(Another) Chanel Impulse Buy.

I was shopping on the mainland last weekend with a friend (I live on an island...not enough shops!) and I specifically told myself I would only buy some staple clothes for spring. I managed to pick up a few lovely things, which I might haul, and was sticking to my plan until... CHANEL. I innocently wandered past the counter and one of the Coco Rouges caught my eye. It was Pimpante (90) and it's one I've swatched many times but never bought. I asked to try it on as I've never actually had it on my lips, and because, well, I just really don't think a shopping trip is complete without a beauty purchase. It looked lovely on, a gold flecked orange toned coral. After waiting to see how I liked it in various lights (outdoors, other shops etc) I decided I actually LOVED it. It had a satin sheen and lasted really, really well, fading nicely but leaving a tint of peach even after a few hours. So I had to go back and purchase. I had to, ok?! It was £26, which is pricey but it's something I'll get daily use out of. And the packaging is to die for. 

See what I mean? 

It looks slightly more pink in the photos above, due to crappy indoor lighting, but it really is orange toned. You can see the gold flecks in the photos, it's not that awful 80's pearly coral, more of a pout enhancing shimmer. The photos below give a better representation of it on my face 😁

What do you think? Any other shades you love? I would buy more, if only for the packaging! Dreamy. 

My Holy Grail Products: 2015 Edit.

Since we're all getting to know each other here, I thought I'd start with a post about my holy grail products. These are the wee beauties that I have repurchased and will again (*whispers* forever...) as I couldn't imagine my life without them... First world problems and all.

1. NARS Sheer Lipstick in Barbarella

This is my most repurchased lippie ever! I love it so much that I get excited when other people tell me they love it too, or I see Youtubers raving about it, but then I get crazy beauty addict syndrome and get scared that it will all be sold out and have to fight the urge to bulk buy 20 back ups from SpaceNK. It's a sheer formula with nice slip and medium lasting power, but it's the colour that slays me. It's THE perfect face brightening peach. I've looked over the years for a dupe, and some have come close, but Barbarella reigns champion every time.

Barbarella swatched once (top) and layered (bottom) with flash (L) and in indoor lighting (R).

2.Benefit Coralista

Although this blusher has been a little under-used through the winter, I know I'll be wearing it again come spring and summer ( and probably autumn too). It's another face brightener, with a delicately highlighted sheen and a pop of coral colour it goes great with fair to medium skin. I think it looks especially good with a tan! 

Coralista swatched in indoor lighting.

3. Fairy Drops Scandal Queen Mascara 

I picked this up in Oxford St Topshop after seeing Vivianna Does Makeup rave about it being her favourite mascara EVER. And now I get why. It's the water resistant formula that I went for, and I no longer struggle with the black-smudge-under-my-eyes situation, which before was a daily occurrence. It also gives INSANE length!! Now I already have very long lashes, but the tiny fibres in this stuff magically sit at the ends of my lashes! Like tiny magical fairy lash extensions. That's right, you will never need lash extensions or falsies when you have this. I know I won't!! 

4. Rituals Honey Touch Body Cream

I'm on my third tub of this now, it's just... perfect. It's like a whipped cream-butter consistency and sinks in without leaving a greasy layer. But the major selling point for me is the scent. It's rose and honey and sweet almond, a fragrance which I wouldn't have thought I'd love so much, but it's delicious. It's one of those smells where everyone who gets a whiff has to know what it is and it even passed the boyfriend test. It's sexy and it makes YOU sexy. 

5. Dolce & Gabbana Rose The One

After I fell so hard for my Rituals body cream, I decided that maybe I do like rose scents, as long as they are sweet and not too granny-esque. This fragrance sits right in the sweet spot. It's like a juicy rose, with lychee notes and... I'm terrible at explaining scents... Maybe some vanilla? I don't know about top notes and base notes, but what I do know is that if you like sweet fruity florals you need to smell this. It's my signature perfume now.

6. NARS Radiant Touch Creamy Concealer in Vanilla

I almost forgot this one! But I have repurchased many times and it is a consistent staple in my makeup routine. In between this I had used Maybelline Age Perfect Rewind in Light which is still a totally great concealer for under eyes and face, but whenever I come back to this I remember how creamy and bendable it is, as well as being high coverage and available in multiple shades. I'm anywhere between Gobi and Punjab in NARS foundations (usually sitting in the middle at Fiji), and this works no matter where I am on the tan spectrum. 

So there we have it, my creme de la creme products. I've recently found a few promising items which may achieve HG status... They'll be featured in upcoming posts!

What are your holy grail products? 

Hiya.

So. Here we are...

This is a new blog and I thought what better way to begin than by telling you a little bit about me?

Here are ten things you ought to know...

1. I am Scottish but I now live on the Isle of Wight on the south coast of England. I have been here for two and a half years since I left uni and it's pretty sweet. We even get sunshine down here...

2. I have a boyfriend called Dave who is pretty cool. And might read this. So he's totally amazing and smart and cool and I could do with him bringing me a piece of chocolate.

3. I have wanted to start a beauty blog for a couple of years but I have a full time career which takes up a lot of my time. But I thought I could do this as a hobby and see where it goes, y'know? No pressure.

4. I breathe makeup. I buy A LOT and it tends to be mainly high end but I do enjoy the odd perusal of the Boots counters. I have some holy grail favourites that I will share with you of course, but I will also keep you updated with any new and exciting purchases!

5. I love doggies. And animals. Just, anything that's cute and furry and fuzzeeee and *high pitched girl noises*. But seriously, the best day of my adult life was at Longleat Safari when I got to touch and get close to lots of animals. It's my kryptonite. 

6. I am clumsy as f***. If you give me a cup of juice you better hope you don't like you're shoes/carpet/general area we are in because that juice will get spilt. And it will be theatrical.

7. I live for holidays and weekend trips. I always need to have the next one booked to look forward to, it gives me life. We (Dave and myself) just got back from Paris last weekend, but I'm already planning another little trip. Maybe Sweden or Austria? We are heading to Vancouver in August which is going to be ridiculously amazing.

8. Wow... This is hard. Ok, so my favourite music is anything with a good melody that gets into my head (or gives me the feels). That could be rock, indie, occasionally pop or dance-y stuff, and even metal and country. Depends on the day, the mood and the outfit.

9. My favourite makeup looks are natural glam; I stick to what I know with peaches, bronzes, nudes, browns and golds. But I am trying to be more adventurous (see that purple lipstick up there? That was groundbreaking stuff for me!!). You'll probably see a theme as I go through my favourites and new purchases... But you've got to do you, right? 

10. My inspirations for makeup and this blogging adventure would be the likes of Lisa Eldridge (the mother of makeup... I love her less is more approach to beauty), Lily Pebbles and Vivianna Does Makeup (dream team), Jaclyn Hill (absolute blending badass and hilarious to watch), Batalash (Sam is just the coolest girl ever), Karissa Pukas (OK, maybe Karissa is the coolest) and Chloe Morello (she has a very similar makeup style to me i.e awesome). I've probably forgotten someone but I might end up doing a favourites every month and I'll pop my faves from YouTube and blogs in there! 

Phew!!! That was a long one, but hopefully you all will know me a lil' bit better now. The next post will be makeup related and we can get into the swing of this! Thanks for joining me, I'm so excited to share beauty chats with all of you!

 Comment below with a fun fact about you so I can get to know you!