50 Follower Giveaway

I am very happy to announce that my blog has now reached the 50 Follower milestone. Well it was 55 at the time of posting this, but I didn't get a chance to post at the moment when the blog follower clock struck 50! I know that there are a lot of blogs out there with a LOT more followers, but I am really happy to have reached this number. I was pleased when I got my first blog follower (the gorgeous Nicoletta over at Nicoletta's Beauty Space), so to make it to 50+ followers makes me a very happy blogger indeed!

Although I have only been blogging for a few months, I have really enjoyed it, and have discovered some great bloggers and tweeters. Starting my own blog also encouraged me to get more involved with my local Bloggers Meetups in Cardiff. Through that I have met some really interesting people whose variety of blogs never cease to provide plenty of food for thought. And on a beauty-related note, starting my blog has encouraged me to try a wider range of products, and looks, which can only be a good thing. Well, for my style if not for my bank account!

To celebrate reaching 50 followers I have decided to run a little giveaway. I've compiled a selection of products by brands that I've blogged about, that I love, and that people have been enthusiastic about. I hope that you like my version of a Glossybox. The box contains:

• The Body Shop's Monoi Miracle Oil (150ml) which can be used on skin and hair.
• Paula's Choice Illicit Lash Maximum Impact Mascara (full-size)
• Korres Basil Lemon Little Moisturising Body Milk (50ml)
• Orly Mini Manicure in 'Holla' a.k.a 'Happy Nails' (5.3ml)
• Etat Libre D'Orange fragrance samples ( 5 x 1.5ml: Rossy de Palma; Nombril Immense; Divin'Enfant; Vierges et Torreros; Encens et Bubblegum). I came across this quirky brand whilst browsing the escentual.com website. I had never heard of them before so was intrigued to try them.There's a wide range of fragrances to choose from, so I've included a selection, as choice of fragrances can vary widely between different people.

If you'd like to be entered in the giveaway, then here are the rules:

1. You must be a follower via Google Friend Connect.

2. You must comment on this post below, with a random fact about yourself. I decided to go for that, as when Nic over at Strawberry Blonde gave me the Butterfly Blog Award I found it interesting reading everyone's random facts about themselves.

3. If you tweet about this giveaway or mention it on your Facebook page you will get an extra entry: 'I've just entered @LouiseHartrey 's 50 Follower Giveaway over at http://louloumuses.blogspot.com '

4. The giveaway will close at 11:59pm on 31st July 2011.

If you've got a blog I would love to know what you've found to be the best thing about blogging.

UPDATE - I've just selected the winner of my '50 Follower Giveaway', and the lucky lady is........30SomethingMel . Congratulations. Hope that you enjoy using all the products.

My Current Routine - Part II: Make-up

Here is the second part of my 'current routine' series of posts, and this time I'm looking at the contents of my make-up bag as opposed to every bit of makeup I own, which would be a much longer post! I'd be really interested to know if you have tried any of these products and what you thought of them.

Foundation – Estee Lauder DoubleWear in Fresco. This foundation is great and is a Holy Grail foundation for a large number of bloggers. It gives great coverage which lasts and lasts. If you'd like to give it a try, pop along to your nearest Estee Lauder concession to get yourself colour-matched and try a free 10 day sample.

Powder – L’Oreal True Match – This was bought after a Twitter cry for help as I needed to buy some powder to apply before going out after work and had left my compact at home. Great value and does a great job.

Concealer – GOSH TouchUp concealer (for undereyes) and Benefit It Stick (on blemishes). Although I am reasonably happy with these products I am still searching for the perfect Holy Grail concealer. As my undereye area has been known at times to have more bags than a Louis Vuitton flagship store I am always searching for ‘the one’ when it comes to concealers. When I find it you will be the first to know!

Blush – Nars blushes (which I LOVE) in either Orgasm or Sin (which has been described as "instant cheekbones"). I had never tried a Nars product until I read a few tweets about them, and I now wonder what on earth I was putting on my cheeks before I discovered Monsieur Nars’ blushes. The pigments and textures are fabulous. I also use Nars Bronzer in Laguna.

Lips – I think that this is one of the areas that has been most influenced by my discovery of beauty blogs. I used to be slightly hesitant about veering off the ‘natural pink lipgloss’ path but since I’ve discovered the joy of a good beauty blog I have been trying out a variety of different shades and textures. Here are some of my current favourites: Lanolips lip ointment in Apples (gives a lovely red sheen and leaves my lips really soft); MAC Viva Glam in Cyndi (a coral-red lustre); Guerlain Rouge G in Gaela (a pink which is bright enough to give a pop of colour without being too 'in your face', and it comes in the most gorgeous case) and All for Eve ‘Eve’ lipstick (a classic red) created by Daniel Sandler.

Mascara – Paula’s Choice Illicit Lash Mascara – I hadn’t come across this brand before until I read about this product on three blogs within the space of a week. With my cosmetic curiosity piqued I decided to order it from http://www.paulaschoice.co.uk/ and my lashes haven’t looked back. This mascara gives me lovely long lashes, and I never get any of the flaking that I’ve had with other products.

Eye-liner – L’Oreal Super Liner in 'Carbon Gloss' – very easy to apply and long-lasting – what’s not to love?!

Eye-shadow – MAC 'Retrospeck' and MAC 'Sumptuous Olive'; GOSH Waterproof shadow stick in 'Love that Brown'.

Brows – I never really used to do much to my brows, but once I started using a brow kit I haven't looked back. Just the simple act of brushing them through properly and applying brow powder gives some more definition to my face. I'm currently using the GOSH Brow Kit after buying it as part of a 3 for 2 offer in Superdrug.

So have you used any of these products, and if so, what did you think? Have you got any recommendations for me?