Shopping my stash #1...

I see a lot of these posts going around on blogs from one week to the next and I love the idea that it encourages using products that have long been forgotten and pushed to the back of the draw rather than going out and buying yet MORE new products. I had a rummage in the 'reserve' draws and pulled out these three beauties. 

Sax blusher in Rosy Glow, The Body Shop shimmer cubes palette 06, Topshop lip crayon in Coy.

This blush is a really beautiful rose pink with a lot of gold shimmer running through it. If you don't like any shimmer in your blushers, this isn't for you. I love the fact that it eliminates the need to add a highlighter afterwards….although thats not to say that I don't add one!

I've had this for longer than I can remember, but it really has laid unloved in my collection. The coppery and champagne shade in this palette are the kind of colours I reach for on a daily basis so I can see this becoming my everyday palette now I've bought it out of retirement. 

The Topshop lip crayons are very matte which is just how I like my lip products at the moment. They glide on beautifully (just make sure you exfoliate your lips first….) and have great staying power. This one in Coy is a beautiful peachy pink shade….and who doesn't love a peachy pink?! This will look gorgeous with a sweep of the above blusher and some of the copper shadow on the lids from the Body Shop shimmer cube palette.

Does anyone else do this regularly? What have you rediscovered from your stash?

Loves

xxx

Nail Varnish Collection Downsize…

I've noticed in recent months that my style is getting really minimal. My go-to outfit has been jeans boots and a grey t-shirt, my hair is left natural, and as long as I have lots of lashes and a bright lip I'm good to go out the door. So when I went to pick a nail varnish out of my collection recently, I was a bit overwhelmed with all my pinks, glitters, brights, nail effects etc etc etc. Don't get me wrong, I love pastels and brights and lots of colour on my nails, but I just felt I needed a real de-clutter. And by de-clutter, I mean throw all my glitter polishes in the bin. My life is too short to remove glitter nail varnish regularly. So, here's my collection post-clearout…

l-r Essie Grow Stronger base coat, Seche Vite top coat. 

Everyone needs a good base and top coat. I've been using both of these religiously for about 12 months, and I wouldn't use anything else. 

l-r Rimmel 60 Second Rita Ora collection in Pillow Talk, Lose You're Lingerie, Orgasm

These are my favourite new drugstore release by far. I adore all of the colours, plus it's in conjunction with Rita Ora, who I happen to have the biggest girl crush on. It's also worth noting that the middle shade above is a great dupe for Essie Fiji.

l-r Models Own Purple Grey, Rasberry Crush, Purple Passion, Purple Blue from the Beetle Juice collection. 

I used to have in excess of 40 Models Own polishes but I re-homed most of them with friends and threw away the ones that had gone gloopy and here's what I'm left with. The two pink colours I've kept specifically for toes especially with a tan in the summer. 

l-r Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in I Pink I Can, Midnight in NY, Mermaids Tail, All Fired Up

I love the formula and brush on these, they apply with one stroke down the nails and are almost opaque after one coat. I'd go as far as to say All Fired Up is probably my favourite nail colour. Ever. 

l-r Essie Mint Candy Apple, Fiji, Lilacism, Peach Daiquiri 

Ahhhh the classic Essie love on a blog. Who'da thought it?! I think Peach Daiquiri is quite a standard shade and wasn't too overwhelmed with it, but Lilacism is so beautiful and understated. 

l-r Sportgirl Aubergine, Collection (don't know the shade name, it's just black) Sportgirl neon pink, Gosh Lavender Love, Barry M Lychee 

These are my odds and ends that don't fit in any categories. A bit like Models Own, I threw away or re-homed most of my Barry M nail varnishes as I thought they chipped too easily but I do quite like the new Gelly formula so if you have any colour recommendations from this line I'd love to hear them!

Loves

xxx

April favourites….

Unsurprisingly, my April favourites is fairly lip product heavy. April also saw some resurrections from makeup favourites past…. one good thing about being on a budget is being more aware of raiding old makeup and digging into the long forgotten stash!

Bright lips have been the order of the day, particularly in shades of orange. First up is the Mac Pro Longwear lip pencil in What A Blast…I love this under almost every orange lip I wear, it makes it super long wearing and the colour so vivid. On top of this I've either been wearing my Napolian Perdis Set lipstick in Noosa. I don't actually think this is available in the UK but for any Aussie readers I have on here…..if you don't own this then WHY NOT? If I want something less matte and with a bit of sheen for the day time I'll pop on the Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in In Love With Ginger. If you saw my last post you'll see my other favourite lip colour is purple, so of course my favourite (and cheapest!) purple lipstick of the month has to be the Collection Little Mix lipstick in the shade Perrie. Lastly for lips, my neutral lip shade of choice has been the Benefit lip gloss in Sugarbomb, a beautiful pink with some shimmer running through it. 

Eye favourites have been all about the old faithfuls. You'll almost definitely have seen me talk about The Balm What's Your Type Volumising mascara over the past 18 months and it's still up there as one of the best mascara's I've ever used. I've been going back to basics on eyes with just a sweep of the Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeshadow stick in Bulletproof Beige over my eyes with loads of mascara, or a sweep of neutral shadow from my very old and very faithful Sleek Oh So Special palette. I love the pink shades in here for spring/summer, and the black is one of the best I've tried. As my eyelids are, and will forever be, particularly oily, I've re-discovered Benefit Stay Don't Stray eyelid primer which, I'll admit, I was not a fan of to start with. I still think the pump dispenser is wasteful but I've learnt that less is more with this one and I've really been loving it. 

Just a couple of face products, both from one of my favourite brands, NYX. First off is something that I'm sure has been in the last 3 months favourites and I'm almost certain everyone is fed up of hearing me harp on about; the NYX matte bronzing powder in light. And for a splash of colour I've been loving the NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Hot Pink blended (VERY lightly….this product has some serious pigment to it) into the apples of my cheeks and up lightly onto the cheekbones.

What are everyone else's favourites from April?

Loves

xxx

Purple is the new black….

First off, how hard is it to photograph the colour purple? Girls, please feel my pain. So it appears that purple, and it's many varying shades and tones, is my spring lip colour of choice. A little unorthodox but I'll roll with it. I counted up my purple lip product collection and I have an (unnecessarily large) grand total of 10. And this doesn't even include all of my lilac lipsticks, of which I only included one in this post as it's probably the most wearable. 

Left row, from bottom: 

Clinique Chubby Stick in Voluptuous Purple - a very sheer wash of purple that's perfect if the very thought of a purple gloss terrifies you. This one actually sticks around for quite a while too.

L'Oreal Caress 402 Milady - This is one of the most long lasting lip products I've ever used. Ever. Two layers of this stuck around for a full 10 hours, including a tasty roast dinner and upwards of 4 cups of tea. 

Sleek Eau La La liner in Raisin - This is quite a berry purple shade but goes well under some of the lighter shades for when I want to create an ombre lip. These liners are so long wearing and come in some great colours. 

Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick in Gangster Rap - Unfortunately you can only get this bad boy in Australia but it's such a vivid purple and, again, a good one for a long lasting lip.

Maybelline Colour Whisper in Oh La Lilac - such a wearable lilac shade, these remind me of the Revlon Lip Butters and are more of a tinted lip balm/lipstick hybrid. I've got quite the collection of these!

Maybelline Colour Sensational vivid in 906 Hot Plum - quite a standard purple shade, not the most long lasting but very easy to get hold of and a really great suit all shade.

Right row, from bottom:

Mac Up The Amp - please excuse the melted lipstick smeared all over the packaging! This is a very well loved lipstick and the perfect purple for pairing with a subtle smokey eye and big lashes for a night out.

17 Supreme Shine Lipstick in Pink Posey - another really wearable formula that edges towards the gloss/balm side of things.

Collection Little Mix lipstick in Perrie - my current favourite purple lipstick and the latest addition to my collection. I popped a picture of this up on my instagram and it got a lot of love. If you're feeling brave and want to try a purple lipstick, this one is super affordable so nothing lost if it's not for you!

Sportsgirl Violet Crumble - another Australia based lipstick, I've actually never worn this one but it's a very similar shade to the Maybelline Hot Plum!

Are there any other purple lipsticks I need to try??

What colour lips are you guys loving right now?

Loves

xxx

Nars Creamy Concealer review...

Well, the clue is in the name with this one! This is so creamy but blends super easily it sinks into the skin/foundation effortlessly - I use the Real Techniques contour brush. It's very full coverage so perfect for scarring and blemishes, and under the eyes on most occasions. I do find that blended over full coverage foundations (Double Wear, I'm looking at you) I see that after a couple of hours wear this has creased under my eyes. Sign of getting old, I'm screaming at myself in the mirror!!

I'm in the shade Vanilla which is slightly lighter than my skin tone so really highlights my under eyes whilst not being too light to cover anything else on the face by blending in with whatever foundation I'm wearing.

 Comparing it to my trusty Collection Lasting Perfection, I'd say this is a less dry consistency which I prefer, and blends a little easier but when it comes to staying power there isn't much between them. 

In conclusion, I think this bad boy will forever be a part of my makeup bag.

Loves

xx

Nars Adelaide Illuminator review...

Swatched and blended out

You know when you're having your makeup done and it's really distracting because the lady (or gentleman!) doing it is wearing something gorgeous on their face and you just want to ask them what it is? I recently went to get colour matched for Nars Sheer Glow and the lovely girl doing the honours had what I can only describe as pure magic on her cheeks. It was, as the title of this post suggests, the Nars Illuminator in Adelaide, which I believe is part the Final Cut Collection. 

Its a lilac toned bright pink with a silver shimmer running through it, which makes it really wearable as an everyday shade blended onto the cheeks and up onto the cheek bones. It really brightens my complexion and I think it would really suit most skin tones. 

I've also found it a really great product to pop on underneath a powder blush. It gives matte pink blushers a bit of life, and also makes them last a lot longer so perfect for a night out or if you prefer a brighter cheek.

This probably won't be the last Nars Illuminator I'll be adding to my collection! What do you think?

Loves

xxx

'Budget brand does collections' alert...

A while ago, Essence did a collection to go alongside Oz the Great and Powerful film and at the time I was in need of a golden based highlighter. Now this isn't necessarily a full on review of this product as I'm aware you can't buy this anymore and that would be unfair to you guys! 

But I have heard that Essence is coming to/has hit some UK stores so keep an eye out for this bargain brand as not only do they stock some great nail varnishes and eyeliners among others, but unlike a lot of cheaper high street brands, they bring out some seriously lust-worthy collections with some incredible high end quality products. So, seeing as though I mentioned my favourite Essence product I guess I should show it to you...

It's a golden based highlighter that is really pigmented but can be blended out onto the skin for a beautiful golden glow. Perfect for the summer or perking up tired winter skin.

What do you guys think of Essence?

Loves

xxx

My dresser and ever expanding lipstick collection....

Moving in with a boyfriend is tough. Add to the mix the fact he lives with two other boys, and you can start to picture how I live from day to day. My only sanctuary comes from my little bit of heaven my boyfriend allowed me....my chest of drawers. As an organisational OCD wierdo I'm still re-arranging and organising everything but I'm quite happy with how they look so far...

 

 

 

I may have purchased one or two *cough* new lipsticks since these pictures were taken too....ooops!

Loves

xxx

My ring collection....

Jewellery is one of my favourite things to buy/collect but it seems to slip under the radar on my blog, so I thought it would be nice to show you some of my favourite pieces I've collected over the years. I've got no really expensive pieces, most of it is high street although I would like to add some vintage/market stall pieces to my collection. First up are rings....


'Big' rings

Top Left - Right, Bottom Left - Right

Turquise stone - Primark

Pink centre - Primark

Green stone - Forever21

Silver & Black - Forever21

Gold and white - Primark

Black stone - Forever21

Blue Stone - Forever21

Oval flower - Primark

Silver armour ring - Forever21

Gold spiral ring - Topshop

Top Left - Right, Bottom Left - Right

Plastic brown and white - H&M

Black square - H&M

Turquoise stone - Dorothy Perkins

Silver square - H&M

Black square - Primark

Gold and turquoise triple stone - Dorothy Perkins

Live is Blind - ASOS

2 x Pink circle rings - H&M

Turquoise and gold - Primark

Large silver stone - Forever21

Thin/stackable

Left - Right: 

Spike rings - Miss Selfridge 

Pink stone ring - gift

Peace/Cross ring - ASOS

Small heart ring - New Look

Silver square rings - Forever21

Silver and pink ring - vintage fair

Star ring - Forever21

Silver stackable rings - H&M

Green leaf ring - ASOS

Dark Green flat stone ring - ASOS

Thin pink and silver ring - gift

Multi finger ring

Left - Right:

Love ring - Matalan

Anchor ring - Matalan

Lipstick ring - ASOS

Silver Cross ring - ASOS

Leaf ring - Primark

Cream and black ring - Forever21

Sliver cross ring - Miss Selfridge

Diamond cross ring - Forever21

'Special' rings

All rings from Topshop

Only a small collection but I love them all!

Loves

xxx