Accessories

I went shopping yesterday and picked up a few accessories, its my birthday on Saturday and i needed a clutch bag. I'm really loving the envelop style ones but the only place i could find them was eBay for around £17

I put it off and put it off and good job i did because i found this one for £7.99 in New Look, it's a store i never really go in but i was in Manchester Trafford Centre and decided to just browse as i was there all day.

This then led to me buying the Leopard print shoes to go with a pink dress I'd bought and a star print scarf which I'll wear in my hair..

 

Shoes - £17.99 (also these were in Grazia magazine!)

Scarf £2.99

If you would like to see the rest of the items i bought or a birthday haul please let me know!

xxxxx

The dreaded Orange peal ...

This is probably one of the main body hang ups i have. Don't get me wrong i know about 95% of girls will have the same problem, but it always puts me off wearing shorts!

However, Ive found two products that have definitely helped!

Now i don't have major cellulite but there is a bit there and in the light it is noticeable... and even on the smallest areas these products have help...

 

 Yes, it's good old Soap and Glory

The Blue bottle or 'The Firminator' claims to 'drain cellular fat and convert it to firm' and your suppose to apply it twice a day for 56 days. I can tell you that 1 bottle won't last you 56 days applying twice a day, but you can definitely definitely see results before the 56 days are up so its motivation to buy another one!

It smells like mint and has a real cooling feeling on your thighs, almost like you can feel it working!

The Silver bottle or 'Sit Tight' is a 'special lower body firming formula' which is most activated when sitting down. Again it basically gives the same results as The Firminator but it more useful for sitting down watching television, in an office job ect ..

This one gives a cooling and tingling feeling at the same time, again like you can feel it working.

Both of these products are around the £13 mark, but i have honestly noticed a real difference and it's even given me more confidence. So if your looking for a cream that will work you should definitely look into these two!

xxxx

Expensive primer, cheap primer.. or no primer?

So every time you probably see eyeshadow or how to apply it, it always seems that you MUST use a primer to capture the true colour and this primer 99.9% of the time seems to be Urbans Decay's primer potion. So i'm gong to look at no primer, Urban Decay's and an ELF primer to see if there is any real difference apart from the major difference in price.

So here are the two primers:

 

And the results:

I chose to use two different colours to see if colour also had any impact on what was pay off of a primer had.

So i picked MAC's Mulch :

 

and Bright Aqua from the Front Cover Palette:

 

So from left to right we have..

no primer, ELFs primer and finally Urban Decay:

 

 

So using the MAC eyeshadow there is obviously an increased pay off in colour especially when using the ELF primer( £1.50) where as Urban Decay (£11) increases the colour into a darker shade, it also does this to the blue eyeshadow.

The consistency of ELF is a lot thicker and also has a concealer like colour that doesn't fade to clear, i think this is a benefit as it gives a lid with no pigmentation for an even colour.

Urban Decay's is thinner and a lot lighter so as you can see from the pictures the colour seems to be different on different areas of the swatch.

However, the Urban Decay primer has slightly better holding power that the other two swatches.

Over all, i think i will always go back to ELF as this is always my choice before a night out just because i like the coverage it gives the lid and as i said it is only slightly better holding power by Urban Decay.

xxxxx

An everyday eye ...

So here is my eye day eye pretty simple :

 

Okay so you'll have to excuse the shadow from my camera, anyway it's really simple consisting of one colour all over the lid abit of eyeliner and some brown eyeshadow added in 

So here are the steps if you would like this look yourself:

1. Cover the lid in a highlight colour. I used MAC's paint pot in Bare Study and therefore didn't use a primer

2. Add some definition to the lash line using a black eyeshadow. I used MUA's Matt Black (it was only £1 and is really pigmented!)

 

3. Add some depth in the crease by using a soft Brown, i use Buck from the Naked Palette

 

 4. Go over Black liner with some liquid liner. I use a Brown liquid liner by Collection 2000

 

5. Add some mascara i used an old Rimmel one for this look but my usual choice is Collection 2000 super size!

And that's it!

If you would like a review on any of these products please let me know

xxxxxx

Super sized lashes

My Jemma Kidd mascara recently ran out, so i needed a new one, however when i went the Trafford Centre for a random shopping trip, i went into Boots needing a new eyeliner - when i seen this for £2.99

 

The bottle doesn't look anything to go by with the pink bottle looking like you could find it in a child's play collection. But it was the 'Super Size' that caught my eye, the mascara was new out and it was worth ago.

Results:

Before (no mascara or makeup - beautiful):

After:

 

As you can see for a £2.99 mascara this one is pretty good! It's a really lengthening  and even gives a bit of volume which is hard to tell from this picture as it is a really close image!

I have tried so many mascara's in the past with this probably being one of the cheapest i have tried, but it is also one of the best.

Collection 2000 is bringing out some real gems lately!

Stay tuned for some more reviews!

xxxxx

Current MAC Lipsticks

Here is my current collection of MAC lipsticks. 

 

As you can see I'm a girl who loves a pink lip, it seems to be the only colour that suits me. Bright, bold colours i love, however they seem to make me look allot paler than i am.

I'm trying to get into bolder statement lips, so i picked up the first one you can see Crosswires, which is a red with pinky undertones.

So from left to right we have:

1. Crosswires - Cremesheen

2. Viva Glam - GAGA - Lustre

3. Angel - Frost

4. Creme D' Nude - Cremesheen

5. Snob - Satin

My most worn lipstick is Angel, its so easy to wear, one of them colours that is definitely a 'your lips but better'. The consistency of each lipstick is different, the cremesheens and lustre are very creamy and have a shine so if your not a fan of a sticky lipgloss this is definitely the consistency for you. A frost gives quite a good colour pay off with a hint of gloss, where as a satin can be quite drying on the lip as there isn't much of a glossy finish, so you would need a lipbalm or gloss with this.

Adimitly i usually wait until BAC 2 MAC before i get a lipstick which can take a few months. However using this service does give you a chance to experiment with lip colours that you usually wouldn't think would suit you or that you would like to try but are unsure.

What are your favourites and what brand do you love?

xxxx

Help me...

Does anyone know where i could find any of these necklaces?

 

xxxxx

 

Abit of colour blocking anyone?

Another trend i'm loving is colour blocking, i remember seeing this on Gucci's catwalk and woondering if it would be a hit.

Then i remember walking into Zara and the shop was covered in colour.

Anyway i picked up these two pieces in the sale both at £9.99 each!

 

 The pants i thought would add a pop of colour instead of a jeans and t shirt combo on those lazy days! They would also be perfect for work.

The pink top is quite boxy, however teamed with simple jeans or black jeans it instantly brightens an outfit, perfect and on trend.

 

Another way to add some colour into your outfit is shoes! they're are so many cute ballet pumps in stores at the moment! I picked up these ones from Topshop and this colour is perfect with a tan!!

 

xxxxx

My new favourite colour..

Maroon, Red, Wine colours..

OBSESSED

I don't know what it is but lately i have been obsessing with this colour palette, strange i know, however i  found some pieces that capture my obsession ...

Please ignore the un ironed clothes they've been in the bag for a few days!

The first piece is a shirt from MinkPink, the brand has its own website or you can buy their piece on ASOS also, i love this shirt, usually i dont like sleeves are shirts that a frilled, but this is so pretty ..

The second piece is one from Primark, i never usually venture into this shop, however i needed some simple black shoes, when i seen this its an oversized shirt with mesh and blocked panelling at the back.

I think this colour will look great with leather style pants.

I'm also loving Raspberry by Barry M.

Does anyone have any colours they love or am i just strange !? 

xxxx

Burts Bee's Healthy glow kit- oh i'm in LOVE

So today in the post arrives my parcel of new skincare, i've literally given up on my no7 exfoliator as it give me an array of spots - lovely.

So i was on the hunt for something i could give a test when i stumbled across this:

On the website the size looked alot bigger, however at £15 and most of the products in the kit priced at £10 - £20 per item i should of expected the size to be somewhat 'small'.

However you do get 20ml of the facial wash and 7g of everything else with is a good size to get a couple of testers out.

Anyway upon using the products they are amazing! Have you ever used a facial cleanser and felt like it had just stripped your skin of everything leaving it feeling ultra dry? So have i, however this leaves it so smooth and nourished and topped with the day lotion and eye cream my skin is in heaven. It feels the best its felt in a long time after only one use!

Im so excited and happy with this product i cant recommend it enough! and its on the more affordable scale which is always a benefit!

One last thing the lip balm has shimmer in it which is an added bonus. My lips get so dry and cracked through winter but there is not a crack or dry lip in sight! this is my new favourite lip balm (it also comes in lots of colours aswell :D )

do you have any favourite skin products??

xxxx

A few recent purchases...

 I'm a sucker for shopping and when the sales come around it gives me even more of an incentive to go shopping (or just to hide the guilt of my bank balance) ....

Anyway ive bought loads through the sales, but i'll just give you a sneek peek of some things!

1st Zara Star Print Jumpsuit


When i seen this in magazine i was like 'oh my god i need that' and of course sold out everywhere! i checked online and was even watching some on ebay. However i went into my local zara and they had one on a rack of its own. It was an online return so there was no price, i'd seen it was £29.99 in the mags so i trotted on over to the till. When i got there the cashier went £9.99 please, literally i couldnt believe my luck :)

2nd Urban Outfitters Aztec t shirt

Im loving aztec this season but i feel it will be a short lived phase with colour blocking being big through to winter. However i love drapey round necklines, and this is exactly what the tshirt has, not only is it so comfy literally i could sleep in it, but its so easy to put on with legggings or jeans and it will actually look likeyou have made an effort. It was £15 from £30 ...

3rd Topshop fringed smock dress

I think this has to bee the biggest bargain i got through the sales. Its a smock dress with a velvet pattern on, the sleeves are really 70's inspired . It was orginally £65 and i got it for £15 saving £50 woohooo :)

4th Topshop fringed black cardigan

Again another fringed topshop piece. This is a beautiful cardigan that goes with so much because its black and so easy to through on again, its one of them pieces that gives you an effortless glam look! It was orignally £40 but i got it for £25, i got this awhile ago, i dont think the price has come down from£25 but i have seen some still in store

5th Zara Floral Blazer

This is definately one of those love it or hate it items. But i absolutely love it!! i was eyeing it up in Zara for ages! it was £50 and i umm and aww'd about it so much, it then went into the sale and i got it for £39.99 still this is quite abit compared to blazer i usually buy from h&m, but i just loved it so much i had to get it...

...

Lastly i bought one more item, it wasn't in the sale but i've never wanted a bag more in my life ....

To anyone reading who isn't a lover of fashion i am going to sound like a looney! ... however here it is...

Sorry about the bad picture but it is the Zara Shopper that Olivia Palermo had....

 What do you think guys? Have you bought anything amazing in the sales? Let me know! i love inspiration!! :)

xxxxx

Stars in your eyes..

Star prints are everywhere and i literally can not get enough!.. Ive been sucked in by nearly every magazine i have had by hands on through their fashion pages filled with gorgeous pieces covered in the star prints.

However if you dont want to go bold and beautiful with the full on print of pants, tops ect...

There are also suttle ways of adding the trend into your wardrobe through jewellery and hair pieces, but also suttle on clothes as you can see from the star print on the elbows of the ASOS jumper featured below.

xxxx