A Rather Surprising Find...

I was raiding my mums makeup draw before and came across this little gem - a Barbra Daly eyeshadow in Twig. When I saw it, it instantly transported me back to my childhood, when roller ball eye shadows were all the rage. Because it piqued my interest so much I decided to give it a go, and was more than pleasantly surprised.

The colour is a warm pale taupe, flecked with gold sparkly bits. The longevity isn't great without a primer, but of course with a primer its wear time multiplies exponentially. It only takes about two seconds to apply - all you have to do is sweep it across you lids and then blend with a big fluffy brush a little and voila! A perfect daytime neutral eye.

I don't know how much my mum paid for this (I wouldn't have thought a lot), or even if it is still available, however if it is and you happen to come across it, I highly suggest you buy one. I would be sorry if it isn't available, because it is a really pretty shade, though maybe someone might know a dupe for this?

Pretty New Things

The other day I decided to go into town with my mum, and we ended up going into Primark, even though it was absolutely heaving. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have some lovely things in at the moment - I ended up buying a pair of sandals for my holiday, as well as two dresses (one maxi with flowers on the hem and a fluorescent pink day dress with a lacy top half) and a few accessories.

I decided to share with all you lovely readers a couple of the accessories I got - namely a set of 6 pairs of earrings and a pair of hair clips. I don't usually buy earrings from Primark because they always seem to look cheap and nasty, but I thought these ones were really quite pretty and feminine, plus a steal at £2. The butterfly ones are really sparkly in the light, and I do love a bit of sparkle.

The hair clips are great for jazzing up a simple hairdo, without making it look too OTT. They're pretty fabric flowers with a diamante in the middle, that I think are really cute for spring. I've been wearing them almost everyday since I got them - I am in love!

Has anyone else seen any cute bargains recently?

FOTD

Face:- 

Jemma Kidd Light As Air Foundation in 01 Ultra Light

Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer in Light

MAC Mineralize Skinfinsh Natural in Medium Plus

Estee Lauder Signature Blush in Radiant Peach

Eyes:- 

GOSH Eyebrow Pencil in Soft Black

Lime Crime Eyeshadow Primer

Barbra Daly Mineral Eye Shimmer in Twig

Avon Kajal Stick in Black

Max Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara in Black

Lips:- 

Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait

Revlon Lip Butters

As you probably know, there has been a lot of anticipation over the new Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters. I myself used to be rather a bit jealous of the lovely ladies in the US, who had access to these pretty balms. So of course, when they were released over here, I found myself drawn to them.

At first I couldn't decide which colour to choose, as I was originally only going to get one, however Boots put an end to that as makeup was on 3 for 2 and I had to buy my friend a birthday present anyway... The colours I eventually picked out are 025 Peach Parfait and 050 Berry Smoothie. How pretty are those names? (Yes I am a sucker for names of products and their packaging, and I have to say, Revlon did a good job ｡◕‿◕｡)

At £7.99, I was quite unhappy with the price at first, as I thought it was a lot of money for a product that didn't really seem to know what it was. Is it a lipstick? Is it a balm? Well, my conclusion is that it is definitely leaning towards the lipstick side of things. I do feel like it does give my lips some moisture, but it is not a product I would turn to if my lips felt dry. The colour of the lipstick is quite sheer and flattering, though in the tube the colours look really bright. This obviously means that the lasting power is lacking to say the least.

My favourite out of the two is definitely Peach Parfait, because it is laden with golden sparkles and gives a lovely subtle colour and gloss to the lips. Overall, I would recommend buying one of these, because I have gotten a lot of use out of them both already - they are really easy to wear and are brilliant for just popping in your bag.

Please Me

I've been really into nude-ish lipsticks recently. However, the few I have haven't been cutting it, so I decided to treat myself to a new MAC lipstick, and eventually chose Please Me. It is a lovely soft pink matte formula - the first matte lipstick I've bought from MAC. And I have to say, I am very impressed.

In terms of its longevity, it lasts a good 6 to 8 hours, which I was really quite impressed with considering the texture of the lipstick feels quite silky. I love that you can just whack it on in the morning, and not have to worry about it looking patchy later on. 

As someone cursed with perpetually dry skin, I've always gone for products that have moisturising properties. Not something you would attribute to a matte product. However, I have found that this lipstick does not make my lips feel dry, nor does it highlight those awful flaky patches I tend to get if I don't exfoliate often enough. It just gives a beautiful, highly pigmented rosy hue to my lips - perfect for everyday makeup.

FOTD

Face:-
• MAC Studio Fix Fluid foundation in NC15
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Plus
• Avon blush in Earthen Rose

Eyes:-
• Lime Crime Eye Shadow primer
• Estée Lauder Pure Colour eyeshadow in Ivory Slipper
• Estée Lauder Pure Colour eyeshadow in Tempting Mocha
• Maybelline gel eyeliner in black
• Max Factor Masterpiece Max mascara in black
• Gosh Eyebrow pencil in Soft Black

Lips:-
• 17 lipstick in Antique Lace

Champagne Showers

I decided to paint my nails today. I have recently been painting them only dark colours; purples, blues and blacks, and  I needed a change. So I looked through my nail varnishes and settled on this beautiful colour - a subtly glittery champagne gold by Marks and Spencer's, that I received as part of a set for Christmas. In this picture I have applied two coats, and this gave me a satisfactory wash of colour, though to get it completely opaque you would need three coats (you can just make out the white tips of my nails underneath the colour). I'll get back to you about the longevity of this varnish...

xx

Seeing Red...

Recently when I look in the mirror I've been dissatisfied with my hair. It's not that I dislike the cut of it, its that the colour is a little... lack lustre. Upon realising this, I started to think about what colour I'd like it to be, and the choice came to either a darker, richer brown or a more vibrant red. I didn't want to go quite as red as I did last time, but I still wanted a distinct red tinge to my hair. So, when I traipsed around Superdrug scouring the hair colours for the perfect hue, I found this, and thought WAHEY!

Dear readers, I give you...

 

I absolutely can't wait to use it! Though I had to nip to Primark to buy a crap towel to use so I didn't ruin one of my nice (expensive!) ones! I got one in the sale for £4, so I was happy as Larry however!

Ta ta for now!

xx

In Search of Long Nails...

As you probably know, I am a serial nail biter. I just can't help gnawing on my nails - it's like a nervous tick. The only way I can get around the problem of chewing them is by having false nails put on. So the other day I decided to splash my cash on some lovely long nails.

Don't they look great? I've only ever had gel nails done before, so I was a bit concerned about getting acrylics, especially as I've heard that they're worse for your nails than gel (and trust me, I don't need any more damage to my nails). However, I'm pleased with the results, and am shocked at how big a change long nails can make to your hands! My fingers look longer and more elegant! Hmm... I can see myself becoming hooked on getting them done, which doesn't bode well for my bank account, especially as I'm supposed to be saving up for a trip to Korea!

My New Michael Kors Love

As I have now got a job, I decided to treat myself to a Christmas present over the holidays, which took the form of a Michael Kors watch.

MK-8077

It is the first gold watch I have ever owned; I went off gold jewellry for quite a while, but I'm slowly coming around to liking it again. I absolutely adore it - its big, brash and masculine. At frist I didn't know whether to keep it or not because it is so masculine, but in the end the more I looked at it the more I loved it. I had to have two links taken off it because it was mahoosive, so big that I could slip it on and off my wrist without undoing it! Now it has just the right amount of looseness.

What do you guys think of it?

What's In My Bag?!

I've been dying to do a post on this for ages now, and I've finally got around to doing it! :)

Contents:-

• Umbrella
• Hair pins
• Purse
• Deodorant
• Mints
• 2 bobbles
• Body Spray
• Loads of lipsticks/glosses/balms
• Eyebrow pencil
• Change
• Concealer
• iPod

I never realised quite how many lip products I carted around with me haha!

Pretty Pastels

With the arrival of the new year comes the entrance of a new trend, and the one of the ones I'm loving the most is the preference for pretty pastel shades. I adore the muted, whimsical colours that can be found everywhere at the moment, the only problem is that they tend to wash me out quite badly so I have to lean towards the brighter, more saturated pastels.

Here are my top picks for this new trend:-

Topshop

Topshop

Topshop

River Island

River Island

ASOS

Topshop

River Island

Lancôme Roseraie des Délices

I was casually browsing the makeup aisles in Boots the other day when I came across this absolute beauty of a campaign. My heart rate sped, and as I gazed across the shop the stand called out to me. Delicate pinks, fresh tangerines and sweet pistachios were joined together in the new Lancôme collection created by Aaron De Mey. It practically screamed of soft summer days, innocence and natural feminine beauty. I instinctively thought of Aurora, one of the Disney Princesses, with her natural beauty and connection with roses. 


All of the products begged me to buy them, but the ones that stood out to me were the Effet Miracle Bare Skin Perfection Primer, which they say is 'inspired by Asian 'BB base' formulas', the La Roseraie Blush, said to 'reveal the secret of a rosy complexion', and the Le French Touch lipstick in Soft Marshmallow. Even the name is pretty.

Oohh I can't wait to get my hands on these little gems!

My new baby!

Hello!

I just HAD to tell you all about this! The other day I went into Manchester to buy my Dad a birthday present (which I did eventually end up buying haha, he's so awkward to buy for!) but lo and behold, what did I also end up buying?! An iPhone of course! Ahhhh I actually love it! It's so beautifullll! I got it from the Three shop, because they had by far the best deal - I got the phone for £100, with a contract of £35 a month for 24 months that includes 3000 minutes, 5000 texts, (could possibly be the other way around  lol) 3000 Three to Three minutes and get this, ALL YOU CAN EAT DATA. Yes, you read that right. I can watch as many YouTube video's as I like and not have to worry. The guys that sold it to me were lovely too, which wasn't the case with Phones4U, but I won't go into that. I also ordered a case off Amazon on Wednesday 28th, and it came yesterday (30th)! I was so surprised it came so quickly! I love it too - it's an old school style cassette!Here's the link if you want to check it out :)

I'll leave you with this really quite embarrassing picture of me posing with my new phone haha

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Eye Shadows

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I can't believe it's already come and gone; time is just flying by!

The Chanel Illusion D'Ombre eye shadows are absolutely beautiful. I got three; Fantasme (white), Mirifique (black) and Illusoire (a strange colour between purple and grey). They have a strange texture, a mixture between a mousse and a gel. The brush they come with is good, it is usable as an eyeshadow brush and is fantastic as an eyeliner brush, but when I put them on as an eyeshadow I used a round tipped flat brush to spread them more evenly. The pigmentation is perfect; there's enough so that you can do a dusting of colour but enough so that you can build it up into an intense pop without using shed loads of product.