June Favourites!

Fake Bake Beyond Bronze Shimmer Brick Light;

This is so gorgeous! A new buy and straight into the favourites, this gives such a gorgeous glow for night time and also will be amazing for holiday! The highlight is so pretty and I use it everyday since I've got it. I also like using this underneath my foundation to create a really glowy look for summer, just gorgeous!

Avon Neutral Tones Palette;

Love this! Didn't use it a lot when I first bought it, but this month I've rediscovered it and it's just so gorgeous! All the colours are so wearable and easy to apply, and seeing as I only ever wear neutral tones in the daytime this palette is everything I'll ever need. Good selection of both shimmers and matte colours, all of which are good quality!

Natural Collection Tinted Moisturiser in Fair;

Again a new purchase, and something I didn't think I would like as much as I do. I bought this purely to see if I liked the tinted moisturiser way of life and I can safely say I am well and truly on the bandwagon, which is a surprise to me as much as anybody else who knows that a few months ago I was strictly a colourstay kind of girl.This is gorgeous for those hot days where foundation is just too much coverage, so for the past couple of days where in England it was HOT HOT HOT it was perfect.

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Vixen;

This is my absolutely favourite red at the moment (yeah, they all look the same pretty much but that's irrelevant). I love the formulation of the lipsticks, Vixen is so moisturising as well as being crazy pigmented. I've been using this as either a "HELLO LOOK AT MY RED LIPS" bright colour or as a calmer, passing nod everyday type of red lip. Either way I adore this colour and the formulation and sleek are just amazing ok I'm done fangirling.

Topshop Blush in Flush;

This is such a pretty colour! I'm not really a blush person, but I've found myself reaching for this. I love how easy to blend these blushes are, and they then turn into a powder finish, which means they're not going anywhere! I definitely want to try more of the topshop range, I fancy the blushes "head over heels" and "neon rose", aswell as the gel eyeliner, more of the lipsticks, the lip crayons, etc etc. There have been rumours since the make up launched that the Topshop make up line is made by the same company that make MAC makeup, and the quality is definitely amazing for the price, £6 for a cream blush? Craaaazy! Complete with the gorgeous packaging, I definitely need to expand my collection.

Sephora Scented Spray in Pacific Curacao;

These sprays were discontinued a while back, and I'd completely forgotten I even had one. These sprays are about the size of a pen and are seriously handy to carry around. This scent, I have no idea how to explain, it's just like.... the ocean in a bottle. It smells kinda citrus-y and like none of my other perfumes (floral, fruity, sweeeet), but I really like it, and I can't believe I forgot about it. It doesn't last very long, but I'll be using it on holiday and I wish wish wish I could re-purchase this tiny 10ml bottle, damn A) sephora not being in UK and B) them discontinuing this little gem.

Oh, and I can't miss out how much I'm loving the SUN and FLOWERS and SUMMER!

Oh and I've also made sure my art GCSE isn't going to waste and completed such masterpieces as the one above ;)

also HOW amazing is this girls voice? I'm so in love with this track at the moment.

What products have you been loving this month?!

xoxoxoxoxo

OOTD #011, 7 Day Challenge and GlossyBox Alternative?!

shirt - topshop, body con skirt - topshop leather jacket - vintage, shoes- primark.

So I'm still working the fashion statement plaster on my poorly short nail! My hairs in absolutely horrendous condition, if any of you have an ~ affordable ~ holy grail conditioning product let me know I need help! And I have booked an appointment with my hairdresser for the first time in just over a year, so I want it to be in tip top condition before she analyses it, I don't want a "I'm going to have to cut 5 inches off" type statement from her gob.

So the Versace archives have been opened for the first time since Gianni's death for Lady Gaga (lucky cow!), who has vowed to wear ONLY Versace for the next two months.

So I'm not a Versace kinda girl, being unemployed and all that, but I'd definitely like to take on the whole one brand rule, but taking it to the high street. So having a quick flick through my wardrobe it's clear I have more Topshop than anything else, so here it is. For ONE WEEK (it's not two months, but I'm no Lady Gaga) I will be purely wearing Topshop. I only decided this today, so I'm starting tomorrow and I'll post the results next week. Head to toe Topshop, I'm talking clothes, jewellery and shoes! 

Also if you were on twitter yesterday, it was hard NOT to see a lot of disappointed tweets with this months GlossyBox (minus those trying to score points and sucking up to PRs "oh i'm so happy with my glossybox!!!!!!" blaaah!) and I'm not surprised. It wasn't that bad, obviously we all knew that nothing really was going to live up to lasts months generously sized Nars illuminator, but the Batiste Dry Shampoo made the thing a bit of a joke, I mean luxury product? You can buy it full size for under 2 quid in savers! I'm definitely glad I didn't throw away a tenner, next months products will definitely be a decider with Elizabeth Arden promised, though with the price going up from Serptember, I'm sure cancellations will be in their bulk.

So recently I've heard about a new alternative to our "much loved" GlossyBox, Boudoir Privé. Again offering a monthly service, where for £10 inc delivery you're given SIX deluxe samples, with a range of make up, skin care, body care, fragrance, hair care and lifestyle. I for one hope I can get my hands on one, and like GlossyBox, these cute little boxes are packaged beautifully, and lets be honest who's NOT swayed by gorgeous packaging?! I hope they live up to the hype and I'll be doing a full review ofcourse! I know a lot of people are cautious as a cucumber (or whatever the saying is) after this months GlossyBox, but I fancy giving this a go.

Sign up here now, to try and get yourself priority access!

Hope you're all having lovely weekends!

xoxoxox

OOTD #010; I Turned My Back, You Were Gone In A Flash..

vest top; topshop shorts; matalan rings; h&m and primark shoes; new look.

I keep trying to do OOTDs but it's always raining these days so have an inside one. I love these shorts that look like a skirt skorts. I've been watching Wimbledon a LOT (not really sure why) and tidying up. The past few days have involved being driven around with one of my friends who's just passed her driving test, becoming obsessed with starting to drive and having a stressful experience in the photobooth getting my provisional photo, and searching for jobs (fun fun fun!). Anyway back to the tidying up, check this crazy organisation out!

Yeah, I really am so bored I've sorted out my dressing table thing out, put my Barry M nail polish into colour order and finally put all my most used rings onto my cat ring thing ;)

Question; Where do you guys store your earrings?!

This is my current method of storage, yep that's right. a clay "bowl" I made when I was about eight years old. It does the job but it doesn't exactly look pretty haha!

I'm going to meet my lovely friend Hannah in town tomorrow, so I'll be testing my self restraint and heading into Boots and Superdrug to buy these bits and bobs, and stick to my spending ban!

Models Own "Disco Ball" Nail Polish

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain and Balm in Flame

Max Factor Lasting Lip Tint in Nice 'n' Nude

Natural Collection Tinted Moisturiser in Fair

MUA Pro Palette in Starry Night

So you might be seeing a good old haul tomorrow if I'm successful!

Btw, slightly random one but, does anybody else put a plaster over their finger when their nail breaks and looks really short and ugly?! Please say I'm not the only one!

(apologies for the shit webcam quality!)

Hope you all had a good day lovelys!

xoxoxoxox

Nine Products I Regret Buying.

So I've been busy during the weekend and what not so I haven't really had time to blog until now. Hope everyone had a lovely day yesterday with their dads! As a "family occasion" I took it as an opportunity to wear next to no makeup out, I'm trying to ease myself out of the eyeliner habit ready for my holiday, I'm hoping to get myself a tinted moisturiser at the airport, but I know a lot are pretty hit and miss so I'll probably stick to my healthy mix and a bright lip for daytime and adding mascara and a nice nude eyeshadow for night. I like the fact on holiday you're wearing sunglasses the majority of the daytime so the need for mascara etc is gone and you can focus on a gorgeous lip colour!

So onto the nine (I know, I should of counted earlier and made it ten) products I regret buying. Now don't be moaning that you love one of these products and that they're really great, because I'm well aware that different things work for different people so this is just my opinion etc etc!

Barry M Lip Paint in 100;

I just hate this! I bought it purely on the hype and I heard it was better that 101 Marshmellow known for the gorgeous "foundation on lips" effect it gives. It's a matte white pink, now Barry M Lip Paints are known to be a bit hit and miss, I have a gorgeous coral (151) that is moisturising and just beautiful on the lips but this I have 1 word for - CHALKY. The main selling point is that it stays completely put, but when it looks this awful I want it to disappear instantly. It shows up every problem area of your lips and you can make it look decent by having a good scrub at your lips before and shoving a lip gloss over the top, but for my skin tone it just washes me out completely, and even if it didn't, it's all too much work for me. In contrast Sleek Lipsticks, about the same price are consistently good for pigmentation and not too drying on the lips, even the matte shades. If you were to buy any of the lip paints I'd definitely try before you buy to avoid any disappointment, because some of the shades really are good quality.

Avon Calming Effects Foundation in Ivory;

I'm not even sure if this is available anymore, but I can't stand it. Mine smells like playdough? I don't even know. I got this in the lightest shade "Ivory". I think it must be the shade that every brand gets most wrong. It's always either too orange or the pink undertone too strong. This comes out a light salmon colour, which I've got to say I'm not really a fan of. I like foundations that cover my redness, so a foundation that makes my entire face the same colour as my rosy cheeks just ain't a winner for me. It seems to highlight the dry parts of my skin and just looked cakey shortly after application. The bottle is cute though, so it looks quite nice on your dressing table, that's the only positive I really can give it. 

Rimmel Match Perfection Powder in Ivory;

I know you shouldn't write off brands completely, but with Rimmel and their "Ivory" shade I can safely say I'll never be buying from their range again. Should I ever decide to fake tan, this shade would work. But for my skin tone? No. I heard a bit of hype around the time Rimmel released the range and I headed down to pick up this powder. I thought it looked a little orange for my skintone, but figured it wouldn't come out too strong. How wrong I was, this just makes my face orange. Which when you've got a pale body, doesn't look all that great. Something I've literally never reached for since buying it.

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse In Ivory;

Does this give you lovely memories to being about 13 and thinking this was the best foundation ever? When on the hunt for a new concealer a few months ago I bought this purely to act as one. I must of been looking at this through rose tinted glasses when I was 12 because on my dry skin this just looks horrendous. It makes me break out in probably record time and I don't even have really ~ sensitive skin ~. This is probably the reason I had horrendous skin when I was younger, and used even more of this to cover it up, which in turn would again make it worse, what a vicious circle! This would probably work ok on oily skin, I don't really know but, on me it just looks cakey.com

2True Cheek 'n' Lip Tint;

Now this cost £1.99 so not the biggest loss of the century, but I was disappointed. Anybody who's even vaguely into makeup can see this is a dupe of "Benetint", with a massive difference in price. Now although this isn't the worst product ever, it's far from the best. the applicator, similar to a nail polish applicator is quite stiff and I really struggle putting this on my lips because it's so bloody ticklish! It doesn't give an amazing colour, but a "my lips but better shade". My main problem with this is the taste. I know you're not supposed to lick the lipstain but, it tastes so chemical and just not good at all. It's a bit too watery in my opinion to even attempt to put on your cheeks and having pale skin, I'd probably end up resembling a clown.

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in Peach;

This just isn't the right shade for me at all. I picked it up in a bit of a rush, it'd look beautiful with a tan but it just doesn't suit me at all, I think the only time I reach for it is when I'm swatching it, so a big waste of money.

The Body Shop Eyeshadow in 13;

This is just so heavily overpriced for what it is. I paid £6 for this, an off white colour that has literally hardly any pigment at all. I like nude eyeshadows, but there's a difference between an eyeshadow looking natural and looking exactly the same as if you haven't applied the eyeshadow in the first place. There is literally no difference between me applying this eyeshadow and not doing, it doesn't even act as a base. Completely useless product, and I could get 6 MUA eyeshadows for the same price, which are bigger in size and better quality. RUBBISH!

No7 High Shine Lipgloss in Whisper;

This tastes so nice, take note 2true! But seriously this has a really nice candy sweet taste I adore! But that's where the positives end. This is meant to be "high shine" so I went for the nudest "whisper" hoping I could put it over various lipsticks. Now made obvious by the clear tube, there is some shimmer going on. But this goes over lipsticks nearly completely opaque, with enough shimmer to keep ke$ha happy. But in all honestly, it's just not that wearable. It's just too shimmery, which is great is that's what you're looking for, but in a "high shine" lipgloss I wasn't and I'm glad I used a £5 no7 voucher because I definitely wouldn't buy this at full price £9.

Barry M Kohl Pencils in Light Blue and Navy;

I bought these to try and add some colour to my eyes during summer. But these are just, too damn hard! I have to press so hard to get any kind of colour payback, these just aren't worth possible damage, though the navy is better than the turquoise in terms of pigmentation. I've heard some people also have suffered from conjunctivitus after using these eyeliners, so whether that's true or not I don't know but I rarely pick up either of these.

What Products do you regret buying?!

xoxoxoxox

Spending Ban?!

I know bloggers who have a lot better self control than me have been on complete spending bans in the past, and honestly I salute you, but I just can't. So I've come up with a list of things I won't be buying more of for a good while, so hopefully I can start saving a little bit, or atleast have some more money for clothes and jewellery! So here are the things I WON'T be buying anytime soon!

(l-r MUA Shade 13, Sleek True Colour in Vixen, Avon Red Hot Lips)

Red Lipstick;

of all my "everyday" lipsticks I keep on my dresser, these bad boys make up atleast a third. It's one of those things I just chuck in my basket at superdrug without even thinking it through, and as illustrated by the three swatches of my favourite red lipsticks, there isn't all that much difference between them all!

Powder;

Now powder isn't something that I got into until recently. I've always had crazy dry skin so I've never NEEDED powder. But recently my skins been getting a lot better and the t-zone a little oily so I was experimenting with different powders, and what I mean by experimenting is shovelling every powder in sight with the shade "fair" or "ivory" and under a tenner into my basket without a seconds thought. Apart from about two of these that aren't the right shade for me, the rest are absolutely fine so I'll be using them all up before I decide which to repurchase.

Mascara;

I find myself COMPLETELY not to blame for this! My lovely Avon Representative nearly everytime I order gives me a cheeky loyalty gift, and it's pretty much always a mascara! I love her to bits, and it allows me to try out a lot of mascaras I otherwise wouldn't, but I've got quite a build up. There's literally no excuse in the world for the fact I have the same mascara in three different packagings, I just wanted to collect them all? That's a valid reason right?! Then I have millions of clinique, no7 and clarins samples that I never seem to use, and seeing as I don't have the worst lashes in the world (they're an acceptable length naturally) it doesn't affect me all that much which mascara I use.

(l-r MUA shade 11, Natural Collection Barley, MUA shade 20, Avon in Chestnut, my favourite shades out of the Avon Neutral Tones Palette, my favourite shades from the Sleek Storm Palette)

Everyday Neutral Eyeshadows;

That massive tin thing is full of the eyeshadows I use everyday, and everytime I go shopping I seem to come back with some shade of gold, brown or black eyeshadow. Now this was fine until I realised half the shades are the same and it's a struggle to find the eyeshadow you want because it's all so cramped. Basically I need no more neutral eyeshadows, so unless the naked palette comes my way teasing me into a sale I won't be buying any more, and I'll be staying far away from the Urban Decay Counter so I can't be robbed of 30 quid.

Concealers;

In short, I have too many, they're all pretty much the same and they do the same job, minus the fancy pants Jill Dempsey palette. Oh and there's a random base in there from Avon, I'm not really sure how that ended up there and why it's relevant but don't question it. So basically no going to the Benefit counter and debating whether to buy boing.

Lip Balm;

The picture pretty much says it all, and that's not even all of them. I just have too many! I don't know how or why I ended up with this many, I blame it on there always being some sort of deal going on involving one of them. Anyway this is enough to last me a good while, and apart from Carmex which is ofcourse the superior God of all Lip balms, the rest are pretty much down to the same standard and will be fine in Summer when I don't need a miracle product.

Nail Polish;

I had a massive clearout about 3 months ago of all my nail polish, and was left with pretty much nothing. Now I've repurchased a lot and bought more besides and frankly I think I've got pretty much every colour ever invented. I'm not saying I'm not going to buy nail polish, but I'm done with buying fifty versions of the same nude. I think if I see a really individual colour I'll buy it, but apart from that I'm focusing on buying up more of my nail art collection and forgetting buying a million colours for a while.

Moisturizer;

This stuff is taking up so much room, I literally have a section of storage devoted to moisturizer. I seem to get so many of the bloody things come Christmas time they last me for the whole year, so I'll be using my Garnier moisturiser for problem areas and the rest will do for everywhere else.

Body Butter;

This is just a case of getting too carried away. They all smell so amazing and lovely, I forget about the ones I already have at home and end up picking up yet another one everytime there is some kind of deal on. So the ban starts now, and we'll see how it goes.

As for everything else for example foundation, I'll just be buying that as usual. I'll do updates maybe each month or so on what's been used etc. I'm setting a time limit on this, because obviously I'm never going to use up all that eyeshadow, and I'm not keeping to this for my entire life. So lets have this as a mid-year resolution, and I'll be keeping all this up until christmas - eeeek!

Is there anything you guys need to cut down on?!

xoxoxoxoxo

OOTD #009; I'm So Clever, But Clever Ain't Wise...

cape style cardigan - topshop (not available in UK anymore, and sold out in US)

oversized t shirt - just a basic tee from mens section of matalan i think, then i just cut the collar.

bodycon skirt - topshop

rings - topshop and H&M

FINALLY the sun is out! It's the first time in weeks I've been out without an umbrella, so happy! I spent the day lazing around, I really am SO bored it's unbelievable, I'm going away in a few weeks so it's useless applying for jobs until I get back, so for about 3 weeks I have to entertain myself while all my friends are still in college, rubbish! Today I gave my room a bit of a tidy and came to the conclusion I have far too many clothes, I literally nearly got suffocated by the mass of tops trying to fit one more in the wardrobe! I'm definitely gonna try out a spending ban on certain things, I'll probably blog more about it tomorrow. It was so beautiful in the garden today, one of my neighbours has moved out and the new people haven't moved in yet, so it was brilliant to go out and not have his aggressive dog barking at me through the hedge every time I move an inch! My other neighbour is in her 80s and doesn't open the windows let alone venture outside so it's so lovely and peaceful! My nails are chipping like mad and I need to redo them pronto, so tonights plans are to have a look at some youtube nail art videos and get some inspiration!

Hope you guys saw the sun briefly too! xoxoxoxox

What's In My Bag?!

I've been meaning to do this post for so long. Now college is over, I've finally taken all my college stuff out and we're left with the interesting stuff (.... well not really, but MORE interesting)

I seem to spend half my life on the train, and I'm pretty sure there is some sort of unwritten rule on my train that you must either be reading something or playing on your phone AT ALL TIMES, and no eye contact with anyone else should ever be made. My reads at the moment are Red Magazine and Glamour :)

Meet my well kept diary. I searched through to find the busiest page just to impress you all with my skills. Feel free to have a look at all I revised for psychology unit 2! This lies around my bag the majority of the time, only seeing daylight when I have to write important things down, everything else I put in my phone.

So this is everything I keep in my little cosmetics bag. Mascara, eyeliner, concealer, nude eyeshadow, nude lipstick, solid perfume, a hairbrush, carmex and moisturiser (not entirely sure when I'd ever need moisturiser but you never know!). This goes with me pretty much everywhere, and we share many memories of wonky eyeliner and lipstick all over my face train journeys...

This is my "first aid kit" which is indeed, a baby wipe container. And yes, I look a complete fashion icon when I whip this out of my bag! I keep incredibly on trend Mr Sneeze tissues, plasters, paracetamol, hair bands, a safety pin, which for some reason I'm comforted by, and I do genuinely believe should any of my clothes ever split, one safety pin will suffice to fix the problem.

These two babies are taken everywhere with me. I love my baby blackberry to absolute bits, even though I seem to leave it everywhere (college classrooms, the canteen, the train....) and I've dropped it more times than I could count, but it still sticks by me! And no train journey is complete without my iPod, though I don't really get that much use out of it, I'd never sit with my friends listening to my iPod and ignoring them all like SOME people do! ;)

My leopard print umbrella! Matches my nails, and is usually booted out of my bag when it's too heavy, and then as luck would have it.. IT RAINS. Also gets left everywhere, but I've had it for a good few months now so has probably broken some kind of umbrella keeping and not breaking record.

My beautiful purse! This was quite a purchase from Topshop last year at just under £30, but my god was it worth it! This is probably one of my favourite items, and home to pretty much every store advantage card there is!

At the bottom of my bag you can expect to find these "goodies". Old train tickets (which BTW does anyone do anything with? I feel like I should do something quirky and imaginative with them but I really have no idea what), too many £5 No7 vouchers, receipts, broken nail files, half done Mcdonalds free coffee thingys, all the good stuff!

I always seem to have more than one spray in my bag, my current favourite is this vanilla body spray by boots, it costs about 2 quid and it smells AMAZING! I've already repurchased once, it's just SO nice! And this little spray from Avon which smells of vanilla and fruit (there is a pattern emerging here, I quite like the smell of vanilla....), is really handy when I want something that's going to last longer than the body spray!

There is always without fail, a half drunk drink and some form of sweets in my bag, This weeks choice is 7up and skittles ;)

A scarf if it should rain and I have no umbrella, the idea being i put it over my head and it will shield me from torrential rain. That's my logic anyway. 

A spoon is ALWAYS handy, I have one in each of my everyday bags, and they are great should you fancy buying some ice cream or yoghurt from a supermarket at dinner time... maybe that's only me. A mirror, this ones from Ruby & Millie and my current favourite, and a comb that's amazing for a bit of backcombing :)

Finally the rest, there's always some tictacs, a load of pens that usually don't work, a nail file, a ring of some sort and a highlighter in my bag. Not sure why.

I seem to keep a LOT of junk I'll probably never need in my bag, and then chuck out all the important stuff, which probably isn't the winning formula. I realized half way through making this, I have complete rubbish in my bag, so apologies!

xoxoxoxoxox

OOTD #008; I'm Just Saying, You Could Do Better. & Leopard Print Nails!

blouse; republic skirt; topshop belt; primark bag; tesco

rings; h&m and topshop bangles; primark

I've not really done much today, just been out to the shops briefly and visited some family. I really don't want to get my hair cut, but I haven't now for about a year and I think I probably should. I just hate the fact with my hairdresser, I say 2cm off, and next thing I've got literally shoulder length hair. But I don't want to end up like Rapunzel so I think I'll have the chop just before I go on holiday :)

So this morning I decided to paint my nails Leopard Print! It's probably one of the first nail art designs I could ever do, because leopard print is so beautifully imperfect, mistakes most of the time make it look better! I've always stick to original leopard rather than colour leopard print as I always get worried it's going to look tacky, even though so many people recently have looked amazing with it. I used 17's Forever for the base, Barry Ms Mushroom for the dots and a black nail pen for around the edge. 

Hope you have lovely weekends! xoxoxox