In-Flight Skin Rescue

Having only ventured on to a plane for the third time in my life this week I may not be the expert with it comes to all things flying, but one thing I do know is that it reeks havoc with my skin. On my first trip I donned a full face of make up not knowing that by the end of the flight and hours of recycled air later I'd want to pull my skin off it felt so awful. A lesson was sufficiently learnt and this time I came prepared.

August Favourites

August has drawn to a close in what seems like lightening speed so once again it's time to share with you my favourite products from the month. From a new ultimate shampoo/conditioner duo to a well loved oldie thats been given a revamp, see what I couldn't keep my hands off over the last four weeks below!

It's Your Prime - An Introduction to Smashbox

Smashbox is a brand I've always admired from afar, but having no counter to swatch colours and test textures I've never owned a great deal from them. All that's about to change however as recently the brand has been rolled out into larger Boots stores, making things a whole lot more accessible - oh how my bank balance weeps.

Mom Jeans

Another day, another item of floral clothing. I'm by no means a girly girl when it comes to style, but similarly with the trousers from my last fashion post I've been loving all things bright, flowery and printed. This bomber jacket* from She Inside is the perfect lightweight piece to throw on now it's getting a little colder and adds a bit of colour to an outfit, something I'm guilty of never wearing!

The Skin Recovery Facial

I've found myself taking a far more laid back approach when it comes to make up these days. No longer do I feel the need to be contoured, highlighted and lined to within an inch of my life and I've really been enjoying using minimal products for a simple everyday look. The same can't be said unfortunately for skincare.

3/30/2012

Kiss Me Hard Before You Go





Dress: Asos
Belt: Dorothy Perkins
Sunglasses: Primark
Lipstick: Topshop Mischief

Taking full advantage of the amazing sun we're experiencing at the moment by wearing a dress and not a lot else. I paired it with the boots from this post and some amazing frilly socks. I definitely think Summer fashion, while very pretty, is a lot less inspiring than that of Autumn/Winter where you can wear layer upon layer instead of as little as possible, all the time trying not to look too scandalous.

I've gotten back into doing a Caggie Dunlop (OMG how excited is everyone that Made in Chelsea is starting again on Monday!? #fangirl) and painting every nail a different colour. After drooling over all of the pastels gracing the highstreet at the moment I decided that I'd adorn my nails with them too! From top to bottom they are: Essie Mint Candy Apple, Barry M Peach Melba, Models Own Blooboo, Topshop Parma Violet and 17 Sherbet Lemon. Anyone else notice how they're nearly all food related?

3/28/2012

Maybelline Colour Tattoo Eyeshadow




Maybelline Colour Tattoo - £4.99 Boots/Superdrug

I'm really surprised at how rare it is to find a cream eyeshadow amoungst the highstreet/drugstore brands these days and have always ended up eying the rather more expensive MAC Paint Pots. I've been looking forward to The Maybelline Colour Tattoos being released in the UK ever since seeing the hype surrounding them in the States and as of last Monday (although the official release date is in April) I spied these in Boots. I may be joining the Bloggers Bandwagon with this a little but I think they really are worth the attention.

At first I was a bit dissapointed with the colour range which seems to be much less extensive than those sold in America. I went for On and On Bronze, which looked like a warm toned copper with a few gold flecks - my kind of colour. Unfortunately though as you can seen in the picture above it turned into a really cool silvery brown on my eyes which didn't really suit me at all.

The consistency of this product however is beautiful. You get a really opaque but thin wash of colour that dries within a minute and doesn't budge all day. Although I haven't worn this alone, I was seriously impressed with how well it kept my eyeshadow on, crease free and true to colour all day. I even preferred using this to my regular Urban Decay Primer Potion as I felt I got a lot more colour pay off from my eyeshadows.

All in all, a great product. I haven't tried any of the MAC Paint Pots, something these Colour Tattoos are being frequently compared to, but I think for £4.99 they'd be a brilliant alternative. The only slight let down is the colour choice, but who knows, if these become as popular here as they were in the States, we'll hopefully be seeing a few more shades popping up!

3/26/2012

This Week #18





My first week off for months has been absolutely packed! I've engaged in far too much spending and eating and not enough blogging! Highlights include another massive Asos order, pouring over pastels in Topshop, becoming addicted to YouTube, finding a 30ml Eight Hour Cream for 99p in Superdrug and spending the weekend away at a beautiful wedding with Darren!


YouTube - Twitter - Bloglovin' - Instagram

3/21/2012

Spring Purchases




Dress and Boots: Both Asos

3/20/2012

Rust




Dress & Belt: Dorothy Perkins
Fur Stole: H&M
Necklace & Boots: Topshop


It's come to that funny time of year when the sun is out but its still quite cold. This is the dress I talked about in my latest 'haul' video (does anyone else hate that word?), perfect for such days when warmth is necessary but showing a little skin isn't the worst. The fabric is thin so its very comfortable and light to wear but I love how crisp the pleats look. And who can say no to a bit of faux fur!

In other news I went and got myself a new camera mainly to make it a little easier to see what I'm doing while recording videos. I'm still getting to grips with it and trying to work out how to autofocus on things during filming (if it can even do that?) so if anyone else has a Canon 600D and knows, it'd be great if you could help me out!


YouTube - Twitter - Bloglovin' - Instagram

3/19/2012

Poppy King Raindrops Lip Collection




Poppy King Lip Crayon - £11.50 Boots

Poppy King's range of lipsticks and glosses have been been part of No7's permanent collection for nearly a year now, but haven't ever really caught my eye. This month however, armed with a trusty £5 voucher, I saw that her new line of lip crayons had been launched, complete with adorable polka dot packaging.

These lip crayons come in five colours which range from this light pink to a brilliant red. They are beyond moisturising as they have quite a thick balmy consistence, unlike the Topshop ones which are lovely too but don't half dry out your lips! They also leave a super glossy finish but are really long lasting. I think they even have a slight tint to them as the colour stays on my lips for hours after the gloss has worn away.

I got mine in the colour 'dancing' which is a natural you-lips-but-better colour. Perfect for days I don't feel like wearing lipstick but want a little bit more colour than a balm would give. Definitely going to get myself some more of these!

3/16/2012

1000 Followers Giveaway! - Now Closed


Words can't really express how grateful I am to have reached this blogging milestone. It still amazes me that so many people come to my little corner of the internet and read all my various ramblings. Thank you so much to all those who take the time to leave comments and even those who just skim through!

I thought I'd take this opportunity to give you all the chance to win some of my favourite things at the moment: The Real Techniques Core Collection brushes! This set included the amazing buffing brush that I'm sure anyone would love to get their hands on, along with the contour, detailer and foundation brushes.

Rules:
- To enter, comment below leaving your name and email so I can contact you
- You must be a follower of this blog
- Open to all readers, international too!
- There will be one winner chosen by random.org
- Giveaway ends at midnight on Sunday 8th April
- Winner will be notified the day after

Extra entries:
- Write a separate comment below linking me to either:
- A tweet about this giveaway
- A mention in a blog post
- (or both!)


3/13/2012

March Glossy Box - The Harrods Edition



Versace Vanitas Versace Eau De Parfum, Bliss Blood Orange and White Pepper Body Butter, Lancome Toffee Juicy Tube, Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream, Révive Intensité Creme Lustre SPF30

I know we all saw the spoilers weeks ago, but here is my edition of the Harrods Glossy Box for March. Once again, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get the real creme de la creme of the products on offer, for my taste anyway. I was really looking forward to trying the Ojon hair serum and I'm pretty gutted I seem to be the only one that didn't get a mini Burberry Lipstick!

Versace Vanitas Versace Eau De Parfum: I've never actually smelt any of the Varsace perfumes before as they never really appealed to me. I've noticed the majority of them end up in the discount section so I never bothered to try them. Vanitas is nice and I love the adorable little bottle its come in. Its a musky floral scent, usually my favorite type, but it doesn't stand out as being amazing to me.

Bliss Blood Orange and White Pepper Body Butter: This really does have a gorgeous smell in the tube, but on the skin it becomes a little clinical, very similar to those little antibacterial lemon wipes you get in sachets. The smell doesn't linger too long though and this does really leave the skin refreshed.

Lancome Toffee Juicy Tube: I'm never a big fan of lipgloss as I always get my hair stuck in it. I do own a few of these juicy tubes already though and they all smell beautiful, good enough to eat and aren't too tacky. Unfortunately Brown isn't quite my colour and this Toffee one makes my lips look a little '90s', if you know what I mean!

Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream: Another body cream! Don't quite understand the point of putting two similar products in one box but this one is actually my favourite. I love Clarins and all their products always feel so luxurious. I've used this a couple of times and already my legs feel a little more tightened. Or is that just my imagination? Either way this cream is lovely!

Révive Intensité Creme Lustre SPF30: I'm all about the anti-aging creams at the moment so I slapped this on in the morning without really thinking about it, thought it was quite nice and went to look up how much the full size was. I was shocked. £235! No, there isn't a decimal point missing, thats two hundred, for 60ml. I'm not sure how I feel about that in relation to how good this cream is but I know I'll be using my little 7ml pot sparingly in the future. I suppose if I did have any 'visible sagging' this might have really made a difference, but I think its a little silly for Glossy Box to include a product for more mature skin when I'm guessing it's demographic is mostly young bloggers. In my opinion though, this is the only product that really screams 'Harrods' and it's exclusivity to me. The rest are lovely but I could have seen them in any other regular box quite easily.


3/12/2012

Bioderma Crealine H2O Cleansing Solution


Bioderma Crealine H2O Cleansing Solution - eBay

First of all, let me say what a mission its been to get hold of this product! I've seen this popping up all over beauty blogs and youtube channels for years, and something inside of me has always wanted it. The trouble is, its only available in France and the cost of shipping alone was enough to make me click off the page every time. I think a few clever people must have cottoned onto the demand for Bioderma though and started buying in bulk because thankfully they're now quite readily available on eBay, albeit for extortionate prices. This is under £10 in most French pharmacies but people are charging anything up to £25 for it. I ended up paying around £16 with shipping which did make me squirm a little but at the end of the day you do get a huge 500ml in there!

For those that haven't heard of the Crealine Solution before, its basically just a liquid cleansing make up remover. It can be used all over, even on sensitive eyes. When I first tried this out not only did it completely live up to the hype, I was amazed! I'm used to really oily eye make up removers to take away the vast amounts of mascara and eyeliner that I wear, and they only just about do the job, but this took absolutely everything off. What really confuses me is that it just feels like water. Its not greasy, oily or sticky at all. Without getting too far into scientific babble it's full of 'micellar' particles which literally dissolve make up away. No rubbing involved! Definitely one amazing product that I'll need to be stocking up on if I'm ever in France!

If like me, you're determined to get your hands on this, the seller I purchased from is also doing a 100ml bottle for a much more reasonable price!

Has anyone else ever tried this? What did you think?

3/11/2012

Things I Want This Week #04


1, 2, 3, 4, 5

A little snap shot of what I hope this summer will bring. Pastels, prints and cat eye sunglasses, all topped off with the most beautiful coral lipstick I've seen in a long time. Definitely need to buy this one before it sells out for good!

3/08/2012

Professor



Shirt & Bow Tie: Primark
Jumper: Dorothy Perkins
Skirt: Asos
Blazer: New Look
Boots: Topshop


Today was awfully freezing so when I eventually decided to get up and dressed I couldn't stop throwing on the layers! In hindsight I probably shouldn't have gone for a skirt but the top half of me stayed nice and toasty.

This outfit is a bit of a mish-mash of things I've had for a long time that shouldn't really be worn together but clash in a pretty appealing way. And a bow tie thrown in there for good measure. All I need now are some suede elbow patches!

Had a little mooch around Makro and built a desk after I took these photos. Also had a fight with iMovie while editing a new video that should be making its way onto my new youtube channel sometime soon. Go and have a look if you fancy it!

While I was out I also bought the Babyliss Root Boost on a bit of a whim after seeing Katie's video on it. Has anyone every tried it? Thoughts?

YouTube - Twitter - Bloglovin' - Instagram

>