October Favourites!

I've been trying out a lot of new make up this month, so it seemed to make sense to make a more make-up orientated favourites this month! I've found my skin has been a lot better recently so I will be writing a post on skincare and maybe haircare if you beauts want one?! Anyway onto the favourites, I'm currently on the hunt for a better coverage foundation for winter, my healthy mix just isn't enough coming into winter so I'm back testing out a few, I'll get back to you on that! But onto my favourites this month!

Look Beauty Triple Hit in Shade 1 'La Luxe'; When I saw LOOK magazines new make up range in my local Superdrug I couldn't resist giving some of their products a try. I went for this eyeshadow trio, because I love my brown shades! These are ridiculously pigmented and really handy for a quick smoky eye! I have been picking this up a fair few times this month, and anything I pick over my Urban Decay naked palette gets a massive seal of approval from me!

Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki; I must admit, I've hardly reached for this since owning it until this month, but as I've been trying out a few foundations this month I've really been reaching for this a lot and I really do like it. I hate foundation that looks really obvious on the skin and this really helps to buff it in and give a more natural look, love it!

Studio Makeup Line Styler Pen; I got this in my Boudoir Privé and I've been using it everyday since. The felt tip style applicator is so thin it really allows you to draw a really precise line, this is pretty much what I've been looking for since I've got into makeup. I don't really have any faults with it, and I'll definitely be repurchasing, in complete love!

Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara; I've reignited my love for this this month, I always forget how much I love this mascara until I use it again and then I fall right back into it's beautiful arms. I really love big dramatic volumized lashes and this always delivers, and for the price it really is a massive bargain! If you haven't tried this yet, you definitely need to get involved. The massive brush is still a bit overwhelming even now though, tiny bit scary!

The Body Shop 100% Natural Lip Roll-On in Berry; My lips are always dry, but it becomes a much worse problem in winter, so I'm forever in the look out for a new solution. When I saw these had launched in The Body Shop I couldn't resist giving one a try, and these really are gorgeous! They smell lush and they really add lots of moisture to the lips. I've been keeping this in my bag at all times, it's really handy to have on you and a massive bargain at £4!

NARS Lipstick in Scarlet Empress; Between Autumn and Halloween, I've really been getting into berry shades, and this is my personal favourite. I've been using this as a light tint on my lips rather than a really dramatic berry lip and it's absolutely beautiful!

GOSH Long Lasting Lip Marker in Berry; carrying on the berry lip love, GOSH's range are my favourite lip tints on the high street, and this one gives such a gorgeous colour I've been reaching it for it a good few days. It's a bit dramatic for everyday but I've been loving it going out at night, especially as with a tint you don't get the really classy lipstick marks all over glasses, perfect!

Rose Petal Salve; Another beaut I got in this months Boudoir Privé, I really can't say enough about this product. It's a multi-use product, useful for dry skin, lips, using as a highlight, to tame unruly brows, literally everything! I don't know how I coped without this in my handbag, this is a complete lifesaver!

Benefit High Beam; I love highlights, and I've been using this on my brow bone and cupids bow all month to add a bit of glow! Absolutely beautiful, but I can't say I would repurchase the full size, far too expensive to justify it and dupes work just as well!

Sleek Brow Kit in Light; I've been looking for a good brow kit for ages, but I found a lot of versions had far too many colours in, and for someone who never dyes their hair, I only really need a light brown. I bagged this as part of the 3 for 2 deal in Superdrug and I'm so glad I did, it's perfect and definitely a needed addition to my makeup bag!

What have you been loving this month?!

xoxoxoxox

Sleek Bad Girl Palette

I've wanted this Sleek Palette since it came out, but it's just something I never got round to getting. Bigger priorities, more important things to spend my money on, and the fact it was never in my local Superdrug and honestly I couldn't be bothered ordering online for one thing. I hate messing about with 48321038210 single eyeshadows so palettes are really a must for me. My Urban Decay Naked palette can work pretty much any neutral everyday eye going, but I've really been wanting a dramatic evening palette for a while, so when I saw this in Superdrug I couldn't resist!

There's a mix of beautiful highlights, greys, blues and purples as well as of course the infamous "noir" matte black that features in pretty much every sleek palette.

Innocence, Gullible, Blade, Gun Metal, Underground, Noir.

Intoxicated, Envy, Obnoxious, Abyss, Twilight, Rebel.

I really haven't heard that much about this palette, but it's definitely the favourite Sleek palette I own. All the shades are highly pigmented and blend beautifully together. There's a good few matte shades in there aswell as shimmers, there's so many different eye looks with this palette and I can't wait to experiment!

xoxoxox

Recent Make Up Purchases!

Hello lovelys! I feel like I haven't posted in absoluely AGES, even though it's only been just over a week. Between working about 40 hours a week, sleeping and trying to catch up with my friends I've had literally NO time to blog. Luckily I have a couple of days off so I'm hoping to get some blog posts done and then I'll queue them. My mind is literally boggled at the moment with new information and all sorts of things from my new job so I decided to break myself in gently by a quick makeup haul. I know my last few posts have also been hauls, but everyone loves a haul right?!

Superdrug;

The Beauty Parlour Mentha Lip Balm; I love this new range in Superdrug and it's super cute retro packaging! I decided to pick up a little something to try out and then if this does the trick I'll try out a few others! This smells so minty and gorgeous and it's gonna look so beautiful in my make up bag! All products from the range are 1/3 off at the moment so definitely worth checking out!

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Amped; I haven't really heard anything about this shade, but it looked gorgeous in the shop so I had to get it, I'm so addicted to Sleek lipsticks! This is a matte shade and is a gorgeous fuschia. It's definitely not as "out there" as some of my other bright lipsticks, even though the bullet looks a very scary shade it really comes out a lot more wearable.

Sleek Pout Polish in Raspberry Souffle; I don't really know why I've never tried a Pout Polish, it's something I've meant to buy for a while now and just never got round to it. I fell in love with this limited edition shade (I have no idea which collection it's from) and I'm really hoping this lives up to the hype!

MUA Clear Mascara; for my eyebrows. Need I say more? Bargain at 1 quid!

Tea Tree Nose Strips; Slightly odd one! The pores on my nose are just generally disgusting and these were on two for £3.99 (they cost £3.99 each so basically buy one get one free) so I decided to give them a go!

Bodycare;

Technic Nail Polish in Be Dazzled; I couldn't resist this, I've been really into glitter nail polishes recently and I think this will look really cute over the top of a burnt orange nail polish ready for Autumn!

Technic "Prime It"; I've heard a little bit about this off other beauty bloggers and I've been meaning to try this for a while now. At £3.99 it's down with MUA as one of the cheapest primers on the market, and I think we can all see what a big fat dupe it is for Benefits "That Gal", which would rob £21 off you per bottle. I really am enjoying this primer, more than any of the other primers I've tried. For someone with dry skin like me a primer that's illuminating is pretty much essential for a dewy look!

Technic High Lights; Again, love a Benefit Dupe. This is Technics take on the hugely popular High Beam. I use illuminators mixed in with my foundation, and it would break the bank to buy the Benefit version the way I go through it! This costs £1.99, which in my opinion you can't really go wrong with.

Boots;

Models Own Nail Polish in Champagne; Again, I'm really into my shimmery nail polishes at the moment and I just couldn't say no to this beaut! When my pathetically short nails have grown back I'll feature this in a NOTD.

Collection 2000 Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream in Cotton Candy, Fairy Cake and Angel Delight; I've heard a lot about these, and when Collection 2000 was on 3 for 2 (when is it NOT in Boots?!) I decided to bag 3 of the four colours. These are pretty much the only Lip Gloss/Creams I can actually stand, and congratulations to Collection 2000 for bringing something new to the high street, they're really doing well for themselves recently.

Maybelline Colour Sensation Lipstain in Plum Flushed; I heard a lot about this Lip Stain, and I'll be honest I wasn't really impressed. It smells good, but that's about it. The GOSH Lipstains have FAR better pigmentation than these do, though if you want a more wearable lip stain these are definitely your babies.

TK Maxx;

Eyeko set of 3 (for £7.99!); I've been meaning to try Eyeko products for a long while (the only thing I own is a couple of nail polishes), and so when I saw this little set in Tk Maxx I had to grab it quickly! I've been wanting to try their Graffiti Eyeliner Pen for far too long, so that pretty much sealed the deal for me straight away. The Lip Pen colour is a gorgeous Fuschia, and I've been into Fuschia lips so much these past few weeks so this couldn't be more relevant for me! And to add to the perfection, I have been buying some more colourful shades of eyeliner recently so the blue eyeliner duo was the icing on the top of the cake. I can't wait to try these products, I definitely got a fabulous deal and I'm hoping they all live up to my expectations!

Hope you beauts have had gorgeous days!

xoxoxoxoxox

Can You BELIEVE It's The End Of August Already?! Favourites!

I genuinely can't believe it's the end of August, is it too early to write my Christmas list?! For me September is officially start of Autumn and I cannot wait to get 500 layers on and start shopping for jumpers! I haven't really had many new additions this month, I'm awaiting a little order from Nars and Mac (I say small yet it still managed to make a massive dent in my bank balance) and also VERY excited for the new Fashionista range in Superdrug that launches on the 1st September, I definitely fancy making a few palettes from their beautiful eyeshadows! ANYWAY, onto the favourites this month!

Hair;

VO5 Instant Oomph Powder - I was a bit cautious about this because I'd heard it makes your hair really sticky and minging, and I hate products that make your hair look good, but feel disgusting. I use hardly any of this at all, rub it into my roots and VOILA! Gorgeous volume! I only use this on second day hair, because I know I'll be washing my hair later that day, but I haven't really suffered stickyness!

Sachajuan Hair Repair - This came in this months Boudoir Prive, and it was like something sent down from heaven when it arrived on my doorstep, my hair was in crap condition and this was something I REALLY needed. After using this my hair feels gorgeous and soft and smooth and everyone compliments it and aw I love this and I'll probably have to rebuy it when it runs out, despite the fact it's pricey, purely because I have long hair and I can't neglect it again :) If any of you have cheapo solutions let me know!

Lips;

Topshop Lipstick in On The Town - This is a gorgeous lilac lip colour, and I've really been using this month. I usually go for really bright reds and fuchsias but this is so easy to wear! I've never really liked baby pinks on me so this is my perfect lighter lip shade and the formula is gorgeous and moisturising but still highly pigmented, I really need to try more of the Topshop Make up.

Sleek Pout Paint in Pin Up - I've been using this so much with a touch of Cloud 9 to lighten it slightly, it lasts SO LONG! I can put this on, go out and 4/5 hours later it's still there! The main problem with bright colours is how much of a mess they look when they start fading, and you have to keep reapplying, and the main problem with lip stains is they're not moisturising. This solves both problems and for £5, this is amazing value.

Stila Lipstain in Acai Crush - I think it Stila was a bit before my make-up time, and when I heard other bloggers raving about them coming back to the UK I figured they must have been good. But when I wandered into Boots I realised a lot of the products also have a hefty price tag. I decided to treat myself to this and this is easily the best lip stain I've tried. The staying power of this is INCREDIBLE! Seriously, I can put this on at 8am and it'll still be there at 7pm the next night. It just doesn't budge. The pen packaging is crap, it takes forever to get product out but I can live with that for how amazing the product inside is. Absolutely love this, and I wouldn't think twice about purchasing one in another shade, so worth the money!

Face;

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation and MeMeMe Beat The Blues Sunbeam Illuminator - These two combined make my perfect foundation. I suffer from really dry skin, so I steer as far away as possible from matte foundations. I love Healthy Mix alone, but mixed with some of this illuminator my skin looks flawless and dewy and amazing. It doesn't offer brilliant coverage, I'd say medium, but with a little bit of concealer on under my eyes and on any blemishes this is brilliant in the day time. Even in natural light it's doesn't look cakey, just like you've got completely perfect dewy skin. In the winter I'll probably go back to my trusty colourstay, but at the moment I'm loving these two together.

Mascara;

Avon Mascaras (Various) - I've always adored Avon Mascaras. Apart from Supershock which is my holy grail mascara, the others aren't much to write home about alone. But as a second layer over Supershock mascara, they lengthen your lashes incredibly, without lacking in volume. I've always been a massive fan of dramatic lashes, so using these always gets me the results I want, I honestly haven't tried a mascara that comes close without clumpy lashes.

Eyes;

Urban Decay Naked Palette - This was a massive purchase and I put it off for a long time, but it really was worth the money. EVERYDAY since I've had this I've had "Sin" all over the lid, "Sidecar" on the outercorner blended and then "Smog" in the crease. I use "Buck" for my eyebrows, "Hustle" under the corner of the lower lash line and "half baked" I also use under the lower lash line. Seriously every single one of these colours is completely wearable, whether it's the gorgeous matte colours or "creep" and "gunmetal" for a night out. I LOVE this palette to death and none of my others even come close. I'm gutted it took me about a year to actually buy it because I was seriously missing out!

And that's it! I swear these monthly favourites come around far too fast!

What have you beauts been loving this month?!

xoxoxoxox

Confessions of a Lip-Stain-aholic; HAUL! Sleek, Stila, MUA....

IT'S RESULTS DAY!

I have been so chilled out about getting results all week, watching everybody else panic and wondering what all the fuss was about, then this morning, a whole weeks worth of panicking just hit me, and in times like this it's a bloody good job I don't eat breakfast because I felt sick to my stomach. But as usual all my worrying was totally un-needed, SO HAPPY WITH MY RESULTS! I got an A in Law, which I worked hardest for so I'm incredibly happy with that, and B in Sociology (two pathetic little marks off an A) and Psychology! Guess who feels like a massive div for dropping out of college now?!

Anyway so I popped in boots and superdrug to SPLURGE (I know I know, I am a student guys, I can't afford to go and have a splurge at Vivienne Westwood!) My superdrug has had a change around and oh my god it's brilliant! There's loads more make up counters than there were before and in all honesty I was just in complete heaven!

First on my agenda was Sleek Pout Paints. I've been meaning to pick these up since they came out, but the superdrug closest to me doesn't stock sleek so I've been waiting to go into town to buy them. I stupidly (and I'm cringing even writing this) decided to swatch the red, on my hand, IN THE SHOP. Now a little of these goes a long way, and I ended up with a whole hand that looked like it had been dipped in red paint. Baring in mind these are a stain, you can't just casually rub them off, I had to seek assistance of a make up wipe. What. An. Idiot.

1/ Mauve Over 2/ Mauve Over and Cloud 9

3/ Pin Up 4/Pin up and Cloud 9

5/ Pin Up, Cloud 9 and Peek a Bloo

I love wearing brighter shades personally, I can tell I'll get a LOT of use out of Pin Up, but if you want a more wearable lip colour I'd definitely suggest getting Cloud 9 to mix in. For me "Peek A Bloo" was the hardest to work with, it's highly pigmented, I used the tiniest bit and ended up with blue lips so definitely be careful! Does make a gorgeous purple shade though! I think I might collect a few more, but with these 4 I can make most of the colours I need to. I'm not sure how well these will do on the highstreet, personally I love them, but if I hadn't started reading beauty blogs etc, I wouldn't have touched these with a barge pole, and how many people have the time in the morning to start mixing shades?!

I couldn't help picking up another Sleek Lipstick, I LOVE them! This time I went for Candy Cane which is a Sheen. It reminds me of one of my other sleek lipsticks, Heartbreaker A LOT, apart from it's much more moisturising, which is a winner for me!

Now for the splurge, this baby cost me 16 good old english pounds. Now, I'm not really sure how it happened. I saw the Stila stand, I saw the lipstains, I saw the price, and instead of my usual "bloody hell, that's a bit expensive" I seemed to momentarily forget I have no job and about 20 quid to my name, and instead decided that passing my exams justified paying 16 quid for a lipstain. I think I have a problem, I know admitting it's the first stage! In all fairness, THIS IS GORGEOUS. Though I did have that trouble with the twisty thing at the bottom that brings the product onto the brush. I twisted and it clicked and clicked and clicked doing sod all, and then suddenly, it just ERUPTED everywhere. I managed to get it on my lips (and also on my teeth, which is a highly attractive look!). This is a beautiful colour and I know I'll get good use out of it but, tad pricey!

I've been wanting to pick something up from MUA's pro range so I decided on the Heaven & Earth Palette, look out for a review comparing it to the Urban Decay Naked Palette!

And another hopeful dupe! I picked this up in superdrug for the introductory price of £2.99! The muslin cloth doesn't look particularly good, but I'll give it a fair test, I'm hoping it will compare to the legendary Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish as it's SO CHEAP! 

Ooooh and lastly some of this fancy VO5 stuff to hopefully give my hair some volume, guess who got caught out in the rain this morning! Why do I never have an umbrella when I need one, hopefully this will say goodbye to my currently flat hair!

Hope everyone got the results they wanted, and if you're not involved in any of the stressy-exam stuff, I hope you had a lovely day!

 xxx

Products Under £5 I'm Loving At The Moment!

I missed the whole July favourites boat, so I thought I'd do something different this month! Being in college this year has meant I've really been on a budget, so I've tried a LOT of cheap makeup, and these are some of my favourite products. Everything mentioned are products I've used a lot, whether I got them a month ago or 6 months ago. I'm not saying I prefer these products to other products I've spent more on, but these are all more than decent alternatives and things that are always in my makeup bag! All these products are amazing quality and things I wouldn't think twice about repurchasing!

Face;

Natural Collection Tinted Moisturiser £1.99 - With a cheap company like Natural Collection you're never going to get a perfect product, especially not where foundation/tinted moisturiser is concerned. I've heard a lot of bad reviews off people with dry skin about this product, but I can honestly say I have dry skin and I didn't have any problems. I have to say I don't think it's moisturising AT ALL, and I still apply moisturiser before I apply this. I am incredibly pale, especially on my face and so I got the colour "fair" not exactly optimistically thinking it'd probably come out orange, as with a lot of drugstore brands lightest shades. However, this gives me a bit of healthy colour and glow without looking like a shiny orange, and I'd say a medium coverage. It has to be blended well do avoid any patches but it lets my skin breathe and with just a dab of concealer over the top, it's perfect for holiday or days you want to look more natural!

Collection 2000 Pressed Powder in Ivory £1.99 - I remember using this about age 14! I suffer from dry skin so I never want a heavy powder, because it leaves me with a cake face. However I like to use powder to buff in my foundation and concealer, and this works a treat! Something I wouldn't recommend to people who suffer from oily skin, because I don't think it would do a particularly good job about protecting against shine for the duration of a day, but if you have normal/dry skin, I definitely recommend this, it's so cheap aswell!

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer £4.19 - I couldn't NOT mention this! Best concealer I've ever used, I have a massive collection of concealers that are too orange, too light coverage, too cakey, the complete wrong shade, and this is just perfect! I do own one in "light" which is fairly orange, but the "fair" shades are perfect for anyone with really pale skin! 

Cheeks;

Beauty UK Baked Blusher in Peaches and Cream £3.99 - I've never really been big on blush, I spend half my time in a morning getting RID of my pink cheeks, but this is one of the first blushes that really converted me! I've always been a fan of glowy skin, and this blush is fairly sheer but leaves you a gorgeous peachy glow on your cheeks that I must say I'm a massive fan of. Most of the time if I do reach for a blush it's this one, and I've used blush more than I ever have before since owning it. If you're looking to try a baked blush, Beauty UK are definitely a good place to start!

W7 Honolulu Bronzer around £2 - Obvious dupe for Benefits Hoola, this is a matt brown shade, pretty much the only type of bronzer I'll use and fantastic quality for the price! I'm pale (as I've already mentioned 3582042 times so far on this post) and for a while I wouldn't step anywhere near a bronzer, let alone a scary dark one like this! It's highly pigmented, and I really have to use this with a light hand or I would end up with a dirt on face look, but it's what I reach for when I want a more bronzed look, as there's definitely more colour payback than my everyday bronzer, the Bourjois chocolate one!

Eyes;

Collection 2000 Big Fake False Last Effect Mascara £4.99 - I actually HATED this when I first got it. I've always loved massive dramatic lashes, and I've had my share of clumpy awful looking spider lashes along the way, and on a 3 for 2 deal in Boots I picked this up, oblivious of the hype surrounding it. I tried it, thought it was rubbish, threw it into a draw and in all honesty, forgot all about it. Then, maybe a month later, I started seeing blog posts and youtube videos going on about this mascara, so I decided to give it a go. It must of dried out a bit or something, but anyway it was WAY better than it was before! I personally prefer it as a second coat over another mascara, but its fine alone aswell. Definitely worth picking up if your looking for a cheap mascara!

MUA Eyeshadows £1 each - I must admit, until I started following beauty blogs and youtubers, I turned my nose up at those really cheap make up stands. 2True, MUA, Natural Collection, I just wasn't interested. I must admit, when I first used to look on the Natural Collection stand I used to sneak to it, grab an eyeshadow and run to the till as fast as possible. I don't know why, it just seems once you pass the 13/14 mark, there's a certain "look" you get off other women when you hit the stand; a similar look to what the audience give greasy haired chavs on the Jeremy Kyle show, maybe this is just my area but there's a fair amount of stigma attached to those sort of stands. Anyway, cheap makeup doesn't always mean bad quality, and although I'm not saying everything in their stands is top notch, you can't go wrong with MUA eyeshadows OR lipstick for that matter, It's ONE POUND, and personally if I'm thinking of experimenting with a colour, I'll look at the cheap stands first just so I can try it with different looks when I get home and see if said colour suits me or not. Definite value for money!

Lips;

Carmex £2.69 - Absolute staple, genuinely do not know what I'd do without it. Only thing that cures my dry lips, absolute holy grail product and for under £3 you can't really complain!

Barry M Lip Paint in 151 Sunset £4.49 - I find Barry M Lip Paints to be a bit hit and miss in terms of quality, there are a good few really chalky drying shades I would never leave the house with on, because they make my lips look bloody awful! But this one is moisturising and a gorgeous coral colour, something I definitely wouldn't wear without bronzer, but on tanned skin this looks amazing and the packaging is gorgeous for the price!

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Heartbreaker £3.99 - I've been promoting these lipsticks no end and you're probably sick of hearing about them but they honestly are some of the best quality lipsticks for the price! There are so many shades you're easily going to find one to suit you, and the pigment is SO amazing I'm so in love. Definitely worth a try!

And that's it! 10 products I can't live without, all for under £5. I tried to do it so you could do a whole face of make-up with each product costing less than a fiver and I think I just about managed it. I know a few other good lipstick brands for under £5, but I didn't want to take up the whole blog post with them, so I might make another blog post on lip products. I tried to include one of everything if I could, but I just don't own good quality products under £5 for every area, for example I always use gel eyeliners, all over £5, and to tell you one of the pencil eyeliners I use once in a blue moon and are a pain in the backside to put on are among my favourite products is both unrealistic and stupid. Again with highlighters, I don't own one that cost me less than a fiver and for that reason I didn't include it. 

Hope you're all having a gorgeous weekend!

xoxoxoxoxox

OOTD #014; Come On Skinny Love, Just Last The Year....

cardi; Miss Selfridge, dress; h&m, rings; Matalan, Topshop, H&M, bag; Primark, wedges; Newlook, lipstick; Sleek Heartbreaker.

Hello lovelys! It's been so HOT in Manc today, for the majority of the day I've literally been out in the garden in my bikini reading a load of magazines, but I'm going out later for a little bit, so I thought I'd just quickly post my outfit now I'm changed. I think some of the nicest outfits are the simplest, and this is perfect for evening when it starts to go a little bit cool in england - knowing my luck now it'll be humid o'clock! Still loving these wedges from New Look... you can't really go wrong with New Look for shoes can you?! I'm obsessed with Sleek Lipsticks in a major way, I'm flicking between my collection on a day to day basis from my nude bare all to todays heartbreaker. I'm definitely going to pick up some pout paints next time I'm at a superdrug which stocks them, I've read about 248104830213 blog posts on them today and I NEED them in my life! Oh, and I'm hoping to do a leopard print nail tutorial soon, so watch out for that!

Hope you all have lovely evenings!

xoxoxoxox

My New Favourite Lipstick, Haul and NOTD!

Hello my lovelysssss!

So I've been trying to quit wearing red lipstick ALL the time, so I dug this out. When the whole Sleek Lipsticks took off a few months ago, in a rush at Superdrug I picked this up, and from then I've pretty much shoved it in my lipstick collection and never reached for it again. But the other day I gave it a go and I actually LOVE it! Looking at the lipstick it looks a frankly terrifying purple, but on it goes on more of a bright fuschia and I really love it! I have pale skin and I've got so many compliments on it, and in my opinion this would look  flaming fabulous with a tan!

Also I'm just going to put it out there now how excited I am for Sleek Pout Paint! I've been meaning to try OCC Lip Tars for so long and never got round to it, so these are really something I'll be running to the shops to buy! I'm going to try and restrain myself and buy a only a few colours, and then the blue (Peek a bloo) and white (Cloud 9) to change the shade of them. I could easily buy them all but I'm going to do the best to try and be sensible! From blog posts and swatches I've seen I definitely fancy picking up Pin Up (top, far right) and Mauve Over (bottom, 2nd left).

So today I hit TJ Hughes after news a couple of weeks ago it was closing down. It's somewhere I've always gone now and again, maybe once a year or so and picked up a few cheapo nail polishes. I couldn't resist going before it closed so I went and picked up a few colours, I can't wait to give all these a go! Altogether they came to £7.23, so literally about a pound each, which considering a Revlon nail polish alone would cost you about 6 quid I'm a very happy girl :) I'm also definitely becoming an old woman as I was so fuming when two 12 year old girls were messing with all the makeup, product was spilling out everywhere. I don't mind if people mess around with testers, but when you're playing about with makeup people are actually going to buy it gets a little beyond a joke, especially when after opening every product on the shelf, they walked off not buying anything! 

I've transferred my nail polish collection into the office/spare room because it was taking up far too much space in my room! I've been trying to improve my nail art collection, and I've been thinking about buying some more nail art pens from Ebay, so if you guys have, let me know if they're good quality or not! I'll definitely do a nail polish post soon showing you everything in more detail!

And while we're on the topic of nails, say hello to my leopard print ones! If you've read my blog for a while you'll have seen these before, but whilst I'm job hunting I'm making sure I've always got them painted to perfection incase I get a last minute interview and I can impress with them!

Hope you beauts had lovely weekends!

xoxoxoxox

What's In My Travel Bag/Travel Make-up Bag!

Hi lovelys! So I usually take three bags in my suitcase, one for haircare and skincare and the other for make up and then I always keep my toothbrush and toothpaste separate in another little bag, which I haven't photographed purely because, it's not exactly interesting stuff. I fly out to Tenerife on friday for two weeks, so hence why I'm bringing quite a lot of makeup. I'm going at about 9am friday morning, which means I have to be at the airport at 6am (eurgh!) so I've packed my little travel bags today, so tomorrow I can do my makeup, just using what's in the make up bag and see if anything missing!

So first, my travel bag of skincare and haircare:

I always bring face packs, just incase my skin gets in quite bad condition, so I've brought these little packs from Avon.

1. I'm hoping to buy some perfumes at duty free, so I'm only bringing one with me, the DKNY be delicious in fresh blossom. This is such a light scent and is perfect for summer. I'm also bringing a spray I got as a little loyalty present from my Avon rep a couple of orders ago, which I love and I'm so grateful to her, because it's something I'd probably never of bought. Anyway it reminds me of summer and holiday, so that's why I'm taking it above my other sprays. And ofcourse deodrant is a must!

2. I'm bringing a comb because this helps detangle my hair and my hair always seems to be worse on holiday, also I can really backcomb and add volume to my hair with this.  A brush, for obvious reasons! I bought this VO5 2 in 1 shampoo so I don't have to bring a conditioner and it's a cute size that should last me the duration. And dry shampoo is a must, and batiste is easily my favourite, I've gone for the Tropical one!

3. Bringing these little nail polish remover pads are so much easier than bringing a big bottle of nail polish remover, and much lighter! I bought a travel size pack of face wipes because I usually use massive packs that would just take up too much room, these are from nivea and I don't think I've ever tried them, but my skin isn't really sensitive so they should work just aswell as all the rest I've tried :) Next are cotton buds. cotton wool and little pads. These are for my toner and removing eye make up, I use cotton buds to perfect my eyeliner aswell if it goes a bit wonky :)

4.I used the little bottles from the hotel bathroom last year, you know those free shampoos and body washes and stuff? Those bottles :) I put my Simple eye make up remover in one, Garnier 7 day moisturizer and my No7 toner in the other. I haven't gone mad this year, because my skins better than it has been for ages and I don't really need a massive skin routine.

5. Bobbles and bobbypins are essentials, I have my hair up a lot on holiday, purely because my hairs really long and I'm about 50x hotter with it down than up. I brought my Vaseline lip balm which I use at night, because I find it takes ages to soak in, but by morning my lips are so soft! I've brought two scrubs, the Clinique scrub and also the Sanctuary one. The Clinique one I'll be using on my face, and the Sanctuary on the rest of my body.

Now my makeup bag!

Now powder is quite essential for holiday, I have dry skin, but even I find with the help of a tinted moisturizer my skin is looking a bit on the shiny side. My favourite of the moment is the 17 Shine Control Loose Powder which doesn't make you completely matte but still controls your shine (hence the name). I use bronzers more than usual when I'm on holiday, because my body tans and my face usually doesn't, probably due to the high protection I always put on to avoid burning. I've gone for the beautiful Bourjois bronzer and my favourite Fake Bake Bronze Shimmer Brick Light, which I'll be putting underneath my tinted moisturiser to give me glowy skin, hopefully! For blushes, I've been enjoying the Topshop Blush in Flush which gives you a cheeky flush of colour, and a Beauty UK Baked Blush in Peaches and Cream, which gives a beautiful finish and my current favourite blush!

I'm only bringing neutral eyeshadows for my trip, and a lot of my favourites are from Avon. I've brought my Avon Quad in Tiger Eyes, which has a perfect colour for my brows, and 3 other beautiful neutral brown colours. Natural Collections Seashell is a perfect base, Clinique sample duo in Sea Shore is perfect for a smoky eye and an Avon baked eyeshadow in Moonsand is a beautiful shade. Not forgetting my Avon Neutral Tone Palette, which is perfect for barely there natural eye makeup :)

Lips products are probably what I'm bringing the most of. I just have such a diverse lip colour day to day, I couldn't NOT bring a couple of shades, plus there's not much you can do with your eyes when you've got sunglasses on all day, so you can really work a more brave colour on your lips. Natural Collection Raspberry is a beautiful "raspberry" shade (I know, I'm an A* Blogger) and as it's one of the moisture shine lipsticks, it's gorgeous for dry lips and a completely bargain at £1.99 :) Sleeks "Vixen" is a classic red, and can be worn fully for a dramatic lip, or put on lightly for a much more wearable colour. Topshop Lipstick in On The Town is a beautiful Lilac colour, which comes more on the lips as a baby pink/lilac, which is a lot more wearable than you would think, I'm definitely keen to get a few more Topshop lippies. 17s Beehive is a must for everyone and can be worn alone or over another shade, just a must have! The Jemma Kidd coral lipgloss free with Red magazine has quickly become a favourite and I love wearing this alone for a slight coral colour on the lips. A clear lipgloss, this one is from Clarins, is essential to put over every lip colour to add some super shine! Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain and Balm in Flame is my personal favourite lip stain, and a beautiful colour, that's a lot more wearable than some other bright red shades. And finally Carmex, because it's a bloody essential for us dry lip sufferers!

My favourite eyeliner is easily maybelline gel eyeliner, so ofcourse it's the one i'm taking! Other years i've taken a black, brown, grey, blue etc but I ever use half of them so I'm sticking to boring black. I'm bringing 3 mascaras, purely because I use all 3 on a day to day basis and they work hand in hand to create my everyday eyes and well, I need them all. All worth a try, I don't think SuperFull works very well at all alone, but adds amazing length on top of a good volume mascara.

the primer I'm using at the moment is the one from Avon (I know, this has turned into a bit of an Avon love post) and I'm sure it's not the best out there and I probably won't repurchase but it does do the job. I'm bringing my Healthy Mix foundation to wear at night when I want more coverage and the Natural Collection Tinted moisturiser for in the day. I'll pair these both with the Collection 2000 concealer. Mine is running out, and I'm hoping it lasts me the 2 weeks orelse I'll have to try something while I'l abroad and I don't hold out much hope for any store holding the "milk bottle white" kinda shade. And High Beam, free with this months/last months Glamour purely because it's smaller than my dupe MeMeMe full sized version. 

Here's my collection of drugstore brushes I'm taking. These are the brushes I use all the time on a day to day basis so these are the ones I'll be using. Instead of bringing either of my foundation brushes I've decided on bringing my QVS "The Airbrush" as it gives me a much lighter and more flawless coverage, and despite shedding a little when I first bought it, I adore it at the moment. There's a fair few eyeshadow brushes I'm taking as I tend to wear more eyeshadow than I normally would on holiday, and a few angled brushes and my little kabuki for bronzer and blush etc.

l-r GOSH Lavender Love and Peachy, Barry M Mint Green, Berry Ice Cream and Coral And W7 (doesn't say a name).

These are all quite summery colours, and I couldn't only bring ONE nail polish, I'm far too indecisive. I narrowed it down to these 6 favourite summer shades, and I love them all. GOSH nail paints aren't talked about enough, they are beautiful even if they don't have the best shade range.

So that's it! Tomorrow I'm packing, so if I have time I might do a little post, but otherwise from Friday I'll be away for two weeks in sunny Tenerife! I'm not going to have internet access at all, so obviously during that time I won't be able to respond to any comments and I won't be making any new posts, though hopefully on the break reading a LOT of magazines will fill me with a lot of inspiration and ideas of posts I can do when I get back.

Love you all!

xoxoxoxoxo