Cleo’s Story - Feline Chronic Kidney Disease

Cleo’s Story - Diet

Say hello to Cleo, she is my 14 year old Cream Pointed Birman. I adopted her 7 years ago and she has been a loyal companion ever since. I have decided to add “her” diary to my blog as there aren’t too many sites that give you an insight to living with a chronically ill kitty cat. Although Tanya’s site is a great place to start (http://www.felinecrf.org/)

Cleo on the day I adopted her.

6 months ago Cleo was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Failure and I had no idea what that meant for us. A nurse assured me that many cats can live for years with lessened kidney function on a special veterinary diet, and so it began my OCD need to know everything to ensure Cleo has the best quality of life possible.

The two main things I have learned to focus on are her food and water intake as this is what affects their health most. I have 8 ramekins of fresh water dotted around the house near to her beds, on window sills and other places she chills out. I would recommend doing this for anyone regardless of age or illness as I learned Cleo doesn’t like having her water in the kitchen (she prefers it in the bathroom, go figure)

I also find adding water or a clear chicken broth to her food helps get extra fluids into her which helps keep the nasties diluted. I know on days after she hasnt eaten / drunk enough she is off colour and not as active. The vet likens it to having a hangover when their kidneys can’t filter the blood well enough.

Food was a big change, only licenced vets can sell specialist diets and wow they are expensive. I would recommend to signing up to Pets @ Home VIP we were sent vouchers over Christmas for £10 off a £50 spend and when Renal Cat Food only come in 48 pouch packs at £33+ these really help and if you are a softie like me I try to keep as many flavours in stock as possible as I wouldn’t want the same meal for the rest of my life so why should Cleo? The mailing list often sends out 10% off voucher codes, let me know if it is of interest and I will share any I come across.

We have another round of blood test the end of this months so will give you an update then. Please feel free to comment below if you have any questions or experience with CKD.

xoxo Lindsay

GlossyBox February 2016: Beauty Soulmates

GlossyBox February 2016: Beauty Soulmates

January 2016: Beauty SoulMates Box

So what’s in the box (according to the contents card):

• Nicka K New York - 24h Waterproof Eyeliner
• MUA - Power Pout Glaze Low Voltage Gloss
• Naobay - Protective Hair Mask Volume Conditioner
• The Vintage Cosmetic - Company Floral Slanted Tweezers
• Wilkinson Sword - Intuition Razor

So this box is £10 per month plus £2.95 p&p, according to the contents card the value of this month's box is £22.48 for the four full sized products, £8.51 for the “luxury size” brings it to £30.99 in value according to GlossyBox.

Product	Full sized Value (according to glossy box)	Full Size	Size included	Online Value	My Value
Eyeliner	£3.99	0.3g	0.3g	$5.99	£4.13
Gloss	£3.50	3.2ml	3.2ml	£3.50	£3.50
Mask	£10.64	250ml	200ml	N/A	N/A
Tweezers	£8	1 unit	1 unit	£6.40	£6.40
Razor	£6.99	1 unit	1 unit	£6.49	£6.49
Total					£20.52

As usual I have scoured the internet and Nicka K Cosmetics are only available to purchase in the states and the Naobay mask is not available to buy at all. All in all this is not the greatest value Glossybox lets hope some of these products are the “soulmates” that are promised!

So in to the actual products:

Nicka K New York - 24h Waterproof Eyeliner

Who doesn’t love a good brown eyeliner? I generally prefer them over black on more natural makeup days but as a contact lens wearer finding a truly waterproof one is a life mission. This one looks pretty impressive as an automatic, self sharpening pencil. This swatched rather well it’s a little stiff but good pigmentation, the little smudger on the end is a great addition a little harder than I would want to use on my eyes but nothing to really complain about.

The down side was this is not waterproof, after I swatched this for the photo below it wiped off easily with a little water… I decided to give this a fairer test and swatched it again and left it alone for half an hour. Was it budge proof? No, two rubs of my finger and it was gone, not smudged, GONE!!

MUA - Power Pout Glaze Low Voltage Gloss

This was our sneak peak product where subscribers got to pick one of 6 colours in January, I chose and received Allure.

Swatches of the full colour collection from the MUA site:

I do love this colour it is one that I do wear regularly, the brush applicator is not one that I am fond of as the product being dispensed from a hole in the middle comes out streaky. The photo below the camera has picked up some glitter that gives this product its sheen. It also smells a like a sweet play doh luckily this isn't noticeable once the product has been applied.

Once on the lips it gives a sheer wash of colour and a balmy sheen. This doesn’t feel too sticky on the lips.  The colour has average lasting power and does transer. I'm 50/50 on this as brush makes it a bit fiddly to re-apply on the go but as it's sheer it's not noticeable that it has worn off if you don't keep an eye on it. One I will probably keep using but won’t be picking up any of the other shades.

Naobay - Protective Hair Mask Volume Conditioner

Now I am a sucker for a good hair mask, all year round my hair is dry and flat. I am a regular with home made oil hair masks that keep my hair glossy without the yucky stuff of the store bought products. (Post on my hair care routine shortly) Naobay promotes itself as natural and organic with 99.5 % natural ingredient and 13.5% organic. This is a great luxury sample size, allways fun with long hair using twice as much product as everyone else. This does leave hair soft and smooth but it is highly fragranced, a citrusy lemon scent which lingered in my hair for a few days.

The Vintage Cosmetic - Company Floral Slanted Tweezers

These are just so cute and quite long compared to the RED tweezers I use. This is only an issue if you are short sighted like me and need to have your nose pressed to the mirror to focus on the tiny hairs you are trying to pluck.  These have a nice little rubber protective “cap” to protect them when not in use.

My only down side is the tips are quite thick so finer hairs are a little tricky to get hold of but I will definitely be keeping these in my bag for emergencies!

Wilkinson Sword - Intuition Razor

I am a bit of a hoarder when it come to razors, I think I have 3 in my shower at the moment 2 Gillette Venus and 1 Wilkinson Sword Quattro and one in my suitcase. To be honest as long as it gets the hair off my legs and doesn't cut me I am not fussed. I have tried these with built in shave gel before and they are fine. I prefer to use a separate gel but mostly what I uses is down to cost of the replacement blades and I will always check offers in the supermarket. So on the Boots website it is £6.79 for Wilkinson Sword Intuition Sensitive Care Replacement Blades 3s this is a pretty good price as the equivalent from Gillette is £11 for 3. We will see how long the blades last to see if I have a new razor in my life

Are you subscribed to GlossyBox, what products did you get and what did you think of January’s “Beauty Soulmates” Box?

If you are interested in joining GlossyBox to be ahead when they release another limited edition box please feel free to use my referral link:

GlossyBox Refer a Friend

xoxo Lindsay

Dupes Tested - Revolution The One Concealer vs Benefit Fake Up

Revolution The One Concealer vs. Benefit Fake Up

It seems like the world has gone crazy for dupes and you only have the to walk down the high street to find them. But do the really live up to their high priced counterpart?

Makeup Revolution is well known for producing affordable alternatives for high end beauty. Today I will be pitting Benefits Fake Up against Makeup Revolutions The One Concealer.

In all the photos below, Makeup Revolution The One is on the left and Benefit Fake Up is on the right.

Makeup Revolution The One Concealer  retails for £3 for 3.2g and is advertised as “This will be your favourite concealer. Amazing formulation containing a moisturising outer ring, to hydrate and prevent creasing or fading for the concealer inner core.”

Benefit Fake Up Concealer retails at £18.50 for 3.5g and is advertised as “Hydrating crease-control concealer with vitamin E & apple seed extract hides dark circles and diffuses fine lines for a silky smooth, ultra-natural look. Available in three shades. It’s proven to keep skin hydrated for six hours!*”

These products next to each other are alarmingly similar with the moisturising outer with the concealer core in both products. The centre of the Makeup Revolution product is smaller than the Benefit version .

Swatched on the hand we start to see some differences.

Makeup Revolution is very sheer and glossy, think Vaseline in texture for the moisturiser compared to the thicker more pigmented Benefit.

Both products are in the shade light and I am indeed very light (MUFE R210 or MAC NW15 for reference)

The first picture below is no make up just a clean fresh face, So we can see what we are trying to cover.I had a good night's sleep so my dark circles are less than I’m usually battling mid week!

The second photo is our comparison, on the left we have the Makeup Revolution which seems to have just made my under eye look glossy rather than concealed. I struggled to build up any coverage as the amount of moisturiser just sheered it out and looked greasy. The benefit however has good pigmentation has covered the mild dark circles. Neither of these products are full coverage but the Benefit is buildable.

Conclusion?

Benefit Fake Up all the way, this has been a staple in my travel makeup bag for years and it will continue to be. Sorry Makeup Revolution you didn’t win this round but I am sure there will be more dupes from you to try!

Let me know in the comments your HG under eye concealer and if there are any dupes you want testing.

Until next post,

xoxo Lindsay

GlossyBox UK - Limited Edition NARS

GlossyBox UK - Limited Edition NARS

I feel like in my January GlossyBox post I was a little harsh on GlossyBox and their selection of products. It's just when they can do something as spectacular as the NARS GlossyBox you expect big things.

This box was the reason I subscribed to GlossyBox to join the waitlist and to be let in on the pre-release, and boy am I glad I did. The pre-release opened at 9am on 16th November and by 9.27am ALL 3,000 boxes has sold out. Many Glossies frustrated that the site had crashed, links weren’t working and chaos ensued on twitter. Sadly there were only 3,000 boxes so it never made general release scheduled for 12noon the same day. But this was what beauty boxes (to me) are supposed to be. Subscribers could for £30 receive 5 deluxe samples of NARS products. A fraction of the full price as compared below.

Product	Full Size	Full Price	Sample Size	% of full size	Value
Multiple	14g	£29	4g	28%	£8.28
Blush	4.8g	£23	3.5g	72%	£16.71
Lip Pencil	2.2g	£19	1.7g	77%	£14.68
Eye Liner	0.58g	£19	0.3g	51%	£9.82
Mascara	8ml	£21	3ml	37%	£7.87
Total		£111			£57.42

This makes the value of the products you got in the box nearly double what you paid and as NARS never (or rarely) do sample sizes this is pretty cool to have to try. I love makeup but would have never dropped £111 on products to see if they lived up to the reputation.

Oh, a side note on the packaging... A black matte box with the NARS logo on the side, black tissue tied with a NARS branded ribbon this just oozed NARS gorgeousness!! The little details made this feel extra special!

So what did you get in the box:

Blush in 'Orgasm'

This is NARS most iconic blush a peachy pink with golden shimmer, it gives the most gorgeous natural flush. Need I say more?

Larger Than Life Eyeliner in ‘Via Veneto’

Via Veneto is NARS black in this range. Promising to be “a completely budge proof finish. Incomparable 12-hour wear with no smearing and no caking.” This is a good eyeliner and as a contact lens wearer it didn’t bother my eyes one bit. But budge proof, unfortunately not on me. If only there was a waterproof version.

The Multiple in 'Orgasm'

Again this is in the iconic NARS shade. Marketed as “Mistake-proof color; quick and easy to apply. Sheer, natural finish for eyes, cheeks and lips.” This is the smallest sample you get at just over 25% of the full size (that picture is it fully wound up) Of all the products in the box this was my least favourite. The formula seems to be drying out already, I think I would stick to the blush, but isn't that the whole point of these boxes I didn't splurge £29 on this to find out it's not my cup of tea! Yay!

Satin Lip Pencil in ‘Rikugien’

A long wearing, hydrating lip pencil in this gorgeously flattering rose pink shade, what's not to like? GlossyBox this is a universally flattering shade unlike a certain brown blush...

Audacious Mascara

This was a brand new addition to the NARS line so to get to try a new. According to NARS “Designed with over 200 molded bristles and lengthening hooks.. Simultaneously separates, lengthens, and amplifies. Its tapered tip finishes off the inner and outer reaches of your imagination, while enhancing lower lashes.” A great claim that it easily lives up to!

When GlossyBox get it right they really get it right! I wish they could have restocked this as I would certainly get this as a gift for at least one makeup junkie I know.

Did you manage to get your hands on this box, if so let me know your thoughts below and if there are any better NARS products I should try and review.

If you are interested in joining GlossyBox to be ahead when they release another limited edition box please feel free to use my referral link:

GlossyBox Refer a Friend

Until next post,

xoxo Lindsay