Spotlight On | Kat Von D Nietzsche Ink Liner.

I'm currently on holiday in Vancouver BC so apologies for not posting much. I've been doing a bit of shopping in Sephora since we don't have it at home. I'm trying to buy things I'll not get in the UK so that I can justify it ;) I may do a collective Canadian haul post at the end of my holiday but for now I'll do a spotlight on my fave find so far. 

Kat Von D Ink Liner in Nietzche is a pretty periwinkle blue shade in a liquid liner pen form. I'm really into this shade at the moment and it could be cute to match my liner to my Essie Bikini So Teeny nail polish. 

I wore Nietzche today with just a bit of mascara and kept everything else simple.

I like it as a simple pop of colour, I don't feel like it's "too much" for daytime. I got this for CAD$23 in Sephora. I picked up some more KVD goodies but I'll show you them later! 

I'm off for some poutine and Tim Hortons (not even kidding) :) 

Spotlight On | Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait.

I've decided that not all my posts need to be super long. Sometimes a quick blurb of my thoughts on a product is enough to let you guys know whether it's worth a look or not. So I'm starting this series of 'Spotlight On' posts to give you mini reviews. Hopefully this will mean I can post more often and let you in on when there's something that is just rocking my world (what's the fun in keeping it to myself?!). 

The first product I'm throwing into the spotlight is Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait. Let me start by saying I got this as a freebie in a 3 for 2 offer on Revlon, and I wasn't particularly excited about it. It sat unused for around 6 months until two months ago when I picked it up again. It's since become my everyday staple lip product!

The base colour is like a peachy-rose, similar to a natural lip colour (or what I'd like my naturally pale pink lips to be!). Through this colour is a golden peach shimmer which highlights and plumps the look of the lips. I find that the shimmer accentuates my Cupid's bow, almost like a built in highlight, and the colour is very multidimensional (my pictures don't do it justice!). I love the Revlon lip butter formula as it applies easily like a lip balm, lasts for 3-4 hours on average and the colours are buildable. Peach Parfait is such a lovely natural colour and the shimmer makes it even more interesting; it's become my go to lipstick for work and weekends. My current tube of this lippie is worn right down to the end and I'll definitely be picking up another one this weekend in time for my summer holiday! 

I've had lots of compliments on it and I'd happily have paid high end price for such a lovely lippie. The best part is that it is Revlon and so it's widely available and cheap (£7.99)! If you pass by it anytime soon please swatch it. It suits me no matter how pale or tan I am and I think it would suit most skin tones from fair to medium-dark. 

What's your go to lip just now?

Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation | Review.

I bought this foundation in May and I'm glad I waited this long to review it as a month ago I would have trashed it! 

I got the shade Fiji which is the darkest of the light shades and has a yellow undertone. I also use Fiji in Sheer Glow and the All Day Luminous Powder Foundation formulas, and it the most flattering match for my skin I've ever had. 

I love Sheer Glow for short wear time but if I wear it all day I end up so horrendously oily, and I found the Sheer Matte too difficult to build up and apply. The powder version of the All Day Luminous Foundation is a holy grail on light and natural makeup days as it's so quick and blurs out imperfections but again it can leave me pretty oily by the end of a work day. I have fallen in love with my Loreal Infallible 24hr Matte as you know, but the colour match isn't quite as good as Fiji. So when I heard that the new Nars foundation was a matte long wear formula for oily skin I was so excited! 

So the first time I tried this was for Beautycon and I HATED it. I applied with a buffing brush and perhaps I used too much but I was so overly yellow and my skin looked really bumpy and textured (gross basically). I had used the powder foundation on top and it looked oily but cakey at the same time. I tried to fix it all through the day but I couldn't wait to take it off. 

I haven't touched the bottle again until two weeks ago when I really felt I needed more yellow tone in my foundation and mixed a bit in with my Loreal Infallible (in shade 11 Vanilla). I used my beauty blender this time and the result was gorgeous. I had a better colour match and the finish was lovely and matte but natural. 

This week I progressed to using the Nars foundation alone with my beauty blender and I'm thrilled to say I am loving it. I use two or three tiny pumps (a little goes a long way) and blend it into my face. I then add my concealer and set with Soap and Glory Kickass Powder and this keeps me matte for around 6-8 hours. I usually just blot rather than adding more powder and it looks fresh and even for another good few hours after that. 

Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation in Fiji on skin in natural lighting. (Charlotte Tilbury 'Norma' on eyes, ABH 'Retro Coral' on lips, Becca 'Opal' highlighter and Nars 'Madly' blusher on cheeks)

I'm so happy that I didn't waste my money as this foundation cost me £32 and I honestly thought I'd never touch it again after the Beautycon fiasco. I love the colour of it when I use a smaller amount, although it is definitely more yellow than Sheer Glow in the same shade. I think light handed application and a beauty blender may make it work for you if you haven't had luck so far. I still prefer the Loreal Infallible formula for keeping me flawless and matte all day but the colour range of Nars is superior. I am happy to own both and I think I would actually repurchase this foundation now I have got to grips with it. 

So we have a happy ending :) Have you tried this foundation? What were your first impressions?

Pineapple and Watermelon Crazy.

I've been buying lots of fruit themed items the last couple of months and it's become a bit of an obsession. But a cute one. 

Pineapples and watermelon are my favourite summer fruits along with the less photogenic coconut (which looks like a brown hairy ball... We'll leave it at that). I much prefer cheery fruity prints to floral when it comes to clothes and homeware. So here are some gems that I've picked up!

1. Estella Bartlett Pineapple Necklace.

I picked this up in an independent shop in Cowes high street which carries the loveliest range of jewellry. I was torn between this one and a pretty little Hamsa hand necklace but the pineapple won! This was reasonably priced at £16.50 for a gold plated necklace. It's quite small so it's discreet from far away and then when people see it up close they'll realise you're a crazy pineapple lady. Cool. 

Found an online source to buy this! http://www.lisaangel.co.uk/gold-pineapple-necklace

2. H&M Watermelon and Pineapple Sequin Tees. 

This was love at first sight. I bought the watermelon first, and then when I went back into H&M the following week the pineapple one threw itself at me. The tees fit really nicely, are so soft and only cost £12.99. The sequins really catch the light and it adds a bit of colour and interest to a basic tee and jeans look. I saw two more sequin designs in store; a white tee with palm trees and a cream tee with parrots. Some might call them tacky... I call them AWESOME. 

3. Paperchase Watermelon Travel Cup.

This little thing hasn't left my side since I bought it in May. I may have even taken it in my handbag once and surreptitiously sipped the straw when no one was looking. It's so cute and I drink so much more water with this than before. I think the straw makes you drink more and the lid stops me from feeling like dust can get in my water if it's been sitting for a while (does anyone else care about this or is it just me?!). Anyway it's cute and it was £7. Bargain. 

4. Paperchase Watermelon Makeup Bag. 

This wasn't actually sold as a makeup bag (I think it's a wash bag) but I knew it would be perfect for carrying my cosmetics together in my big handbag. It's adorable and wipes clean. I also like that you can see throughout the sides so you don't need to dig around looking for things. I can't see it on the website anymore but you might find it in store. It was £8 I believe. Paperchase have an amazing range of watermelon and pineapple goodies at the moment, from earphones and phone cases to plates and bags. Defo worth a look! 

What are you obsessed with at the moment? Don't be shy, there will be no judgement here ;)

Charlotte Tilbury Eyes To Mesmerise.

I'm supposed to be saving for my holiday so I have been trying not to buy unnecessary amounts of new makeup... Enter Charlotte Tilbury and her new collection of eyeshadows. I didn't stand a chance. 

 I really wanted high shimmer or metallic formula champagne and gold-bronze eyshadows as it looks stunning with just some mascara. I then saw Vivianna Does Makeup and I Covet Thee on YouTube raving about the Bette shade of the Charlotte Tilbury Eyes To Mesmerise cream formula shadows. It was such a gorgeous bronze shade but it was the metallic look that hooked me. It's difficult to find a really wet looking and shiny formula like that. When I saw that the range also had a champagne shade called Norma I was adding to basket and at the checkout before I knew what had happened. I reasoned that they will be very well used this summer and that I wouldn't need any more eyeshadows after that (ha). 

I purchased straight from Charlotte Tilburys website and was delighted when they arrived as it only took three days for delivery and the presentation box was gorgeous. I didn't take a picture because I ripped into it the moment I got it... Bad blogger. 

The little pots are sturdy glass with the CT symbol embossed on the lid, all very luxurious. The shadows are a moussey-cream which blends easily and dries quickly to a budge proof finish. I'll let the swatches speak for themselves....

Bette is the top swatch, it's a gorgeous warm gold bronze which can be sheered out to a more golden brown shade, or layered for the full metallic bronze effect. 

Norma is the bottom swatch, and although it's described as a pink champagne on the site I'm happy to say I don't detect too much pink in it. It's more of a true champagne gold with slight peach tones. It's gorgeous on its own as an eye brightening wash of colour, or used as a centre of lid and inner corner highlight on top of Bette (as below). 

Im so so thrilled with them both. They can be sheered down and made work appropriate or layered on to give a beautiful summer bronzed eye that's not too try hard. I've used my fingers and brushes to apply, both with success, so I'd say it's really your preference. The lasting power is fantastic, they look as good at the end of the day as they did when I first applied them and I've not experienced creasing or flaking.

 I am so in love and haven't touched any other eyeshadow since I got these. They cost £24 each and you can get them from CT website or Selfridges. There are four other shades to check out but I'm looking away before I spend anymore of the holiday fund!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipsticks | Ordering To The UK Experience

I am so pleased to have got my hands on these infamous liquid lipsticks! They are all over Instagram and YouTube and I felt like the only lipstick fanatic not to have tried them. Living in the UK means that these are not available easily and I had to purchase straight from the Anastasia Beverly Hills website and pay international shipping (plus customs). 

I'll start by saying they have a bit of a bad rep when it comes to delivery times. I was prepared for them not to be very fast but taking over three weeks to arrive was still disappointing. Also, I emailed them ten days after ordering to ask for a rough ETA and they told me that the order had just been processed (!) even though I'd had an email the week before telling me that they were shipped. This was due to 'back order issues'. Not a great experience and the long wait means I'm less keen to order in future, although I most likely will as they keep bringing out such bloody good products.

The liquid lipsticks cost $20 each, plus $17.95 for international shipping. I also had £20 of customs charges added so these lipsticks didn't exactly come cheap to the UK.

I wanted to try a selection of colours from the line and managed to whittle it down to four. I wanted a nude, an orange, a dark and a coral (these are my most likely to be worn shades... I'm a creature of habit). I chose Pure Hollywood (a neutral beige nude), Neon Coral (neon orange), Heathers (dark, darrrrkkk burgundy) and Retro Coral (bright pinky coral). 

The formula is pretty consistent, but I find Heathers and Pure Hollywood easier to work with than the two brights. They can become streaky in application but I find it's generally fixable whilst wet and once I'm happy with the look of things I leave my lips apart til everything has dried and 'locked in'. Lasting power is good, however when you add to many layers things start to look a bit goopy and flaky, so I'd advise less is more and if you go overboard blot and start again. 

Overall I'm so glad I bought these as I own nothing like them. I wish there were more liquid lipsticks on the UK market, I'm hoping it filters down into more drugstore brands. I'm going to be wearing these with a tan, minimal makeup and a smile. 

Have you tried Anastasia's liquid lipsticks? Any shades you recommend? 

I'm Back!

Apologies for being M.I.A. for the past month and a half... I just finished a postgraduate year for my job and things were hectic. I also got a promotion (yay) so things are good on the job front, but poor on the blogging front. I feel so guilty, I promise to post more regularly from now.

In my absence I have been (stress) buying lots of makeup and bits and pieces so the good news is that I have plenty of new goodies to share with you. 

Thanks for staying tuned :)

NARS Torrid Blush.

I found this blush by accident and I'm so glad! I was putting in an order on Space NK online for a couple of things and saw that BECCA Mineral Blush in Flowerchild was still out of stock! I've been waiting since February and I always seem to miss it when it comes back onto stock. So I did what any beauty addict would do; I decided to google search for dupes.

I found a couple of pictures that compared it to NARS Torrid, and I actually liked Torrid better. It is less pink, more orangey-red coral and slightly more pigmented with less shimmer. I really wanted a new coral blush as my Benefit Coralista is quite sheer and my Illamasqua Lover is more neon-apricot. So I decided to forget Flowerchild and I ordered Torrid. 

This colour is so wearable. It has the perfect balance of pink and orange with a tiny bit of shimmer than translates as sheen on the cheeks. It will look perfect through Spring and Summer, I love the brightening effect it has on my face. I already own NARS Madly and I do think that NARS have one of the best blush formulas and the nicest colours. 

NARS Torrid on the cheeks. Revlon Peach Parfait Lip Butter on lips. 

I'm so happy to have found this by accident, I don't know if I'd have looked at it in the shop as it is quite dark in the pan! Have you found any gems through a random internet search?

L'Oreal Infallible 24h-Matte Review.

This foundation has been getting rave reviews and now I see why!

I can be a bit fussy with foundations and tend to believe that you get what you pay for. However in this instance I am wrong! This foundation costs £7.99 and it performs better than most of my high end foundations. 

I have oily skin so need a mattifying formula, but at the same time I don't like it to look heavy. That's exactly what this delivers! It's pigmented so you don't need to use much at all, and it blends so easily and evenly. It doesn't break up as the day goes on and looks as good at the end of the day as it did when I applied it that morning. For weekends and occasions where I want my makeup to look flawless all day without touch ups I will now reach for this!

I picked up shade 20 Sand for when I am more tanned and shade 11 Vanilla for paler days. I can then mix with these shades to create the rainbow of shades I can be (the perils of fake tanning!). 

I am so impressed by the magic formula L'Oreal has created that I bought the primer to use under my NARS powder foundation to see if it keeps me matte on more natural skin days. I don't feel the need to use the primer under the foundation as it lasts so well without it. I wore this foundation on a 15 hour nightshift and it somehow still looked perfect in the morning... It really is witchcraft. 

If you are oily and your makeup usually slides off your face you just need to try this foundation! If you are dry skinned I do believe there is a formulation for you as well in the Infallible range. Have you tried any of the range? Did you like it?

House of Lashes Haul.

I have a confession. I don't 'do' fake eyelashes. 

I know, I know. Shocking for a beauty blogger. But I have naturally long lashes and I can never be bothered with the fuss of it all. Plus I struggle to find lashes that compliment my eye shape.

But recently (after watching many, many Desi Perkins, Jaclyn Hill and Teni Panosian YouTube videos) I decided to give them another go. They seem to add that last bit of polish to a prettily made up eye. And they do photograph well (I remember from my uni days!). 

I went to the House of Lashes website after seeing them on lots of YouTube videos and all over Instagram and picked out a few pairs. 

I got 5 pairs, priced between $9-14, and a bottle of the $8 white adhesive for a total of $69.95 (roughly £45). This seemed quite reasonable for 5 pairs of lashes, glue and shipping from the US. They arrived in one week which was faster than expected. They are all good quality and seem like they will last multiple wears. 

I tried them all on to show you the styles. I have no other makeup on as I found when I was researching them it was difficult to get a clear view of them on a bare eye. Hopefully this helps someone out there! 

These are my favourite and are the most popular on Instagram. Will look nice with most eye looks but I'm envisioning copper eyeshadows and a winged liner. I'll probably be wearing these to Beautycon London at the end of the month! 

These are my least favourite as I'm not a fan of the massive winged out look of the outer lashes. I'm going to trim them as they are a tad too long for my eye which might help. These might benefit from a heavier smoked out eye. 

These are also too long for me but not so dramatically winged out as the Noir Fairy. I'll trim them and they should look a bit better on my eye. I think these would be nice with a light brown and gold smoky eye. 

These are quite out there! But I think with the right makeup they could be one of my faves. I saw Kathleen Lights with these on, paired with bright red lips. They gave her eyes great definition without any liner. I'll give it a go!

These are probably the most natural. I wanted a lash that I could wear with minimal makeup and that wouldn't need a liner to cover the band. I'm thinking bronzed beachy makeup looks...

So I'll update you when I pair these with actual makeup! But hopefully these pictures will give you a good idea of the look of the lashes on the eye. 

The website was great, full of pictures of Instagrammers wearing each style which is helpful when choosing. The adhesive is also pretty good. It's a white glue but turns shimmery green-blue when tacky which is helpful for novices like me! 

Have you tried House of Lashes? What were your thoughts? 

Review: Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze Gradual Tanning Lotion.

It has been a month since my little Boots haul so I've had a fair chance to trial all the things I picked up. The product that stood out most (well, tied with another- next post!) is this Palmers gradual tan in spray form. 

I've used the original formula of the Natural Bronze range which is the same consistency as a body butter. I am oily and often found this broke me out and made me feel greasy in bed after application, however, the colour of the resultant tan is my favourite of all the gradual tanners I've ever used. 

So when I saw that they had released a spray version I grabbed it in the hope it would be a thinner and less rich lotion. And it is! The spray makes the process so quick, I just spray my body in sections and use my mitt to rub it in. It spreads easily and consistently, and dries within about 5 minutes. Seriously, I go to bed and I have no horrid sticky feeling. It's amazing!! 

The next morning it has a faint fake tan smell but nothing offensive. On me it gives the most natural and even olive tan, with no streaks. I use it on my face and it doesn't break me out. It's actually pretty dark for a gradual tan (it only comes in one shade as far as I know) so be aware if you are very pale that it's not as 'gradual' a tan as some. I applied it two nights in a row and I felt it looked a tad too dark for me; I prefer a light glow. 

These pictures are of me wearing one application;

Overall this is my new holy grail everyday tan. It's quick, easy to apply and has the perfect colour for me that lasts about 4 good days. It costs £7.99 for 200ml and is available at Boots and Superdrug. 

ASOS Outfit Haul.

I finally bought flared jeans after pinning numerous pictures of them on Pinterest! I chose these ASOS brand bell flare jeans as I liked the wash and that they were medium rise. I don't like buying jeans online as they are the hardest item of clothing to get a good fit (the struggles are real), but it's so easy to return ASOS I bit the bullet. They cost £35. 

I fancied a new outfit to wear with them so picked up a Vero Moda white tank top (£8), a New Look statement boho necklace (£17.99) and a new pack of Orelia flash tattoos in rose gold this time (£5). 

The jeans are super flattering on me as the bell bottom at the ankles balances out my rather large hips and derrière! I remember being horrified when skinny jeans came into style as they are not made for my shape, yet years later they are all I wear. It's nice to have flares back in style as I actually feel they do something for my curves. 

The material is stretchy so fits well round the hips and thighs, before coming out below the knee. The dark wash will go with everything. Shoe-wise I will either wear my Missguided chunky heeled boots (the jeans are long enough for heels) or my trusty Birkenstocks for a laid back look. 

The tank top is lush soft material and hangs really nicely. The necklace is really quite cool, it feels well made and gives an instant update to a plain top. I popped my tan Zara jacket (from a couple years ago) on yesterday as it was chilly and the whole outfit looked very 70's but in a good way (I think!). 

I haven't tried the flash tattoos yet but I'm sure I'll love them!

What do you think? Have you tried flares yet? Picked up anything amazing on ASOS? 

Essie Bikini So Teeny & Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover.

I picked this pair up in Boots recently. I have been looking for the Bourjois pot for a long time as it has a sponge in the lid for toes and the usual sponge inside for fingers. I love pots like these as they are so quick and negate the need for separate cotton pads. This one is especially cool as it leaves a red fruit and vanilla scent on the skin afterwards (the bottle doesn't smell good but the scent left behind does!). 

Essie Bikini So Teeny is a colour I wouldn't have gravitated towards as I prefer corals and warm nudes, however I saw it on Desi Perkins and fell for the cornflower blue tone. It's something a bit different for me but I really like it for Spring. 

Look away now if you hate feet!!

I gave myself a pedicure since I can't paint my fingernails for work. The Bourjois remover worked perfectly in removing the coral colour I had on, and I love the new blue colour! 

Happy toes :)

Statement Lip - MAC Darkside.

It was a gloomy day on Friday and I was meeting a friend in town for drinks. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to pull out a dark lip shade before summer truly begins and corals reign supreme. 

I picked up Darkside recently and haven't actually worn it outside of the house until now. I'm not going to lie, this was SO outside my comfort zone! I almost took it off in the car, but persevered and ended up being pretty comfortable in it. It is high maintenance and I had to check my mirror after eating, but paired with simple makeup I didn't feel it looked 'too much'. 

I've decided to be more adventurous with lip colour this summer... What are your favourite bold lip colours?

Dolce & Gabbana - L'Imperatrice No.3

I picked this up in the duty free shop on my way to Scotland last weekend. I was intending to browse only but this was so beautiful I couldn't resist. It was one of those scents where I walked away and couldn't stop sniffing my arm trying to work out what notes I recognised. It smells very fruity but in a totally new and unexpected way. It doesn't have the saccharine sweet notes that many fruity perfumes have, I'd describe it as juicy. 

The notes are listed as;

Top: Rhubarb, red currant, kiwi

Heart: Watermelon

Base: Sandalwood, musk, grapefruit

This perfume is part of the Anthology campaign that D&G came out with a couple of years ago, fronted by a few very famous models. This scent was created for Naomi Campbell. Honestly none of that matters to me, I bought this on scent alone and I am in love. 

The only con to this fragrance is that is EDT, and so by nature it is not as long lasting as my beloved D&G Rose The One. But it layers very well on top of Rose The One, and the 100ml bottle will last a good amount of time even with multiple sprays per day. I've actually filled up my little Sephora travel spray bottle with this perfume so I can respray when I need to. It last a couple of hours on me as far as I can tell.

I paid £24 in duty free which is a bargain for 100mls of any designer scent, however when I repurchase (and I will!) it will probably be from fragrancedirect.co.uk where it is online at £31.99 (RRP is £39.99).

I've been told multiple times this week that I smell great, which is the best thing you can hear when you have a new perfume on. I'm smitten. 

Spring Wedding Outfit.

I went to a beautiful wedding in Perthshire this weekend and picked out a lovely Spring inspired outfit. 

I bought the dress about a month ago from ASOS, it's my favourite mint green colour and the scuba fabric is super flattering. It's wedding appropriate in that it's mid-length and not too revealing, but at the same time it is feminine and pretty. 

I paired it with a periwinkle/ lavender coloured Dune bag that I found in my local TK Maxx. I thought the bag gave a bit of a contrast colour, but still stayed in the pastel theme. The shoes are Dune also, but new season from ASOS. They are rose gold platforms with a good chunky heel, and they were surprisingly comfortable for the entire 12 hours I had them on! They looked so beautiful and will go with pretty much everything! 

I accessorised with my Arosha Taglia ring and a flash tattoo from Topshop on my inner forearm, and covered up with a white crochet shawl that I picked up in Primark. My outfit was comfortable and I felt it flattered my shape. I have another wedding in May so it will be getting recycled!! A definite winner!

It was a stunning wedding and perfect weather for a ceremony in the gardens. I was rather distracted by a beautiful pair of big brown eyes though...

All in all a brilliant day.