Im a guest blogger on Escentual.com

Very excited at the fact im a guest blogger on the fabulous Escentual.com. Escentual are a premier beauty retailer that stock haircare, beauty and fragrance products including hard to find brands and the best thing is they are also a Cardiff based company...so just down the road from me!! 

They have a fantastic blog and due to the fact their usual writer is off to a festival (lucky thing) they offered the chance for people to guest blog in her absence...so i jumped at it!! And thank you to the lovely people at Escentual for letting me loose!!

You can check out my full guest post here .

You can follow Escentual via theirTwitter account @escentualdotcom or on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Escentual 

A copy of my full post/interview is below!!
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As I’m off on holiday (a week and a half followed by a spell at Reading Festival – yay!), we’ve lined up some lovely guest bloggers to take up the writing reigns and tell you a bit about their beauty habits in a feature we’ve ingeniously named “Pick & Mix Beauty Questions”.
The premise (as you might have already guessed) is pretty simple: we give our featured bloggers a list of 20 random questions, they pick 10 of those to answer, and then we get an insider look at their beauty wins and fails.

First up to the plate is Toxylicious – and I’ll see you guys after the bank holiday weekend!



So who is the woman behind Toxylicious?? Well im a married mum of 2, slightly kooky redhead (very red!!), work as a graphic designer/marketing exec, complete internet junkie with a passion for all things design, beauty, fashion and music. Only literally started blogging last year so im still quite a newbie.  My blog consists of product reviews and general ramblings about stuff I love or have discovered. With so many good blogs out there, im flattered that people actually enjoy reading my stuff!!

1. Who is your beauty inspiration?
I would say at the moment it would be Nicola Roberts…simply because she flies the flag for pale skinned girls and always looks flawless and fashion-leading!! I love being pale skinned…and I’ve never understood why everyone feels the need to always be tanned and fry in the sun. With the introduction of her new Dainty Doll range, made specifically for us pale girls…it seems finally we may actually get accepted for rocking the pale look!! Good on her I say!!

2. Describe the best hairstyle you’ve ever had.
Probably the one I’ve been sporting over the last year or so. Going red was a huge image change for me and it was kick started when I lost over 2 and half stone. I felt great but also felt my image needed an overhaul…and egged on by my hairdresser I went for it ….and so glad I did. Not only did I change hair colour and lose weight but I changed my whole wardrobe….basically a whole new me was born!!!The only drawback of red hair is the upkeep, there’s quite a bit of it. Roots – every 4 months or so, colour enhancer –  every week, plus I have quite a layered style so have a cut also every 3-4 months. Is it all worth it…….hell yeah!!

3. Are you a one brand gal/guy, or do you like to switch it up?
I definitely love to switch it up with brands. I find it hard to resist products on special offer and I just feel the urge to try them when they are. The market is constantly changing and evolving so what’s the point in staying with one brand all the time…I say experiment …..you could find something better!!!Don’t get me wrong, there are a few faithful brands I do buy over and over again as they are really good – things like hairspray, foundation, shampoo etc….but even with them I like to switch from time to time. It drives my other half insane as my products literally take over the bathroom!!

4. What’s the wildest eye colour in your makeup arsenal?
Since going red I’ve become a lot more adventurous with my eye shadow colours as I can get away with it more. My favourite eyeshadow set is by Front Cover – The Mermaid Dreams collection. It’s busting with hot greens and vibrant blues which compliment my red hair really well, so much so it’s almost become a signature look for me…even in work!!

5. What is your everyday makeup routine?
My daily make up routine has been perfected to a sleek 5-10 mins in the morning. Its simply: Foundation, Face powder, Eye liner, Eyeshadow, Mascara…..Done!!

I think as you get older you work out what looks good on you….and also less is more. I don’t see the need to cake my foundation on and take 3 hours with my eyeshadow!! Also since having children and working full time… you just learn to perfect a quicker routine as school run mornings are full-on chaos!!

6. What was your beauty routine in your teens?
OMG my beauty routine used to take hours…..I remember my foundation had to be flawless so was using concealer, foundation and powder. I was also a dab hand at liquid eyeliner…now that I could do quickly!! I tended to stick to browns and greys for eyeshadow and deep plum lipsticks. I always remember being in my bedroom with my mates…music blasting…all fighting for the mirror…sipping on glasses of strawberry Concorde wine or Mad-dog 20/20… happy days!!! We’d be in there for literally hours before going out….but we loved it, it was a vital part of our night out.

And so to my hair………..I had a spiral perm (yes I know!!)….so as you can guess it needed a lot of attention….loads of serum, endless hours separating the curls, enough hairspray to deplete the worlds ozone…..and then the nightmare phase of flat roots. 4 hours I used to sit in a hairdressers… crazy!!

7. Give us an indispensible beauty tip!
Not so much a beauty tip more of a product tip….. 2 products I’ve found literally indispensable are All For Eve Eves Balm –  a very cute, multi function solid recovery balm. Really effective on chapped or irritated skin, great for your lips, cheeks… in fact anywhere that needs a little TLC.

The other one is Batiste Dry Shampoo…….this stuff is amazing…..I seriously do not know how I survived without it. So many times when I’ve literally not got enough hours in the day to wash my hair…..spray this stuff into your roots…and zap…greasiness gone and your hair is instantly refreshed!! Every girl should have a can of this!!

8. How do you store your beauty goodies?
All over the place really, I have a main make up bag for which I store my everyday make up, I then have a large basket where I store loads of other bits such as random eye shadows, lipsticks and various products that I haven’t even opened. And then there’s a large drawer unit in the bathroom…with 5 drawers…and everyone is crammed full of my beauty and make up stuff. My other half literally has a tiny corner in the cupboard on the wall for his stuff…..lol, and if I had the chance…I’d grab that too!!!

9. What brand/product/person introduced you to the world of beauty?
Ooooh I’d probably have to say the brand Rimmel had a big influence back in my school days. It was ‘the brand’ that girls wanted back then. I mean every girl at school wore Heather shimmer lipstick…it was literally the law!! I just remember seeing the ads in magazines…and just wanted to look like that!!

10. Do you multitask when applying your makeup, or do you need complete concentration?
As mentioned before….I’ve got my routine down to such a fine art…multi tasking isn’t a problem. And with 2 young children to run around after each day….multi tasking is a must in my household!!Pin It