Review: Sleek Vintage Romance Palette

This is a palette I've been after for a while, ever since I first saw the sneak peek blog posts. I knew I needed it. I eventually caved last week and bought it. I regret nothing.

La Roche-Posay Round Up

Better late than never...

La Roche-Posay is the French pharmacy brand to end all French pharmacy brands. Here's a summary of what I've tried and loved from them.

Bourjois Lipstick Review

This is a lipstick I purchased a while ago but kept forgetting to review. It's Rouge Edition in the shade 17 Rose Millesime. It's a bright pink, but doesn't come out too strong on your lips, which makes a perfect in-between shade when you're not sure which part you want to play up. It's unlike any other I have which is why I picked it up.

Review: Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask

Another What's In My Handbag? try today. This times is a blogger cult face mask from Omorovicza - the Deep Cleansing Mask.

If I'm honest, I'm not sure I bought into the hype. It's lovely, I did notice a bit of a difference in my skin, it works as a spot treatment too. But I just didn't love it. I think part of the reason in the price it's £57 for 50ml. *gulps* I'm sure the ingredients are brilliant, but as a student I just don't have that kind of money.

Life Update

Time for me to get back into the swing of blogging on a slightly more regular basis. I'm in my third year of university now and work has really stepped up a gear. With history you have hours and hours of free time a week but lots of reading to do as well. As well as work for two modules, I've got my dissertation to write as well!

French Fancy

My parents spent the late stages of September in France and naturally I sent them off with a list of things I wanted. Here is the haul of things they brought back for me. Thanks Mum and Dad!

The Top Coat to End All Top Coats

I've posted before about my hunt for long-lasting nail polish. There was the Seche-Vite experiment, a foray into matte nails and the unsuccessful trial of CND's Vinylux. I knew where I should have gone for a top coat, but I didn't, then a couple of weeks ago I caved and headed to the Sally Hansen stand.

Review: Bumble & Bumble Prep Spray

Another What's in My Handbag goodie today. And this review comes with apoligies for the slight break there's been in proceedings as of late. I lost my mojo a bit and struggled to fit posts around uni work but hopefully I've got myself in gear now.

Review: Bourjois Bronzing Primer.

A little late with Monday's post here. The days ran away from me and I got caught up with a load of stuff for uni. Anyway better late than never.

Anniversary Make-Up Look

Another make-up look for you again today. Hopefully with better product photos but I apologise for the face shots, I ended up running late so took them on my phone at the end of the evening. Anyway, on to the look. Last weekend was my boyfriend and I's year anniversary and we celebrated at my local The Living Room which is a restaurant and bar, they do good food and I'd recommend having a look if there is one near you.

Sick Day Make-Up

In the last few weeks I've been feeling a bit run down and meh. I've got some stupid cold that I can't quite shake off. Here is the make-up I used when I thought I was going to have to leave the house after a day in bed. In the end we didn't, but hopefully this will still be helpful.

Review: Seventeen Stay Time Long Wear Primer

After getting my hands on MAC's Fortified Skin Enhancer back in April (review - here) I've been a little obsessed with primers, I use it every single day and it's still going strong, although its probably going to run out soon. With that in mind, I had a look at Seventeen's latest offerings, in amongst them are a range of new primers. I went for the Long Wear version with the aim of keeping my make-up on through a day of lectures.

Review: Philip Kingsley Elasticizer

I’m not really a hair person, I don’t do a whole lot to it and I’ve never used any masks or treatments, other than oil, on it. But when I saw that October’s Issue of In Style magazine came with a sample of the much hyped Elasticizer from Philip Kingsley I figured it would be worth a shot. The only thing I know about Philip Kingsley products is they’re expensive but people seem to love them.

Face Mask Play Time

I went into Primark for a completely different reason and got sucked in by the things that flank you when you're queueing for the checkout. And I fell for it. Oops. What sucked me in was a couple of face masks from Montagne Jeunesse. I really like these as a concept because you can only get a couple of uses out of each mask so if you don't like it you don't have a huge pot or tube left over. At 0.90p per sachet in Primark they're obviously cheaper than a regular face mask but if you really liked one particular one the cost would add up. 

Rimmel ScandalEyes

These aren't particularly new offerings from Rimmel but they are relatively new to me. They are both new editions to their ScandalEyes range - the Retro Glam mascara and the Shadow paints cream eyeshadow.

Review: MAC Royal Azalea

This was a late birthday present from one of my university friends (thanks Dom!) and it was definitely worth the wait. My first ever MAC lipstick! It's a Sheen Supreme and in the shade Royal Azalea. Love at first sight.

Review: Tangle Teezer

Slightly ad-hoc blog post today as I'm at my boyfriend's and we've spent the whole day traveling so I thought I'd write something easy about a product I really like. I'm going to attempt to write up and review lots of products while I'm here so I can schedule them to go up while I'm back settling into uni. Depending on how much content I manage to pull up and get out there could be scope for three blog posts a week instead of two. But we'll see, no promises.

My Boyfriend Does My Make-Up

A slight change here and I hope it's worth the wait and lack of Monday blog post. I've just moved into my new university house and whilst settling in my boyfriend said "Blog post idea - I do your make-up?" Well I wasn't about to say no to that. So here it is, filmed in terrible lighting on his MacBook. I hope it's OK to watch. It is a little long, sorry, but I hope it's entertaining for you all. There's some outtakes at the end too.

If All My Make-up Disappeared...

I really enjoyed EssieButton's latest video which was titled "If All My Make-up Disappeared", the concept being that someone has stolen all your make-up and you can only repurchase 10 products, which 10 would you buy. As I am a bit run off my feet at the moment due to moving back to university over the weekend I though it would be nice to do my own version as a blog post. That way I don't have to go about taking photos and finding everything. So here we go:

Review: Wella SP Luxe Oil

I’d never tried a hair oil myself, I’ve had them used in my hair when it’s been cut but I’ve never been out and bought one. My Mum went for a trim last week and came back with a mini sample of the Wella SP Luxe Oil, as she has short hair she gave it to me to try and this is what I think.

Review: Bourjois Colour Boost

As you'll know from my last post this was one of the things I picked up from Boots. Having enjoyed using the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains I was intrigued by the Bourjois offering. The colour I got, 'Peach on the Beach' has become something of a blogger it colour.

Beauty Haul #5

Or why I really, really, really should not be allowed in Boots. Ever. I only went in for concealer. And had one of those moments at the till when they tell you the price and you just think "oh, OK then. I won't be getting much else this month then. Oops."

Back to School Make-Up

I know the new term in England doesn’t start for another few weeks but blogs, YouTube, W H Smiths and Marks and Spencer seem to have started their campaigns so I thought I would add my two cents into the mix. I’ve been allowed to wear make-up at school since the age of 14 but even then, it had to be natural, although somehow I got away with blue eyeliner ringed around my eyes, not my finest look.  At university there are no rules but it needs to be quick as sleep is precious. All the products I’ve chosen are from Boots as when you’re a student you’re on a limited budget and the whole look took me 15 minutes to complete.

Review: Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturiser

It’s well documented in this blog that I’m fairly lazy when it comes to after-shower moisturising. When I spotted the new Vaseline Spray & Go tester in my local Boots, it was love at first spray. This is so simple I can’t believe how no one has thought of it before (I’m willing to be corrected on this point). It’s basically moisturiser, in a can. That you spray on. Genius.

The Skin Zero Issue

This post is a response to a brilliant post by British Beauty Blogger which you can read here. She raised the issue that there is a strong (and much needed) focus on ‘size zero’ and happily some brands are starting to use models that aren’t stick thin. But it is rare for brands to promote beauty products without a lot of photoshop, or 'skin zero'. There are of course some who have, Illamasqua’s Imperfection range was mentioned in a blog comment. But the models they used in the 4 images I can find on the site are still stunningly beautiful. I believe there is now a law where brands have to start putting disclaimers if they have used lash-inserts on mascara ads but the same doesn’t seem to apply to foundation or skincare ads. It makes it hard for me to believe a product is going to work if the original image is photoshopped as well as the ‘after’ shot. 

Review: Vichy Idélia BB Cream

I’ve been enjoying using BB creams in the hot weather, which seems to have gone, as opposed to heavy foundations. I just find them to be lighter and more buildable. I bought the Vichy Idéalia version because The Sunday Girl gave it a rave review, and I was feeling frivolous in the Escentual sale.

Guest Post: Review: No7 Stay Perfect Mascara

Today my Mum is back guest posting on a mascara find she thought she’d never have:

"I have been wearing make-up for about 35 years, and contact lenses for about the same length of time (does anyone else remember ‘hard’ lenses? – ouch!). For most of those years I have been looking for a mascara that didn’t smudge when my eyes watered and didn’t have fibres that dropped into my eyes and aggravated the lenses. During the last five years or so I have given up even bothering to look. Nothing ever lived up to its name as being ‘waterproof’, ‘smudge-proof’ ‘fibre-free’ etc., not ever, it was just another £X down the drain.

Review: Avène Cleanance K Exfoliating Hydrating Cream-Gel

Slightly late post today but as it’s still Thursday we’ll gloss over that. Today I’ll be reviewing one of the purchases from my most recent Escentual haul, the Avène Cream-Gel exfoliator. This works much the same way as other chemical exfoliators and contains various different acidic ingredients to help smooth out the skin. I’ve included a picture of the ingredient list so you can see for yourself. It also has Avène’s thermal spring water in it too.

Review: CND Vinylux

When I first heard about Vinylux, I’ll admit I was pretty excited. A polish that lasted a whole week? I’ve never tried the Shellac manicure but I was still keen to try out the new offering. Now, I possibly should have realised after my Seche-Vite experience that polishes don’t always live up to the hype. However, I was caught up in the wave. The idea is not to use a base coat but the Weekly Polish and then the Weekly Top Coat. Using naturally occurring UV light the polish dried quickly and is supposed to last a week, rivalling gel formulas.

Review: Boots Botanics Organic Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm

Hot Cloth Cleansing Balms are ever increasing in popularity, with many skincare brands bringing out their own versions. Emma Hardie still rules the roost but at £34.00 a pop, it’s not one for beginners or those on a tight budget.

The Shetland Edit

I've been away for the last week in the Shetland Islands visiting my boyfriend and meeting his family. I had such a fabulous time and really wish I could have stayed longer. We spent the week exploring the Islands, from the very top of Unst, right down to the south and the puffins by the airport. These are only a selection of the photos that I took. I spent the whole week wishing I had a nice camera to take fancy photos.

Review: Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean

When my Good Things Cleanser ran out I was on the hunt for a new one, I’m not sure where I stumbled across the Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean but I thought I’d give it a shot. This is more of a milk cleanser which is apparently better for oily skin like mine. It’s marketed for declogging pores and is a deep purifying cleanser.

What's in my hand luggage?

This week I’m off to the Shetland Islands to visit my boyfriend. I’m flying with hand luggage only so thought I would do a quick post showing what I’m taking. I’ve come to realise that compacting your make-up and skin care life down into 100ml and the correct size of plastic bag is near on impossible. I’ve had to leave out some basics that I’ll beg, borrow or steal once I get there (deodorant and anything needed in the shower). 

Escentual #micellarblindtrial

I was lucky to have been given the opportunity to take part in Escentual's Micellar Blind Trial. They sent me, and 99 other bloggers, 7 anonymous samples of 7 different micellar waters. With Bioderma's huge rise to cult status they became the product du jour. The point of this trial was to get rid of any brand pre-conceptions and see if they really worked. This is what I thought.

Mix and Match #1

I thought I'd start a little series called Mix and Match, which funnily enough will be about mixing two, or more, products together. Several other bloggers have done similar things and I always think it's a good idea to be able to see how you can use things in different ways and maybe get more use out of them.

Beauty Haul #4: Escentual

It’s been quite a while since I last did a haul post. It’s definitely not been that long since I bought anything though, just most things have been fairly basic and unexciting. Today however I received my Escentual order. I ordered it on Monday so top marks for a quick delivery. Here’s what I bought.

ASOS Wishlist #1

 

I was lucky enough to be given an ASOS gift voucher for my birthday, it’s for £35 but it doesn’t take long to realise that the above wishlist totals much more than that. Oops. I don’t plan on spending above my means by any rate, and what will probably happen is I’ll spend so long deciding everything will be out of stock.

Review: Dirty Works Detox Mask

I first came across the brand Dirty Works in The Sunday Girl’s post on their Brightening Mask and so on my next trip to Sainsbury’s I went and had a look to see what there was on offer. After some deliberating, I plumped for the Power Berry Detox Mask. I’ve never really explored the cosmetic aisles of Sainsbury’s, other than brands I already know so I was intrigued to see what brands there were. Unless I’ve forgotten to buy shampoo, I rarely combine food and beauty shopping but I think Dirty Works might change that. 

The mask itself contains Kaolin clay which is good for drawing out impurities and while, when you have it on it feels quite tight and drying, once you take it off your skin just feels soft and smooth. And I’ve not found my skin looked red afterwards which means it’s fine for morning use. I haven't noticed a huge difference in my skin but I think I’ve reacted to something (I don’t think it’s this) so my skin isn’t looking great at the moment anyway. I’m not a face mask expert and haven’t really tried many others but I know I like this one! I use it every few days for 10 minutes and then wipe it off with a hot flannel.

Review: Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation

I’ll admit it; I fully expected to hate this. I bought it on a whim in Boots when I couldn’t be bothered to spend ages trying different colours. I did try it on the back of my hand and noticed it was too dark, but had one of those “I need to make a choice, I’m running out of car parking” moments and got it. Upon coming home and reading reviews my heart sank a little further, the ones which were positive were outnumbered by negative ones.

Review: Maybelline Colour Tattoo – On and On Bronze

I have two other colours of these so I knew I loved them before I decided to add to my collection. I have Eternal Gold and Permanent Taupe, which I love and I’ve hit the bottom of Eternal Gold.

On and On Bronze, however might be my favourite of the lot, it’s the perfect bronze colour and looks gorgeous when it’s on and (as recommended by EssieButton) with a Champagne colour over, the example below is Sin from the Urban Decay Naked palette. I have basically worn this everyday since I got it, I’ve not tried combining the three together but I imagine it could be done. They go on with a creamy consistency but once dry won’t budge. I’m not sure they last 24hours, but they certainly last 8 at least on me without a primer. They make amazing bases for eye shadow and I think everyone should have one, at least. I still haven't fully conviced myself I could pull off Turquoise though...

What's in my shower?

In my post on the Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser, I freely admitted that I am really lazy when it comes to the faff of showering. Well, all that has begun to change. Brought on in part because of the weird yellow thing in the sky that means it’s warm enough to actually get my legs out. Sans tights. Crazy. And partly because it’s 3 for 2 on 'A New Summer You' in Boots and I have no willpower. Oops

Edinburgh Rocks

Sorry I’ve been away for a while. Life sort of caught up with me and I couldn’t find the energy to blog. Now I’ve unpacked most of my uni stuff – including my computer – I’m back to blogging.

Last week I travelled to Edinburgh with my boyfriend. Here are a selection of photos from what we did:

Review: Butter London Knees Up

Having failed to bring me back Henley Regatta from the US my wonderful boyfriend offered to buy me a Butter London polish from their line in my local Boots. After many minutes spent deliberating over colours, I went for Knees Up, a gorgeous metallic red.

Review: L'Oreal GlamShine Stain Splash

Carrying on with my bright lip loving from earlier posts with the L'Oreal GlamShine Stain Splash in Princess. I picked this colour because it is unlike any that I already own. I wanted to branch out into corals for the summer. Fair to say I have branched and I think this might be one of my favourite shades I have. 

Textured Hair

I've had shoulder length hair for probably around a year now give or take a few inches last summer. Before then it was long enough for all sorts of fancy hair styles: fish tail braids; up-dos; buns that didn't fall out after 5 minutes. Since having it short I've struggled to work out how to style it. At my last haircut I had lots of layers put in so I could finally create the textured style I'd been wanting. I've stopped straightening my hair on a regular basis and often leave it heat free. I think the ombré helps and adds to the controlled messiness.

Review: Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge

Since I went for a quick trip to get my make-up done at Bobbi Brown I've been lusting over this colour. I love myself a peachy blush and Fresh Melon fits the bill perfectly. While it looks scary in the pan it comes out much paler and allows you to build it up to the colour you want. I found I got the most colour pay-off using my Real Techniques Expert Face brush. I really want to get the stippling brush for cream blush purposes.

Birthday Haul

It was my birthday on Wednesday so I thought I'd share some of the things I got. This is by no means me boasting but these are the things that are likely to appear on the blog in the next few weeks or so.

ScandalEyes New Releases

After reviewing the Rimmel ScandalEyes Eyeliner earlier on this week it's good see that there is more to come in that range later on this summer. A new Retro Glam mascara (£6.99, 7 August) will be perfect for those 60s doll-eyed looks and I'm really keen to try this out. I love big lashed looks without using false eyelashes and often layer up mascaras to achieve this. Hopefully this will cut out the need to do that!

Sticking with a retro 60s theme two new eyeliners will be in stores from the 10 July. ScandalEyes Thick and Thin pen (£5.49) has a 3D felt tip allowing for different thicknesses of lines depending on the angle you hold it at. Maybe I'll finally be able to do the perfect flick. For those who prefer a thinner line, the Precision Micro (£5.49) has a ultra fine tip to be used to define the eyes. Both will dry fast and wear for 24 hours and be in the blackest of black. Fabulous.

Review: Shetland Brown - & Other Stories

When in London, and on a hunt for Liberty’s we happened to walk past & Other Stories on Regent Street. Now, I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about this, and I know I’m really late to the bandwagon again. I should probably rename this blog “Things everyone else wrote about months ago”. If you don’t know then & Other Stories is run by the same people behind H&M, Cos and Monki. I didn’t go out looking for it, but I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to go in.

Review: Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner

I’ve heard a lot of good things about these so decided to hop on the bandwagon and buy myself one. I went for 012 Bronze because; despite my love of neutral eye shadows, I don’t have one in that colour.

London Calling

I’ve been a little missing in action recently, the boy has returned from Canada and America so we’ve been catching up and chilling out. One of the things we did was go to London for a few days so here is what we got up to.

Review: Essie Matte About You Topcoat

To start with, I’m a sucker for nail polishes with cool names. I’ve been thinking about matte topcoats for a while and whilst on a post-essay Boots splurge this happened to find its way into my basket. I paired it with Essie’s Russian Roulette which is a red I don’t see a lot of love for but I really like it. The matte effect happens immediately and I think it’s pretty cool. It gives the polish a different look but is still easy to take off unlike glitter polishes.

Foundation Routine

For a month or more now I’ve been using the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation so here’s my routine and a quick review. First of all the colour. It’s such a perfect match for my skin tone. This is what I love about Bobbi Brown; they have a large range of shades to suit all skin tones. I could probably also wear Porcelain which is the lightest colour but Warm Ivory suits the warmer tones of my skin and stops me looking too pale. It comes in a nice glass pot with a pump which means you can get out exactly the amount you need. It also has an SPF of 15 but I've not noticed any flash back. The finish is really natural and if left unpowdered can be quite dewy but I prefer a powdered finished.

Liebster Award

So I was delighted to be nominated by Crystal from Everything Beauty for this award. Sorry it’s taken me ages to write this! You can see her post here. The Liebster Award is like a tag award and helps bloggers be recognised. It’s awarded to newer bloggers who have less than 200 followers. There are some rules (aren’t there always?) so here we go with the post :)

1. Each blogger should answer the questions the tagger has set for you.
2. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.
3. Choose 11 new bloggers to pass the award onto and link them in your post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the chosen bloggers.
5. Tell the nominees about the award.

Wishlist #1

Image created with Polyvore

Just a few of the things I wish I had money to spend on. 

Barefaced Cheek

Due to my love of a certain brand of leggings I am part of a Facebook group called Black Milk Clothing UK. If you’ve not heard of Black Milk then check them out here. Last night a discussion was started about people’s reactions to you sans make-up. Usually “Are you OK? You look a bit ill?”. From that, people began uploading photos of themselves without make-up on and the photo above was my contribution. It’s taken on my webcam so it’s not the best quality so I’ve added one taken in the natural light this morning.

Review: Nivea Anti-Stress Protect Deodorant

I’m fairly sure people have written weirder reviews but one on deodorant has to be up there. Luckily, it was a review from The Sunday Girl which encouraged me to buy this product so at least I’m not alone.

Beauty Blogger's Tag: Get to know me

So I’m kinda sick at the moment and lack brain power so I found this tag on EmilyNoel’s blog and thought I’d give it a go. I edited it a bit but it’s still quite long, sorry!

Review: Seche Vite Topcoat

*warning: controversial blog post ahead*

I’m not sure when the Seche Vite love-in started. But it did, in a big way. It was everywhere and everyone was raving about. I was curious but never took the plunge. Then What’s In My Handbag? offered it as a ‘Try’ on their website. I entered and won a full size bottle. So far so good.

The brows have it

I’d say that I would be the first to admit I don’t always listen to my mum, except of course she would say it before I did. But just on the odd occasion I do pay attention and then I find she’s often right. One example of this is eyebrows; both she and my make-up artist cousin said “You have nice eyebrows – don’t over pluck them, ever”. And I haven’t. So now, when some are complaining of a lack of brows mine still look fairly full. However, they tend to have blonde bits in or I accidentally get foundation in them and with a full face of make-up, they don’t really stand out.

Review: Molton Brown Polynesian Kopara Anti-aging Hand Crème

Ok, long title, little product. My Mum went to Molton Brown and bought some shampoo and conditioner and got some free samples of this hand crème. (Not cream, that’s probably important somehow). She gave them to me to use as she’s getting on so well with her La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume, and I suffer from slightly dry hands as well.

Feeling the Pressure...or how not to

I’ve just come to the end of a mammoth essay writing session so while everything is still fresh in my mind I thought I’d take a break from beauty and write about how to not to stress as much. Hopefully this isn’t too late for some of you!

Beauty Haul #3: Feel Unique

Super quick post to show you what arrived from Feel Unique. This will be my last post until Wednesday as I have a lot of essay deadlines coming up!

Sheer Lip Colours and Nude Beach from Bobbi Brown

That’s nude beach as in a make-up collection….not nudist.

 

I’m not sure I’ve fully shared my love of Bobbi Brown on here. But I am a massive fan. I love their foundations had a have a review coming up soon. So come May, two new collections will be hitting the Bobbi Brown counters. And I’m fairly excited.

Guest Post: Review - La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume

In my attempt to convert everyone to La Roche-Posay products, I’ve even got my Mum on the hype. I got her to write a review of a product I first saw recommended by EssieButton here. This is what she had to say, words are her own:

Skincare Routine

This has been a post I’ve been wanting to write from the start, what I spend minutes in the mornings and evenings doing. I kill so much time in the bathroom. A record being 45 minutes to take make-up off and brush my teeth. At home I’m lucky enough not to have to share my bathroom unless we have guests and my university room has its own sink. So I can spend as much time as I like just thinking about stuff.

Review – Revlon Lip Butter

So I know I’m really late to the hype of these but I didn’t feel I wanted one until a £3 off Revlon products Boots Advantage card voucher pushed me over the edge. I went for the shade 027 Juicy Papaya, which is a coral-y pink shade. Perfect for summer.

Lazy Girls Guide to Moisturising

So I’m the first to admit I’m pretty lazy when it comes to showering. I mean, not actual showers, I’m normal and regular in that department. But the faff of showering, exfoliating, moisturising, fake tanning and general primping that some seem to do. As the much over-used quote goes “Ain’t nobody got time for that”. Moisturising is probably the one I’m worst at. I just don’t have the time and neither do I want to be standing around being all sticky before I can get dressed. I studied in Canada for 4 months and it was so dry I had to or my skin suffered. But now back in England I can get away with just not doing it.

Review - Barry M Gelly Hi Shine

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding these nail polishes and I’ve been wanting to try them for a while, particularly the shade Lychee, so when in town I dashed into Boots and picked it up.

Review: Mac Prep + Prime

As you may remember from first haul post I made my first significant MAC purchase of two items from the Prep + Prime range. I got the Fortified Skin Enhancer in Adjust and the Transparent Finishing Powder in the loose version. Today I'm finally reviewing them.

La Roche-Posay Sun Care

As will become clear in the next few posts I have an unhealthy obsession with La Roche-Posay skin care products. French skin care is known to be of a high quality and when traveling in previous years I know my Mum has picked up French sun cream too.

I Heart Spring

Because it’s April now and it really should be spring:

1. What is your favourite spring nail polish?

OPI’s Melon of Troy. It’s either on my fingers or toes for the whole spring/summer.

Bourjois Cream Blushes and Bronzing Collection

Cream blushes aren’t a new thing on the market but it’s always good to see another high street brand producing their own. Bourjois are bringing out their range next month. It will be a cream to powder formula so might not be brilliant for use on lips. They all look like they will be natural shades suiting all skin tones. I'm a sucker for peachy-pink blushes so I think I'll be checking these out when they appear in store. The four shades, priced at £7.99, will be available from the 8^th May in Selfridges (both online and in-store) and in Boots, Superdrug and ASOS.com the following week on the 15^th May. Also in May Bourjois are releasing limited edition Je t’aime Vintage Blush Pots which will have the first ever blush colour Cendre de Rose Brune – first produced in 1914! These will be £7.49 and available from May in at Selfridges (online and in-store), Boots, Superdrug, ASOS.com and leading chemists nationwide.

Beauty Haul #2

As I said on Twitter, yesterday I went to Boots to spend some of my student loan. They're also doing three for two on most make-up items and I'd just got my new advantage card tokens, no more excuses needed. This is what I bought.

Beauty things I suck at

Although I wish I could do everything perfectly I cannot so here is a little list of beauty things I am not so good at.

What's in my travel make-up bag?

So I’ve come home for the Easter Holidays and thought I would share what I decided to bring back home with me. It could probably be described in two words: too much.

Review - Revlon Photoready Cream Blusher

I’m always attracted to the idea of cream products. I’m currently on the hunt for a cream highlighter and am welcoming any suggestions. I’m also a peachy blush person and only wore Benefit’s Georgia (now sadly discontinued) for years. But last year I saw that Revlon had a range of cream blushes. Despite often seeing YouTubers and Bloggers with other shades I have only have seen two in Boots. They’ve brought out a coral shade for Spring/Summer which I’d quite like to try but haven’t seen.

In search of the perfect purple

Since trying my friend’s Parlez-Vous OPI? nail polish I had my heart set on finding the perfect purple coating for my nails. A perfect pale purple but not quite into the pastel ranges. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the OPI polish as I think the collection is no longer available.  So the search for a dupe began.

Beauty Haul #1

Despite being pretty poor at the moment, I went shopping with a couple of friends to pick up some beauty bits. It was nearly fashion too but I talked myself out of the neon pink jeans.

Things that aren’t all they’re cracked up to be #1

A lot of things get a huge amount of hype and love in the blogger and YouTube community. Some things are very deserving of this praise but some things you get and just go really? Both products featured today are face products. The Revlon Nearly Naked pressed powder and the Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer.

Review - Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer

As soon as I saw the use of these starting to appear in YouTube tutorials I knew I had to get my hands on some. Bright and hopefully long lasting colours? Right up my street. I first got Stellar which is a very bright pink and then went into every Boots I walked past until I got my hands on the red – Big Bang. I’m debating the paler shades for smoky eye days but have yet to make the plunge.

Review - Urban Decay Naked Palette

I got this for Christmas last year and it has quickly flown to the top of my most used products list. There aren’t really any words to say how much I love it. I just do.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog! I thought it might be best to start off with a little bit about myself so here goes.

I’m a 19-year-old student and I’ve been wearing make-up since I was about 13 but began to wear it every day and define my style from the age of 15. Although looking back at it now maybe dark blue eye shadow ringed all the way around my eyes wasn’t the best look. Now I tend to go for more neutral shadows but with a pop of colour on the lips.