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

Craving some neon yellow in my wardrobe….

I have a love hate relationship with neon's. Right now, though, I'm having a serious love affair with a certain shade of neon yellow. Something I never thought I'd see myself type.

Will anyone else be braving the neon's for summer?

Loves

xxx

NYX natural palette...

So far, everything I've tried from NYX I've fallen in love with, most of the products making their way into my everyday makeup routine. This palette kept popping up on Pinterest (come follow me if you don't already!) and I'd never tried any of their shadows before so thought, for such great value for money I'd give it a go. My initial thoughts were, what a great range of shades! I thought this would be perfect to create light, shimmery day looks, and then the darker shades in the crease smoked out for a more dramatic night look. It's got two matte shades so great for subtle highlights, and the rest all have varying amounts of shimmer throughout them. 

My first thought on these was they were really hard to blend. I used the glitter champagne shade (second in from left) all over the lid, with the taupe satin shadow through the crease, and they just kid of sat there. I also really didn't think much to the consistency of them. Very powdery and chalky...when I wiped a clean finger over my lid the shadow just came away. Slightly better with a lid primer but still nothing to write home about. 

Pigmentation was pretty poor, the swatches above were done without a primer which, as I said, did help matters along a bit but they were no Urban Decay! The last thing was the glitter....the champaign shade was so glittery it took me back to my 15 year old self when I was glitter obsessed!

All in all, not great from NYX in my opinion; there are definitely better budget eyeshadow brands on the market (Rimmel and L'Oreal etc). I still love NYX for their cheek, base and lip products but I don't think I'll be reaching for the eye section any time soon!

Am I on my own with this?

Loves

xxx

Burgundy dress OOTD...

This dress comes out a lot more red in pictures than it really is! It's a cute, chiffon overlay, button up dress that I seem to be able to find many occasions for! It's a great dress for going out to dinner thanks to the cut and the very clever chiffon, and I've pulled it out of the wardrobe for many a night out with the girls. Love a multi-tasker. 

Jacket - H&M

Dress - JayJays (Australia)

Tights - Primark

Boots - Topshop Allegra 

Bag - Marc B from TK Maxx

Watch - ASOS

Nail varnish - Pillow Talk - Rita Ora for Rimmel

Loves

xxx

Kryolan Illusion….

I feel about illuminators like a fat kid feels about cake just recently. Powder, cream or liquid, I'll mix them with my foundation, use them as an illuminating base, or use them as a highlight on the tops of the cheekbones and under the brow bone. Basically, they're my new makeup obsession. I went to the UMA expo at the weekend and spent ages browsing the Charles Fox stand checking out the Kryolan offering and, when I saw the Illusion highlighters were half price, I squealed. And I wish I could say that was an exaggeration. 

They're a creamy formula with lots of sparkle in them and come in various colours. I could have gone mad and got the lot (I think there's about 8 in the range) but to be honest I've got to the stage where I'd rather buy one great product and actually get to use it, rather than it being overshadowed in my ever growing makeup collection. I picked Organza which is a pretty pink shade (my cheekbone highlighter colour of choice). It looks quite scary in the pan but when it's on the skin and blended in it's so beautiful and leaves a lovely flush as well as being super light reflecting. A little goes a long way so I'm pleased I only picked up one (for now!)

Has anyone else tried the Illusion highlighters from Kryolan? What other illuminators do I need to try?

Loves

xxx

Interview OOTD….

I've been looking for a part time job recently so been digging out my old interview-appropriate items from the depths of my wardrobe….

Blazer - H&M

Dress - New Look

Watch - ASOS

Tights & Necklace - Primark

Boots - Topshop Allegra

Excuse my crazy wild natural hair, I'm trying to lay off the heat on my hair which is why I look a bit like a wild woman!

Loves

xxx

March Favourites...

So with me being in London studying at the beauty and makeup academy, I've barely worn makeup and it's been such a chaotic few weeks living out of a suitcase! Which leaves my favourites a bit sparse this month but here we go anyway…

The hype around the L'Oreal Elvive Fibreology shampoo and conditioners is extremely well deserved. I am lucky enough to have naturally very thick hair to start with but this just makes my natural curls so thick and full which means much less time wielding a pair of straighteners. In my attempt to find a more readily available Bioderma alternative I have really started to love the Garnier Micellar water, and I've even decanted it into a smaller bottle for my kit to use on clients! Putting makeup on, taking it off, putting it on again, and then taking it off. While I was at the academy we were practicing on each other and my skin really suffered, so I turned to the duo of the St Ives apricot scrub followed by a long standing favourite, La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo, only this time it's the new improved '+' version. I don't know what's changed exactly, but it still works just the same so thats fine by me!

My base has been all about Nars this month, and on the rare occasion I've done my own makeup I've gone for the classic Nars Sheer Glow and Nars Creamy concealer paring which I have reviews on here and here. Another well hyped product has been the L'Oreal Miss Manga mascara which I wasn't expecting to love quite as much as I do…it's super thickening and makes my lashes look so black and full! My Nan bought me the Body Shop Illuminator in pink when I got back from Australia and it's such a perfect pinky shade as a blush or on the tops of the cheekbones for a glow in the evenings. 

Finally my favourite lip offering this month is my newest addition to my ever growing lipstick collection - Mac Pure Zen. It's a peachy nude shade and perfect for the sunny weather we've been having these past few weeks!

What's everyone been loving this month?

Loves

xxx