OOTD #015; She Buys Me Chips and Cheese and I Tell Her That I Love Her, That She's All I Need...

top; H&M, skirt; topshop, bag; H&M, shoes; primark ring; matalan

Hi lovelys!

I'm aware this outfit is a bit marmite, personally I like it. I like the bright pink and marigold combination, usually I'm really subtle with colour blocking but I've been meaning to try these two together since I bought these pieces. I'm so happy brights and colour blocking are here to stay through Autumn/Winter, I've loved all the colour in my wardrobe this summer! I'm already excited about the gorgeous jumpers that are going to hit shops soon! (I know, I know.... it's only august.)

Inspiration from;

Miss Olivia Palermo ofcourse! 

I've never tried any cream-to-powder foundations, because I didn't really think they were something that would suit my dry skin. However when this was advertised for dry/normal skin I had to give it a go, especially as there was a deal where if you bought selected makeup you could get a foundation of your choice for £2! I apply this with a Sigma F80 brush as opposed to the sponge that comes with the foundation, and they work like a dream together. The colour "ivory" is the lightest shade in the range, and fits my skin perfectly. This claims to be a foundation, concealer and powder in one, and I'd pretty much agree on the foundation and concealer part, as you can see from my outfit picture, I have a lot of redness and blemishes on my face aswell as dark circles, but with the foundation (I used NO concealer!) my skin is completely flawless. The only thing I have a problem with is that this ISN'T a cream-to-powder foundation, it never turns to a powder, it just stays as a cream and for that reason I'd say it's not very suitable for oily skin as it does give a dewy finish and would not be long lasting on oily skin. This isn't something I'll be using right now, as it is very high coverage, but this is definitely a shout for anyone wanted a high coverage foundation, I'll be using it for nights out when I want flawless skin and the winter, I usually use a lot less coverage in the summer!

Also I realised yesterday, it's VERY close to exam results time, infact I get my results in about a weeks time as far as I'm aware, so good luck to everybody! I'm not returning to college in September so it's not the end of the world if I don't get decent results, but I put so much hard work in beforehand I'm really hoping I'm pleasantly surprised!

I haven't really posted in the past few days because there was a lot going on England in way of riots, and in all honesty I've spent most of my time watching sky news and seeing the Miss Selfridge I was hoping to get a pair of shoes from this weekend go up in flames, not nice!

Anyway, I hope you all have a gorgeous weekend and hopefully we've seen the end of the riots!

xoxoxoxox

Marble Nails?!

Job hunting is going painfully slowly, there's just no jobs I'm interested in at the moment, and no money means not much going out and definitely not much spending! So I decided to waste a few hours trying to master marble nails, I've watched so many tutorials on youtube, and they make it look so EASY! But it's definitely harder than it looks, and a lot messier!

What you will need;

• A cup/glass/container full of not too hot and not too cold (I know, so PICKY) water
• Nail polish remover
• Cotton buds to wipe off excess nail polish around your nails
• Sellotape and scissors
• Cotton wool to remove any nail polish should it go wrong.
• Something with a point (Cocktail stick, etc) to swirl the nail polish in the water
• A surface that should you spill any nail polish, you can easily remove it with nail polish remover (i.e. not your duvet or something!)
• Nail Polishes of your choice, I chose Sally Hansen Pardon My French, Barry M Black and W7 Bright Pink.

Excuse my manky unpolished nail! Sellotape all the way around the nail, so when you dip it in the water/nail polish combo it goes on the tape instead of all over your fingers!

Now the tricky bit! It took me a good while to get this right, but get your nail polish and drop a bit into the water, then get your next colour and drop that colour INTO the little circle the previous colour has created. If all goes to plan you'll end up with something a bit like the image above. This has to be done fairly quickly, so make sure all your colours are in easy reach and all their tops have been opened. 

Now with your cocktail stick or alternative, swirl the colours around in the surface of the water to create a marble swirl effect (above). Then dip your finger in, with your cocktail stick move any of the nearby nail polish still on the surface until it's clear and take your finger out of the water!

It should end up a little bit like this, see why you put the sellotape on now?! Now repeat these steps on all of your nails!

When your nails are done, remove the sellotape and you should end up with a slightly messy look similar to the one above! You will never get the same effect on every nail so embrace the uniqueness of each nail!

Tidy your nails up with nail polish remover on a cotton bud and then add a top coat, I used Andrea Fulertons Gloss Up Overcoat. Clear up any mess, aaaaaand your done!

Hope you like them! It's my first time giving them a go, I don't think they look too bad!

xoxoxoxox

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

OOTD #013; If The City Never Sleeps, Then That Makes Two...

parka; topshop top; primark skirt; topshop shoes; new look ring; matalan

I've been meaning to do an inspired OOTD for ages! I love this parka for summer, it has a second inside layer with gorgeous fur for the winter but i love it in the summer for rainy days! 

I'm currently job hunting and so I've been doing my job homework and researching various A/W 11 trends to impress various employers with, seeing as I'm looking for a job in a fashion store it's probably the easiest way to impress other than what I choose to wear. I took inspiration from Altuzarra's fall collection, which was inspired by an image of Kate Moss in an evening dress with a parka over the top with then boyfriend Johnny Depp. I've always loved the dress under fur coat look, but this is a new one for me, and I love how it makes an outfit casual with so much ease - and so practical for cold england nights!

Here's the Altuzarra Fall '11 Collection;

Now all I need is some gorgeous boots!

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Haul; Primark, Topshop, H&M, Bourjois etc.

So I did a bit of shopping this weekend and I thought I'd show you all a few of the things I bought :)

Primark;

I love these bags, and for £6 I had to pick up both colours. For once they're not that cheap shiny plastic, and they look a bit chanel-esque what with the quilting and the chain, so obviously I had to have them!

This little beaut was in the sale for £3 so I popped it in my basket straight away! I love the patterns and how cute and small it is!

The standard stock up of tights! Such a bargain at £2.50 for 3 pairs!

Various skinny belts, I love the bright colours on these, will look so cute of contrasting dresses or tops!

A cheapo umbrella, because mine always break!

These lace sock things because they are the only thing I'll wear on my feet really, I hate socks.

Sorry I'm wearing this today! I've seen a lot of bloggers with this and saying it fits "weirdly" but on me it's actually quite flattering, so I'm not complaining! Looks very Zara to me, so for £6, it's worth trying on in store :) Even though how ridiculous are the queues for primark changing rooms?! Eurgh!

Haha I LOVE wearing these for days I just can't be bothered, so I had to stock up on some pretty colours. The purple, mulberry kinda colour was only in a size 14 so I bought it anyway, and I'll probably tuck it into high waisted shorts or something :)

I'm not really sure what drew me to this, but I liked the kinda mustard colour far too much so I found myself buying it! I'll probably wear it with leggings and a long top underneath :)

H&M;

I bought this purely because of the colour, since the whole "marigold" colour came into fashion I've been looking for something everyday that colour, and this fits the bill completely, and for 7 quid! Lovely!

Topshop;

I found these two in Topshop "last chance to buy" section and I just HAD to have them! They're such pretty colours and completely fit in with the colour blocking trend, so I snapped them both up, luckily the blue was in a size 8 and the pink in size 10, which is slightly baggy but, I don't mind eating a few more cakes to fit into it!

Tesco;

In Tesco they were selling off a lot of make-up so I snapped up this bourjois lipstick and it's SO pretty and moisturising. It's called "Red Kiss" and it was down to just under £5!

I've been meaning to try out Bourjois eye shadows for so long! They were selling some off, and these were such gorgeous I couldn't resist! I love the dark emerald colour on the left and the beautiful blue! I can't wait to try these out!

And last but not least, my gorgeous Sigma F80 came through the post, so thankyou so much to this lovely blog I won it from! Definitely worth checking out lovelys!

And that's it! Hope you all had a lovely day!

xoxoxoxoxox