August favourites....

Sleek Oh So Special palette (I use this daily for my brows, and almost every day to create one of my two go-to makeup looks - a pink shimmery smokey eye)

Rimmel Stay Matte powder

The Balm Big Mama blush

Revlon Nearly Naked foundation

The Balm What's Your Type volumising mascara

17 Mirror Shine lipstick in Beehive

I'm trying to save money so currently magazines are a rare treat. I picked up Cleo this month mainly because of the beautiful Blake Lively on the cover!!

Due to a lack of healthy hot chocolate in Australia, mum sent me a selection bag of my favourite Options hot chocolates in a little care package. I honestly have never received anything better in the post. It's the small things.

What's everyone else been loving this month?

Loves

xxx

New hair and how I style a draped kimono OOTD....

Earings - Urban Outfitters

Lipstick - Chi Chi 'Wrapped Around My Pinkie'

Kimono - Cotton On (Australia)

Strapless Top - Miss Selfridge

Leggings - Primark

Converse - Office

Sunglasses - ASOS

Nail Varnish - BYS Matte White (Seche Vite topcoat)

Turquoise ring - Primark

Silver ring and above knuckle rings - Sportsgirl (Australia)

Quite enjoying rocking a slightly off centre parting! I had a hair cut last week and after initially hating it, I let it curl naturally over night then just lightly ran the straighteners over it in the morning to create a wave and now I'm a bit in love with it!

Loves

xxx

Man's t-shirt OOTD...

Being a fan of men's clothes over women's most of the time (how come they have much cooler t-shirt designs than us??!) I was only too willing to help the bf out when he only liked one t-shirt in the 2 for $30 offer in JayJays recently. Their 'oversized' range have a great cut and I got away with a size small to wear as a dress!

Sunglasses - H&M

T-shirt - JayJays (Australia)

Watch & Bracelet - ASOS

Boots - Dr Marten

Bag - Australian market

Loves!

xxx

Mini Market Haul...

And by mini I mean the haul, NOT the market. I went to Eumundi markets on the East Coast of Australia last week (one of my favourite places ever) and picked up a few bits....of course. The one thing I always stock up on from the market is oil burner melts and candles. 

My scents of choice were Creme Brûlée, watermelon, and passionfruit and papaya. Lush. I also love good old fashioned vanilla, so picked up some more melts for my burner. 

I went with the intention of picking up some silver jewellery...as much as I love cheap fashion silver jewellery from Primark and the like, I don't enjoy the green ring I get on my finger when I de-jewel at the end of the day. It's time to progress to sterling silver so I wanted to see if they had any unusual or cool designs. I just picked up the one, for AU$20.

The one thing I absolutely did not intend buying was clothes (as if I need anymore?!) but it was hard to pass by Gerrard King and his stall of incredible artwork. Seriously, check his website out. I find it hard to walk past skull t-shirts at the best of times but this one was so unusual and unlike anything I've ever seen in a highstreet store. 

That's the last shopping I'll be doing for a while...I've got a Mac palette to save for!

Loves

xxx

Rimmel Scandaleyes eye shadow stick....

This thing is an absolute beauty. I'm a black kohl liner girl through and through, and I love applying it to my upper and lower lash line then smudging out for a grungy undone eye. I find some liners do this better than others, and with a standard kohl pencil it can take some work to achieve the look I'm going for. I bought this hoping for smokey, grungy, messy results with minimal effort and it delivers all that and more. First, the colour...

left - solid colour, right - smudged out

Dark black with an iridescent shimmer under light (although not that noticeable on the eye) it glides on super easy, smudges controllably, then stays put once set. I've heard that these things can crease on the lid but I don't have the problem using them the way I do as it's just a quick line on the upper and lower lash line. I then smudge with a pencil brush, neaten up the edges with a cotton bud where needed then go. Instant rock chick, grunge, super model on a night out, eyes. 

Has anyone else used any other colour in these pencils?

Loves

xxx

I CAN FIT IN MY DISCO PANTS!!!!....

There was a few sketchy weeks where I thought me and my disco pants were to be no more. I was a few pounds heavier when I got back from Australia and I've had to work pretty hard on the food front to shed them in order to squeeze my backside into them but I'm there....

Top - Tbar

Trousers - American Apparel disco pants

Boots - Dr Marten

Watch - ASOS

Earings - Primark

Ardell 'Fairies' lashes

Mac Candy Yum Yum

Loves

xxx

From the brand that can do no wrong....

V05. Let's talk. You've heard me rave about their dry texturising spray over and over again, and now is the turn of the Plump Me Up dry shampoo. I'm a Batiste girl through and through, and even though I know there are much better offerings out there on the market, the price, packaging and range of scents (Tropical or Wild every time) win me over and keep me brand loyal. 

Until I picked this up in Priceline when it was offer last week (Batiste is EXPENSIVE in Australia!!) and then the game completely changed. 

"Boost body and grip whilst refreshing your style. For fine, flat or oily hair"

Smells nice, isn't sticky, doesn't make hair feel sticky or chalky, easily rubbed in with no white residue left, volumizes, and keeps hair in it's style. This was great on second day hair, but didn't quite manage to tackle third day hair as well as Batiste does. Which is fine. I just need to stop being as lazy and wash my hair more. 

The verdict? I love this. I may even be tempted to buy this alongside Batiste (I find Batiste holds my hair better if I'm going to put my hair up on day three so I couldn't replace it completely) and recommend this to anyone who finds Batiste sticky and uncomfortable in the hair. 

Anyone else tried and loved this? Is there any other V05 offerings I need to know about and go purchase?

Loves

xxx

Bargain lip liners alert...

I've got a fairly decent sized makeup collection (there's a lot more room to grow but I'm getting there) but the one area that was lacking was lip liners. To be honest I wasn't sure my makeup routine even needed them but I thought I'd pick a few up and experiment with different looks. Obviously I didn't want to go crazy and spend a fortune so when I stumbled across these from Essence for AU$1.75 (around about £1!) I thought I'd pick a few up and give them a go...

(top to bottom: 11 in the nude, 06 satin mauve, 10 femme fatale, 07 cute pink)

They're surprisingly creamy for the price, and come in a decent range of shades. I picked up a range of four shades to cover all/most bases and so far so good. They aren't crazily long lasting compared to similar offerings from Mac or Illamasqua but for that price, I wasn't expecting miracles. They do, however, feel moisturising for a lip liner and don't dry my lips out or crease. Winner! I think I'll pick up the rest of the shades to complete the set and work with them to create some different looks, and maybe one day I'll progress onto my lusted after Mac Cherry!

Loves

xxx

Lets get oily....

So all this hair oil fuss has escalated in the past few years and I have to say, I was a little late on the bandwagon. Favouring a messy, matte texture to my hair I dismissed hair oils as not being for me. I'm now facing up to the fact that I was completely wrong. Here's my current collection (I have more back in the UK I wasn't able to transport back over here).

L'Oreal Mythic Oil - This was my first oil I tried after receiving it in a GlossyBox. I'm now on my third bottle and I adore it. It's super light and is so great on curled hair to separate curl and keep hair extensions is top condition. It contains avocado and grape seed oil and is probably the closest consistency to an oil out of these five.

Organix Macadamia Oil - This is a very rich, thick formula which I find can weigh my hair down a bit, especially on day two after washing it. It contains macadamia oil so is completely different to Mythic Oil, and claims to mend split ends, which to be honest I'm sceptical about.

Orofluido - Again a sample from a beauty box this one is extremely hydrating. If anything I find this a bit too hydrating on my hair, I save this one for three day old hair to tame the ends before I pop it in a top knot. It's pretty expensive (around the £25 mark depending one where you buy it from) and I won't be repurchasing. 

Schwarzkopf Hair Repair Daily Oil Elixir - What a little beauty. First I love the packaging as it has a lock top to stop spillage and leakage if you take it out in your handbag. It's a similar consistency to Mythic Oil and has similar ingredients, I find this one doesn't weigh my hair down at all. I also love this one on damp hair before I let it air dry to cut out the frizz. At around £4/£5 I'd say buy immediately. 

Lastly is the Tresemme Argon Oil salon smooth serum - the clue's in the name. This one is much more of a serum than an oil; I don't find it nourishes at all but it does give a nice shine to freshly straightened or curled hair, also suits my hair extensions without weighing them down. 

What other oil's would you recommend? As something I use daily in my hair I'm always looking for new oil's to buy and try out....especially bargains.

Loves

xxx

Little grey dress OOTD...

 

 

Dress - Valley Girl (Australia)

Shirt - Primark

Boots - Dr Martens 

Bag - Australian market

Necklace and rings - Primark

Watch and sunglasses - ASOS

This dress was so inexpensive I picked one up in most colours. They're going to be great for summer when I'm down the beach to throw over a bikini, and I'll bring them home to layer up with tights and chunky cardigans for the UK winter.

Loves

xxx

Nails of the week #1...

It's been too long since I did a nail post! I downsized my nail varnish collection considerably and am trying to think really carefully about each colour I buy now otherwise it will get out of hand again... So this week I've rediscovered one from my favourite brand, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Mermaids Tail. It's a buggar to get off but totally worth it when it's on the nails.

Gorgeous flecks of blue and green chunky glitter with a blue polish holding them all together. It does take about three coats to make it completely opaque but I love how it looks on the nails.

What nail varnishes have you been loving?

Loves

xxx