Help! Fringe or no fringe???

I really need your opinion....

When I last had a hair cut I had my fringe cut out so it was more of a side fringe (on the right) because I thought that my fringe made my face looked too round. However looking back at pictures I think I now prefer how I had it before (on the right) in a fuller fringe.

Now I’m really unsure which style suits me best?

Trouble is I have a high forehead and need some sort of fringe to hide it!

What do you think? Please help!

Hope you have had a good weekend

xxx

ELF’s new 100 piece eyeshadow palette –Limited Edition!

I was recently sent an e-mail from ELF cosmetics introducing the new Limited Edition 100 piece eyeshadow palette.

The e-mail said: Limited Christmas edition Create a dark and smoky eye, a fresh and bright aura, or a totally fun and funky look with endless colour options and textures to select from – The perfect gift for any make-up lover. Only £15

Only £15! (That works out as 15p a shadow!!)

Well I was straight on to their website to order this palette, because even if it was rubbish its only £15 you have wasted.

I’ll admit that I would only probably use 2/3rds of the colours but you have everything there you will ever need for naturals eyes, smoky eyes and colourful eyes in a range of matte and shimmery finishes. And surprisingly they are pigmented, not amazingly pigmented as some shadows on the market but for £15 you can’t really go wrong!

Perfect you anyone who wanted to get into makeup for the first time and a perfect Christmas for a Christmas present! I think they will sell out quick too!

Sorry I've been lacking on the blogging front, but Uni has taken over, but now I will try and post at least once a week and also thinking about starting doing videos too, what do you think?

Hope your having a good weekend

xxxx

MAC Venomous Villains Collection

After reading loads and loads of blogs about the new MAC Venomous Villains Collection my excitement has reached the maximum!!

As you all know (from previous posts) I live about 30 miles away from my nearest MAC counter, but I think this collection will mean jumping in my car just to lay my hands on some of the products. I would order online, however I am sooo impatient when it comes to waiting for the package to arrive! (I was unbearable to live with, when waiting for my urban decay palette to be delivered!).

To be completely honest after looking at some of the products that lucky bloggers have managed to get their hands on from the MAC Venomous Villains event (I’ll admit I’m slightly jealous!) I’m not really excited about the actual products, it’s mainly just the fact its Disney related!

But on my wish list though are – the liquid powder in Cajun, its looks amazing for highlighting! And maybe the nail lacquers and a couple of the lipsticks/glosses (the packaging look soo cute!)

I believe it is out on 7th Oct!

What will you be buying from the VV collection?

Hope you’re having a pleasant Monday!

xxx

A designer shopping secret!

I wanted to let you all in on a little designer shopping secret…

http://www.brandalley.co.uk/

I’ve been subscribed to this website for some time now and seen many of brilliant designer bargains that you really shouldn’t miss out on!

(Sorry for the rubbish print screen/copy and paste/ cropped and edited pic – the weird purple strip is covering up my log in details)

I’ve only ever made one large purchase from the website when they were having a huge end of season sale – but I ended up saving a small fortune!

I purchased three WonderBra Bras originally £30 reduced to £8, two OPI nail varnish sets both at £10 each (I’m not sure how much they were originally) and Stila makeup including an eye shadow quad in Marrakesh, a brush and a bronzer (Again I’m unsure about prices, I’m writing this at uni and haven’t got any paperwork to refer back to)
and some gorgeous jewellery from FCUK all under £10 each.

I only wish I had pictures of everything to show you but I received my order about 5 months ago and I didn’t think to take any – Sorry!

They sell loads of different designer goodies ranging from home wear to clothes, bags and shoes to make-up. However been warned the sale for each designer brand only tends to run for a few days so you have to be quick, but they do tell you when different sales are coming up. The only catch is; is that you have to sign up first, but there is no fee or anything like involved – they just send you an e-mail everyday informing you of different sales, which I find really helps because you don’t have to keep visiting the website to see what sales are on) although there is any option to unsubscribe to the e-mails.

The only downside though is that they delivery between 5-30 working days, I believe this is because they advertise the sell straight away without having items fully in stock. But I received my big box of goodies after 28 days without any problems.

I was a bit wary that the products by be fakes or I may only receive old tatty stock, but I was pleasantly surprised to find everything was in perfect conditions with correct brand labels.

Now the student loan had come in I’m tempted to make another order!

Go and check it out at http://www.brandalley.co.uk/

Has anyone else brought anything from the website before?

Hope your having a good week xxx

No.7 High Shine Lip gloss

With the famous £5 off No.7 cosmetics I decided to purchase a lip gloss – you can’t waste money off make-up!

I’m not the biggest fan of the No.7 brand because I feel it’s a little over-priced for a Boots’s own brand. But I always use my £5 off voucher to give No.7 a go and this time I chose a red lip gloss. And I must say I was pleasantly surprised!



No.7 High Shine Lip gloss – in Lust

The lip gloss is highly pigmented and the consistency is thicker than the average lip gloss, it’s more of a liquid lipstick which means it stays on longer than a lip gloss. And as a bonus it also has SPF 15. I’m even tempted to try the other colours. Lust is the perfect colour for evenings out if you don’t want to brave a bright red lipstick!

Has anyone else tried the No.7 High Shine Lip glosses?

Hope your having a good day :)
xxx

Jack Wills does Nail Varnish....

Jack Wills Nail Varnish in Burgundy
Sorry for the rubbish photo and varnish application - I was rushing before I had to go out

I often wonder around the Jack Wills store in Winchester longing to able to afford everything. On my recent browse I noticed the brand have started selling more accessories (purses, laptop bag, make-up bag, wash bag, ect) with a huge stamp of Jack Wills across every one. But when walking pass the till I notice Jack Wills’s Nail Varnish! And as a sucker for new beauty products I just had to buy one to try them!



At £6 each I wonder if it’s just a ploy to own something from the luxury brand, same as selling the other accessories!

The packaging reminds me of the Models Own nail varnishes and I have to say I still prefer Models Own’s polishes at £1 cheaper, better colour range and more readily available. The consistency of the Jack Wills’s nail varnish is a little too thick and I found I had to keep shaking the bottle in order in receive an even application. But on a positive note – I really like this colour!

I’m not sure I will be purchasing the rest of the varnishes as I can find dupes of the other colours with a better consistency. But if you love Jack Wills (as I shamefully do) it’s worth checking them out!

Anyone else tried them? What did you think?

Hope your having a good week
xxx

Haul Time!

I’ve been buying loads of beauty products recently, so I thought I would share with a collective blog haul! Plus I’ve been slacking on the blog front, so I thought I would give you a big blog post to make up for it! So here it is...ready?


Charles Worthington’s Front Row Range - Rough &Tousled Salt Spray & Forever Lasting Hairspray – I picked these in Boots a couple of days ago after looking around for a salt spray and found the new Charles Worthington’s Front Row range (I think it may be a Limited Edition range, but not sure?). Boots were doing an offer of buy two for £8 so I decided to try these. I haven’t really properly tried them out yet, can I will review them very soon.


Dry Shampoos – Batiste Dry Shampoo in Tropical & TRESemme Instant Refresh Waterless Foam Shampoo – Sticking with the hair products I also brought these from Superdrug. I picked up trusted Batiste Dry Shampoo because it was on offer for 99p (always handy to keep a bottle nearby). And I thought I would try the new TRESemme Waterless Foam Shampoo, intrigued by the fact its foam based – cant wait to try it out. I haven’t tried it just yet just because I get scared of using a dry shampoo quickly in the morning just in case it’s a disaster and I’m late for Uni because I then have to re-wash my hair! Again I’ll let ya know!

Boots Beauty Accessories – As you can see by the sale ticket these were on sale so I thought I would pick them, great impulse purchase (I can’t resist a sale!) They had loads of different Boot own accessories (make-up brushes, nail stuff, ect) on sale...so go have a look – I think Boots must be repackaging them soon or something.

Soap & Glory Body Moisturizing Mist – On a night out getting ready my friend used this on her legs and they gave them an amazing shine effect (I’m not sure how to explain it). So when I was in Boots I picked some up for myself! And I love it! Perfect for post showers – light moisturizer, smells great and gives a lovely healthy look to the skin.

LUSH – Happy Blooming Cherry Bath Melt - I’m going to have to blame Vivianna Does Makeup’s Blog for my new addiction it Lush and again I saw this and feel in love with the smell. I have slightly sensitive skin so I have stayed clear from any of the bath melt but I really want to try this – again I haven’t tried it yet but I’ll keep ya posted!

LUSH – Charity Pot Hand and Body Lotion – Another impulse buy at the till when I was buying my bath melt but it’s for charity, only £1 for a small pot perfect for your handbag. Lovely moisturizer but not keen on the smell (the boyfriend hates the smell)!

Boot -No. 7 High Shine Lipgloss in Lust – I’ve been collecting the £5 off No.7 vouchers from Boots and I wanted a new lipstick, so I thought I would have a little look at the No.7 counter. I didn’t like the look or texture of any of the lipsticks so I brought this lipgloss. I really like it as it’s slightly thicker texture to normal lipgloss and feel more like a liquid lipstick so I’m hoping it will last longer on my lips. I haven’t taken a photo of my wearing the lipgloss as I’m going to wear it Friday Night to a hen party and I’m planning to do an outfit and make-up of the night post for ya...so keep your eyes peeled.

Now I've promised lots of review blog posts I have no accuse not to post regularly. Hope you like it and let me know if you've tried any of these products and what you think of them!

Hope your having a good week

xxx

Exciting Beauty News for Southampton :)

I just wanted to make a big apology for neglecting my blog (I know im truly rubbish!) but I’ve been super busy for the pass two weeks working overtime at work and looking after my poor mum; she’s suffering with sciatica and can barely walk :( !

But with the excusing over! I now have some great beauty news for the likes of the beauty addicts in Southampton!

About a week ago I notice a article in the Daily Echo informing that John Lewis in Southampton are spending 4 million upon refurbishing the whole of the middle floor (just the middle floor!!) housing all of women’s fashion and BEAUTY!

Whilst walking around West Quay tonight (Me and Joe were taking a visit to Thomas Cook to finally pay off our holiday to New York!!!) I notice John Lewis had already started improving and noticed a few new make-up stands had joined the amazing make-up line up!

Now I finally live locally to Laura Mercier, Elemis, OPI, Nail Inc, Bare Escentuals, and there is still room for more!

I cant wait to see what is awaiting the rest of the beauty section in John Lewis! I can barely contain myself from going back tomorrow and buying everything insight! But I really must start saving for some spending money for New York…to buy even more make-up!

I’m off now to start researching into a huge shopping list I need to take to New York to make sure I buy all the amazing make-up and beauty goodies I can only get in America!

Sorry again for the lack of post recently, but I’m back and have loads of ideas for posts…and I’m open to any request!

Hope your having a good week!

My new love - ELF Studio Make-up Brushes

I really don’t think I’ll be able to live without my ELF Studio Make-up Brushes!

From Left – Right – Angled Foundation Brush, Eyeshadow ‘C’ Brush, Kabuki Face Brush, Powder Brush

The real beauty of all these brushes is that they are super soft and CHEAP!

Angled Foundation Brush (£3.50) – I use this brush for applying highlight on my cheekbone. This brush is just your average angled foundation brush, but still very good for the price.

Eyeshadow ‘C’ Brush (£3.50) – I love this brush for my eyeshadow! The ‘C’ stands for crease (I presume?) Its perfect for applying colour to the crease of the eye lid!

Kabuki Face Brush (£5) – When I first received my ELF order through the post the first thing I opened was this Kabuki Face Brush, and I spent most of the day playing with it smoothing it all over my hand and face because it is sooo soft. The brush is perfect for my bronzer and I would highly recommend it! Especially for only a fiver!

Powder Brush (£3.50) – I saved the best brush till last! I use this brush to apply my liquid foundation and it gives my make-up the most flawless finish. The bristles of the brush are densely packed forming a flat surface of the brush to buff in foundation. I love this brush! I really wanted to buy a few more as back up (just in case!) Although bad news...the website has sold out of them at the moment :( but just keep looking!

I love ELF studio brushes and I’ll be making another order soon to try out the other studio brushes!

Have you tried any of the ELF Studio Brushes?

Hope your having a good Friday
xxx

My first MAC Lipstick!! in Jazzed!

I feel I should frame this photo or something :)

Shocking I know! But as you know (from a previous blog) I live 30 miles away from my nearest MAC counter I have to mainly order MAC online. As I can’t swatch anything I make my decisions on what I’m going to buy from reading blogs and looking at pictures they’ve posted and different beauty vlogs. I’ve heard so much about the famous MAC lipsticks and wanted to try them for myself and was really excited to make my next purchase from MAC!

So I was on the hunt for the MAC lipstick of the moment, I had heard sooo many good things about the new lipstick – jazzed from the new In The Groove collection.

But to my horror the MAC website had sold out! :(

So I visited a little site called ebay! I paid an extra fiver plus £2 P&P to get my hands on the latest exciting MAC lipstick!

And it was so worth it!

Drum roll please............

And my verdict?

Gorgeous colour, amazing formulation and lovely smell! (not the classic old-school lipstick smell)
Jazzed is a perfect lipstick for the summer, and I a little sad that its only in the limited edition collection! Bring it to the permanent collection MAC!!!! Pretty Please!

Well I am hooked! And will be spending most of my hard earned overtime wages upon more MAC lipsticks!

Have you got any suggestions on which ones I should get next??

Hope your having a good week
xxx

Embracing the Braces - OOTD

Top – Zara
Jeans – New Look

Boredom is expensive. I seem to be spending most of my summer break (from university) wondering around many retail stores buying clothes I really don’t need. This top was one of them. I’ve notice for many blogs and vlogs that zara seem to be having a really good summer sale and I thought I would investigate, seeing as I can only afford sale items because I have spent sooo much money lately :(

I spied this top hanging in a dishevelled sales rack and fell in love with the print. As I pulled (or more or less yanked) it out of the rack I noticed the brace detailing, giving the ditzy print on the tee an edger look. Perfect with denim and I was originally excited to wear with some denim cut off short. But alas the wonderful British weather doesn’t last long and soon turns grey, hence I wore with jeans today but I think is still looks good! What do you think?

I’ve also started buying for the autumn/winter. Shocking I know! But I will always now live by the motto ‘Buy it when you see it’! I learnt this lesson the hard way many times before so I have brought knitwear, an umbrella and boots! Blog coming soon!

Hope your having a good week
xxx

Summer Lips!

I found a gorgeous lipstick whilst completing a boring food shop at Morrison’s. It has become a bit of a habit when walking round the supermarket to take a detour to the make-up stand (I have become an expert on Rimmel the amount of time I’ve spent looking at everything) and sometimes I find a little gem!

Rimmel - Moisture renew lipstick in soft coral (600)

I wish I found this lipstick before I went holiday; it’s a perfect colour for the summer!

Only problem with it is that it has a slight shimmer in the lipstick, but sometimes a little shimmer is nice in the summer.

What is your favourite summer lipstick?

xxx

Holiday OOTD @ the Zoo

On one of the only sunny days on my holiday in Newquay my boyfriend and I took a trip to the zoo. Seeing as the sun was shining for a change I decided to get out a holiday classic...

The Maxi Dress....and only £8 from Asda. A beautiful baragin!

Maxi Dress – from Asda £8
Khaki Draped Cardi – from Primark £7 (I think?)
Black plated belt – from New Look £5 (for 2 different colours)
Handbag – from Accessorize £32 (I think, but now it’s in the summer sale for £14) :(
Worn with flip-flops

I didn’t realise until looking back at these pictures how coordinated I was with the surrounding of the zoo, I think my boyfriend was tempted to leave me there :)

xxx

Holiday!

Just wanted to give a quick apology for the lack of blog posts!
I'm currently in newquay sat on the beach enjoying a lovely holiday! But don't worry when I'm home in a week I'll be blogging with OOTD (holiday style!) and sharing my favourite holiday beauty products and tips!

Spk to soon
Have a great week!

Xxx

Summmer Nails!

Seeing as I’m off on my holidays on Saturday I thought I would share with you lot some of my favourite nail polish colours!

No line-up of nail polishes would not be complete without a bit of Barry M....

Barry M - pale purple – I love this colour its sooo pretty!

Barry M - mint green – this isn’t a usual colour I go for, but its bright and summery

Barry M - pink flaming – a more of a brighter colour for the summer

Eyeko tea rose – I love pinks and this is a lovely summery dark pink shade

Topshop – Nice ‘n’ Neutral – perfect neutral shade for all year round

No.17 High Gloss – Raspberry Mocha – a new favourite of mine (featured in a previous blog post) perfect with a summer tan!


What are your favourite summer nail polishes?
xxx

Happy Feet thanks to Vivianna and Lush :)

I thought I would treat my feet to some pampering after reading Vivianna’s blog post she tried the Stepping Stone Foot Scrub from Lush and I thought I would give it ago myself.

As it's flip-flop weather I gave my toes the full attention of a mini pedicure!

I started with the Stepping Stone Foot Scrub. It made my feet feel super soft and smelt amazingly of citrus flavours. The scrub takes away horrible dry skin from the feet and the oils and cocoa butter adds the soft moisturized feeling. I can’t wait to use this again and again; it feels like a mini spa for my feet. (please read Vivianna’s Blog for more of a review)

(it broke into several pieces when I tried breaking a small piece off to use, it is supposed to look more like a foot, but look on Vivianna’s blog for a better look at the stone) it was a bargain at only £2.75!



To make my feet feel even softer I smothered my feet in my favourite body butter, N-Spa Coconut ice cream body cream. It was a gift for my (birthday and it smells delicious! I believe you can get it in all different scents from Asda and other supermarkets.

And to finished I added a new nail polish I picked up today. No. 17’s High Gloss polish in Raspberry Mocha! Such a lovely colour for the summer as it really compliments a tan.

My feet feel amazing; I think this might have to become a weekly pampering occurrence!

What do you think?

xxx

Beautiful Ends with Herbal Essences

While straightening my hair one morning (how horrible is it straightening your hair in the heat. I'm not liking the sweaty look...yuck!) I notice my ends where looking a bit frazzled. Too much heat abuse on my hair I think?

Since I have cut my hair short I can’t really leave the house without running the straighteners over, so I was on the hunt for something to give my hair a bit more protection and nourishing. My lovely, amazing friend Jenn came to the rescue and recommended Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends – Split end protection intensive mask!

And I’m in love!

It works by running the product through your hair and leaving for 5 minutes then wash out (but it’s advised to only use once a week). It makes my hair so soft and the ends of my hair feel really nourished! And it smells delicious – red raspberry!

When I brought the mask there was a special offer in Superdrug – buy two Herbal Essences products for £3.50. So I also tried the Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends – Split end protection cream.

This product works as a leave in conditioner. It say you can use on towel dried (damp) or dry hair, but I would advise to only use on damp hair because I tried the cream on dry hair however it made my ends slightly greasy. Not as amazing as the hair mask but still good for protecting the ends of my hair! And again smells absolutely amazing! I would just repurchase again just because of how lovely my hair smells afterward!

Have you tried any of the Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends products?

xxx

A Studio Secret....?

How GOREGOUS is this weather??

But when the sun is out, the make-up starts slide! So a primer is essential in this weather!

Recently I’ve been trying L’oreal Paris – Studio Secret Professional Smoothing Resurfacing Primer.

It’s a soft white/pink mousse that smoothes out the surface of the face creating a perfect surface base to apply your foundation. It makes my face really soft and smooth and I’ve also notice it dulls redness of my old acne scars and even some shine while making my make-up stay on longing through-out the day. It also claims to smooth out fine-line and wrinkles!

Seems like the perfect primer?

Only problem is it only a 15ml pot and it cost £12.99 (rrp)........it’s very pricey for a small pot that won’t go very far. When I purchased my pot it was on sale for £9.99 in Superdrug and I’m lead to believe that this could be a regular occurrence. I’m not sure it’s worth nearly £13 for such a small pot! So maybe I will only be repurchasing if it’s on sale?

Or maybe find another primer to try? Any suggestions?

xxxx

Topshop Sale - Jewellery!!!

As me and a friend wondered around town we noticed Topshop was having a sale! We both didn’t really have the money to buy anything (even sale items) :(

But I really can’t say no to jewellery.... here is what I brought

I notice this bracelet before but didn’t buy it...glad I didn’t as I got it half price for £3!

These two necklaces caught my eye, they were each £3.50 but I thought they would look lovely layered together. As you might notice I really like simple words in jewellery.

And I also brought my friend a little something; she has been looking for a horse-shoe pendant necklace for a while and I found this...

Hope she like it....(if not I’m sure I can find a home for it lol!)

Have you found any bargains in the summer sales?

Great find at Primark – Make-up travel storage!

I found a great make-up travel case in Primark a couple days ago!

At only £3.50 it’s perfect for holding all my bottles of Cleansers, Toner, Moisturisers and Make-up!

It stands at 9.5” wide and 7”deep perfect for holding everything in one bag/case! Complete with a convenient carry handle and built in mirror it’s great for all your travels! I can’t wait to use it for my holiday to Newquay this year! It will be nice for once to carry everything in one case, rather than the usual routine of have several different make-up bags filled to the brim with make-up and bottles of skin care, generally losing everything!

With a beautiful floral print it will become one of my must have travel accessories!

What storage to you use travel with all your make-up?

xxx