LBD forever….

If in doubt, let the LBD save the day

Dress - Supre (Australia)

Shoes - New Look

Leather Jacket - H&M

Necklaces - Topshop

Nails - Primark

Nails - Topshop

Foundation - EL Double Wear

Nars Creamy Concealer in Vanilla (under eyes) and Custard 

Mac MSF Natural in Light (under eyes) and Medium Dark (As a contour)

Mac blush in Harmony (contour)

Mac Lovecloud blush

TheBalm Mary Loumanizer highlighter

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Dark Brown and HD Brows powder 

Mac Naked Basics 2 and various Inglot shadows in the eyes

Benefit Push Up Liner 

Benefit They're Real Mascara and Eyelure 101 lashes

Mac Rebel lipstick

Any excuse to wear all black and a dark lip, I'll take it

Loves

xxx

Checked shirt and ripped jeans OOTD….

Mono-chrome, ripped denim, oversized checked shirt. All the elements for an absolute perfect fail safe outfit. I'll be swapping the sandals for boots now it's getting colder and throwing on a leather jacket (obvs) but I can see this being a staple look for the Autumn/Winter transition. An oversized mans watch   (and Mac Rebel) is all the accessorising this look needs. 

P.S. Boohoo.com are where it's at for oversized shirts. 

Shirt - Boohoo.com

Jeans - Topshop Leigh

Bag - Marc B 

Sandals - New Look

Watch - ASOS

Loves

xxx

New York and outfits...

Dress - Boohoo.com

Bag - Australia

Necklace - Lovisa (Australia)

Watch - ASOS

Jumper - Primark

Dress - Topshop

Bag - Market (Australia)

Shoes - Dr Martens

Sunglasses - RayBan

(thoroughly enjoying New York cheesecake)

Dress - Supre (Australia)

Cycling Shorts - Miss Selfridge 

Shoes - Dr Marten

Watch - ASOS

Chain & Sunglasses - Primark

Bag - Australia

Loves

xxx

Milani blush review….

When in New York…do what the crazy makeup crazy makeup artist/beauty blogger's do and collect all the makeup not available in the UK. First stop…drugstores and the coveted Milani stand. 

First up, the packaging is cute and compact, with a handy clear lid to see the colours at a glance making makeup decisions in the mornings a lot easier. 

The blushes are baked which means the colour's are quite sheer but don't appear powdery on the skin even when they're built up to achieve a stronger colour. 

I picked up shade 01 Dolce Pink which is a rose gold blush with a LOT of glitter. This is a blush that needs absolutely no highlighter added into the mix - it's a one stop glowing cheek shop. I also picked up (shock horror) 05 Luminoso which is seriously hyped in the blog and youtube community as being a glowy, peachy blush that is really subtle really tricky to get wrong. A quick swipe of this on the apples of the cheeks and up onto the cheekbones leaves a really healthy 'glowing from within' type finish. This is very rapidly becoming a holy grail product in my collection.

I wish I'd picked up more of these but I'll definitely be adding them to my next American drugstore haul list. I highly recommend these if you're heading overseas.

Loves

xxx

Outfit details...

Sunglasses, top & socks - Primark

Jeans - Zara

Shoes - Dr Martens

Watch - ASOS

Lipstick - Mac Morange

Necklaces - Topshop

'E' pendant - present

Nail Varnish - Essie Mint Candy Apple

Rings - vintage, Topshop, H&M

I took so many photo's for this post I think I went a little bit crazy towards the end….

Loves

xxx

Naked Basics 2 preview….

I couldn't be more excited. I'm not a huge eyeshadow wearer - a slick of liquid liner and a bright lip is my signature look and I reserve the smokey eyes and fancy eyeshadow looks for makeup jobs on shoots etc. But every now and again a girl needs some kind of crease definition or a matte brown toned shadow to complement a nude lip or just to spice things up in general. I'm not one for crazy colours, and shimmers always get a bit messy on me so when Urban Decay bought out the Naked Basics palette it was instant love. It's the most worn palette in my collection by far, so when I saw the Naked Basics 2 in Sephora when I was in New York last week I did a little makeup squeal of excitement. This thing is gorgeous. 

The same sleek packaging as the original Basics palette this is spot on for travel or just throwing in a makeup bag. More cool toned than the original, it echoes the same theme with five matte shadows and one satin finish that acts as a perfect highlight. The darkest shade is on the grey side of things and actually acts as quite a nice brow shade for me so this really is all I need when travelling. 

The taupe shade shadows are great crease colours, all over lid shadows or accompaniments to other Urban Decay palettes like the Electric palette that need grounding with some neutral shadows to make them more wearable. Fans of the original Naked palette, of cool toned taupe shadows, good quality matte eyeshadows or just neutral eyes in general will love this. Released on the 1st of October in the UK, this one is a must have in any collection. 11 out of 10.

L-R Skimp (pale nude satin), Stark (nude-pink matte), Frisk (warm grey matte), Cover (muted red-brown matte), Primal (muted brown matte) and Undone (deep, smokey brown matte).

Loves

xxx

Summer empties...

It appears I have a favourite deodorant….Also loved how long the Soap & Glory Foam Call shower gel lasted and it smelt delicious. I'm fairly fickle with body products though, and I can't say I've repurchased any of these...

Elvive Fibreology shampoo is my all time favourite I'm well into my second bottle of this stuff and I'll 100% keep using this for the foreseeable future. Also loving the Batiste XXL dry shampoo…forever a staple in my hair routine. I didn't love the Philip Kingsley Elasticiser as much as I expected to - it's one of those cult blogger products I just couldn't get into. Another re-purchase has been the V05 dry backcomb spray - it's the perfect texture and not sticky at all, an absolute livesaver in my freshly washed hair. 

The Garnier Micellar water is an empty from my professional makeup kit…I get through this SO quickly its ridiculous but it is a perfect dupe for Bioderma. The only two products I've not repurchased were the Nivea eye cream (an eye cream is an eye cream and I've since found cheaper alternatives) and the Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser. This was nice but a bit heavy for my oily skin. 

The second my Seche Vite top coat ran out, I could have cried. Don't fear though, I've got back ups of this as it's probably one of my top five holy grail products of all time. The Elf brush shampoo and Scandaleyes mascara were definite no-loves. My top tip of the day is STAY AWAY from this mascara, awful awful awful. 

What has everyone else used up over the summer months?

Loves

xxx

Hats, checks and oversized t-shirt OOTD….

Simple and laid back is my go-to style of choice lately. This was just a quick thrown together outfit before I left the house for a last minute makeup job this week. Skinny jeans and a black t-shirt will forever be my wardrobe staple. I'm not 100% sure on the hat though, what do we think of hats guys??

Jeans - Vera Moda

T-shirt, boots & watch - ASOS

Shirt - Vintage

Hat - Primark

Loves

xxx

New dream mascara alert..

Now, I don't want to say anything rash here but I think I may have found something special. We're talking Benefit They're Real special. The newest offering from 17, the Falsifeye HD mascara, claims to lengthen and add volume to lashes creating something pretty special. I'll admit, the before and after picture on the box sold it to me (yep, an ex advertising student being sucked in my the packaging…awkward). 

The actual mascara packaging is spot on. Sleek, black, simple, nice and substantial. The wand is everything I love from a mascara wand. Plastic, short bristles, easily loaded up with loads of product to make a quick 'one swipe' mascara job a real possibility. The wand reminds me a lot of They're Real, minus the spiky ball on the end, but this one tapers down to a nice fine point which makes it really easy to get into the inner lashes and coat the bottom lashes nice and easily without making one big mess.

So, to business. Bare lashes on the right, two coats on the left. I've since loaded up with three to four coats of this stuff and, thanks to the wand, it doesn't clump at all. It's super black, easily to manoeuvre the wand around the upper and lower lashes and get right into the roots thanks to the super spiky wand. I saw no signs of flaking or smudging, and I've done the ultimate test of sweating it out in the gym for a solid hour after an 8 hour shift at work and it looked just as perfect as when I'd applied it at 5am in the morning. And at around the £6 mark (they always have offers on so you can probably pick it up a bit cheaper) it's probably my new favourite find and a staple in my makeup bag.

Winner

What other drugstore mascaras does everyone love?

Loves

xxx

Leopard jeans OOTD….

Top - Cotton On (Australia)

Handbag & Sandals - Aldo

Jeans - Miss Selfridge

Sunglasses - Ray Ban

Watch - ASOS

Necklace - Topshop

I've really been enjoying sticking to the basics recently….I can't think of anything better than pairing a plain t-shirt with a staple sandal and a pair of interesting bottoms. These leopard jeans FINALLY fit me again after loosing all my Australia weight and I couldn't be happier to have them back in my daily wardrobe rotation 

How would everyone style leopard print (or just patterned) jeans?

Loves

xxx

Ombre, brights and rips...

Shirt - Vera Moda

Jeans - River Island

Watch - ASOS

Sandals & bag - Aldo

Lipstick - Mac Lady Danger

I'm loving everything casual right now…and ripped jeans paired with loose shirts are my absolute go-to, especially now it's cooled down slightly (still sandal weather though luckily! Yay!)

Loves

xxx

What's new….

I've decided I needed to inject some new and exciting products into my makeup routine. I've come to the end of my trusty The Body Shop mattifying seaweed moisturiser so decided to try a purse friendly version of this day cream from Garnier and so far I'm really enjoying it! I also needed some lashes for a few events coming up, and thought I'd be brave and branch out from my usual Demi Wispies and try the Ardell 117's which are a bit longer (slightly scared at the length of these!) and not quite as, well, wispy! 

My Rimmel Stay Matte is coming to the end of it's life so thought I'd give into the hype and pick up the Soap and Glory Kick Ass powder that I've hear many a beauty guru raving about. It's extremely yellow based but it really suits my skin tone and is such a perfect under eye setting powder. Can anyone say Kim Kardashian?!

I was extremely intrigued by the concept of the L'Oreal Intense Matte Glosses. A matte gloss? Hey? They apply like a really opaque gloss and try to a matte texture (which is my current lip product finish of choice) and I'd heard a lot of mixed reviews on these. They don't wear that well over a long period of time but the colours I picked up (coral denimista and fuchsia flare) and so beautiful. 

I'm not going to go on about this one too much as there's a review coming up on this soon, but I may have found a Benefit They're Real dupe. I know, right? The 17 Falsifeye HD mascara makes promises that it manages to keep, and then some. Stay tuned for more on this. 

Lastly I needed a new liquid liner - I think I eat these in my sleep I get through them so fast. The 17 Tattoo Liner promised semi permanent, up to 48 hour wear. If you intend to wear this for a short period of time, don't bother. It's a royal pain in the ass to apply, it's so thick and gloopy, and if you're a beginner in the winged eyeliner game I'd avoid this at all costs. If you deal with the application process and love a long wearing liner that's really going to put the hours in, go and buy this immediately, if not before. This does NOT move. No flaking, smudging, moving, transferring, or any sort of annoying eyeliner behaviour in sight. When it comes to removal, set aside a little bit of time for this one. 

Old faithful OOTD….disco pants and spots….

Shirt & handbag - Primark

Trousers - American Apparel Disco Pants

Shoes - New Look (my latest purchase and I LOVE them!!)

I had an epic false eyelash error this night which left my own lashes looking clumpy and not all too fresh! I did get chance to wear my latest Mac lipstick (oh Hi Debenhams £5 off all lipsticks…cheers for that one!) Coral Bliss

I'm almost a bit glad the weather has cooled down in the evenings now, I love these kind of outfits so much and it's been far too hot to even contemplate a disco pant themed look!!

Loves

xxx

L'oreal Extraordinaire glosses review….

In previous years, glosses have been way down on my list of makeup loves. Lipstick is my ultimate number one. But recently I've found gloss to be much more convenient for work (hello less touch ups and speedy application sans mirror) so decided to bulk up my gloss collection. I picked these up on an offer in Boots and am physically holding myself back from rushing out and buying the whole damn lot.  

I picked up Rose Symphony, which is a bright rosy pink that looks great with a bronze smokey eye or just as the only pop of colour on the face. My favourite of the two, though, is Nude Vibrato. Oh my this is perfect. The right amount of brown and peach tones combined, I think it's probably my perfect nude. I can see a makeup shopping trip coming on to swatch everything L'Oreal has ever made to find it's lipstick equivalent. 

So in terms of colour, these are perfect. Staying power is quite good, especially got a gloss. But saying that, if you like your glosses non-sticky and super comfortable to wear….these are your boys. I'm interested to see what their darker colours are like (there's a bright orange on the current TV ad that I've got my eye on) and am probably going to pick a few more Autumnal shades up soon for when the weather turns. 

Basically, it's love. Anyone else tried these? Anymore shade recommendations?

Loves

xxx

Checks, denim, Dr Marten OOTD….

Shirt - Topshop

Shorts - Sportsgirl

Bag - Collarado @ Strandbags

Boots - Dr Martens

Belt - Dorothy Perkins

Sunglasses - Ray Ban

Watch - ASOS

Nails - Essie Blanc

Lips - Mac Morange

I love those carefully planned outfits that look thrown together. I've been searching for an oversized black and white checked shirt and finally found this one hiding behind a load of other checked numbers in the Birmingham Bullring Topshop. Paired with some denim shorts and black boots I just love how thrown together the whole thing looked. And, as always, my colour injection for this outfit came in the form of a nice bright lipstick…all hail Mac Morange as being my absolute favourite bright lipstick. Ever. 

What's everyone else's go-to outfits at the moment?

Loves

xxx

Mac Haul….

Well this is the first haul we've seen around these parts for a while! I did a little online order last week (now we're finally able to use Pro discount online…hurrah!) and picked up some beauties…

First I picked up a Mac palette and 24 pan insert so I can finally de-pot some lipsticks for my professional makeup kit. Lugging a heap of lipstick tubes around every time is driving me ever so slightly insane so hopefully this should make life a little easier…

How have I only just come to own this?? Spice lipliner is such a cult products and I was really lacking a brown toned nude in my kit so this is surely going to be a very welcome addition and just from swatching it I can tell I love it already.

Another Mac product I knew I needed but it's taken so long to get around to actually purchasing. Lady Danger is such a gorgeous orange toned red (my personal favourite) and again something that was lacking from my professional kit. Although I won't promise that this won't be on my lips every now and again too!

Again, I was lacking a dark purple in my kit and was originally going to pick up Heroine but decided I'd see what Pure Heroine was like (this is the Lorde edition of the original Heroine for those who don't know). I actually really like this and is going to look beautiful on dark skin tones when we get into Autumn.

So I've saved the best for last. I literally hunted across London for this bad boy, and had given up all hope of ever having it in my makeup collection until I randomly saw it pop back up on the website. I've never been one to go wild for Mac collections but I think I could have happily owned everything from the Kelly Osbourne line (if money would allow). I've been looking for a lilac lipstick for the longest time and I think this one is pretty much perfection. 

Loves

xxx