as they are often glued down so you’ll need something sharp to prize them out.

If you are not based in the US you can order this online but shipping costs are quite high so share the cost with someone else or order a lot at one time. Also, I guess you can make one out of an old container adding a magnetic base and some little magnets if you are feeling particularly creative!

Link:

https://www.sephora.com/product/z-palette-P384677?skuId=1573229&icid2=products%20grid:p384677

Outside:

Inside: