Review: Topshop Sheer Lip in Red Alert

Topshop Sheer Lip in Red Alert- £8.00

The red sheer lip obsession continues! For some reason I am really attracted to this kind of product when I see them in shops and I spotted this one whilst mooching around Topshop. 

The thing I like most about this lip balm is the coverage. It's called Sheer Lip but if you apply it with a slightly more heavy hand you can really get a good medium coverage in one swipe. It's great for when you feel like wearing a red lip but you don't want to go all the way with a highly pigmented lipstick. The texture of this lipbalm is really smooth and balmy (would you believe) and if I could describe the look it gives my lips in one word it would be 'juicy'. Even though I hate that word, there is no other way to describe it.

The colour of this is gorgeous as well. I'm desperately trying to detect any undertones in it but it's a true red in my opinion. There might be a little bit of a raspberry-ness to it but only when its more sheer. 

The only thing missing from this product is the longevity. Because of its balmy nature it doesn't last that long and it doesn't seem to leave any kind of stain behind which would have been a nice touch. But apart from that I love the colour and the moisturising texture. 

Juicy I tell you, juicy.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you've tried any of these Topshop lip balms in the comments!

Lots of love,

Outfit of the Day #16

 HAIR

Asos Swing T-shirt- £18

Primark Trousers- £5 (in the sale)

Primark Shoes- £14

Topshop Necklace- £4.50 (I think, can't find it on the website)

Long necklace- Old

Woah there nelly! Two ootds in a row? What's this madness? Calm down and I'll tell you. I asked my friend what she thought I should do more of on my blog and she said fashion so here we are. Get in there, my first request (kinda). 

Today was an absolute scorcher. I knew as I was walking out the house that I'd regret my choice of tight trousers and golly was I right. I was on sweat patch patrol the whole day and kept having to remind myself that there was no reason for me to be power walking in this heat. I thought about wearing a different top but I wanted to take this new ASOS one for a spin and I love how casual it feels. I'm really loving the layered necklace look at the moment and I think they look nice with the top (espesh with that seam down the front)

 I started the day in my Docs but luckily I saw these sandals in Primark, loved them and swiftly changed into them in a Topshop changing room. I walked in wearing one pair of shoes and left wearing another. It was an unusual experience. Sadly, they hurt like a bitch. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed this post!

Lots of love,

Outfit of the Day #15

H&M Patterned Top- £8.99

H&M Patterned Skirt- £7.99

Primark Nails- £1

Office Badlands- £22.00

Question (tell me what you think about me)? How do people end up with like 20 good outfit photos? And they can't decide which ones to use? It is nighe-on impossible for me to get one decent one!

Anyway welcome to my outfit of the day! I bought this co-ords set from H&M a good few weeks ago now. They are sold separately but are pretty darn cheap if you ask me. I've worn this outfit on a night out and it's perfect for summery days as well so it's an all round winner. My only quibble is that the skirt is really really short. Bending over is a big no no. Also I wouldn't feel comfortable not wearing tights with a skirt this short so maybe not that good for summer days after all. Good thinking Aitch and Em.

My shoes were bought in the Office sale after my Topshop shoes fell apart (noooooooooooooooo). They are described as a 90's grungy style mid heel therefore I am on board.

I also wanted to give a quick mention to these nails from Primark. They're such a nice colour without any of those tacky patterns on that lots of the Primark nails have.

Thanks for stopping by! Lots of love,

Face of the Day #4

Liz Earle Signature Foundation- 01 Porcelain

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer- Fair

Clarins Ever Matte Powder- Transparent Opal

Revlon Brow Fantasy- Brunette

Naked 2 Palette

Max Factor False Lash Effect 24 Hour Mascara

Soap & Glory Solar Powder

Revlon Highlighting Palette- Bronze Glow

Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner- Eastend Snob

Soap & Glory Marvelips- As Good as Nude

Hello everyone! Today I have a quick face of the day for you all. It's kind of inspired by the 'heroin chic' look that I desperately want to be able to pull off. It involved piling on 'chopper' from the Naked 2 palette, thinly lining my upper lash line then putting on as much mascara as possible (very important). You can't really tell from the photo but I really tried to bronze up my cheeks to go with the bronze look on my eyes. I went with a matte nude on my lips so it keeps everything looking sultry and grunge-like. 

Thanks for stopping by! Lots of love,

Review: Denman Shower Brush

Denman D6 Shower and Massage Brush- £3.69

Hello everyone! Today I am reviewing a brush. A brush. Well it's not a review as such, I just really wanted to mention it because it's so good. I bought it because I get really paranoid about not getting the shampoo and conditioner out of my hair and I thought this might be a great way to speed up my showering time. And let me tell you it works. It glides through the hair like nobody's business. It's great at distributing product into the hair, getting product out of the hair and detangling your hair when you get out of the shower. Now a little bit of story time; I was at work (where we sell these brushes) and I was telling a woman about how much I love this brush because she was saying she gets knotty hair when it's wet. Then this other woman came up to us and said that she'd been using this brush for 14 years and swears by it. The handle had finally broken on hers and she'd come in to buy a new one that day. So don't just take my word for it, take the random woman who I met at work's word for it. 

Thanks for reading this ode to a hairbrush! Lots of love,

Wishlistin' (again)

1. Asos Swing T-shirt in Acid Wash- £18: This is the kind of thing I'd say I'd wear on a 'lazy day' even though I can't seem to dress casually no matter how lazy my day is. I really love the baggy look and the distressed look to it. 

2. The Body Shop Colour Crush Shine Lipsticks- £10: These Body Shop lipsticks are really doing the rounds at the moment and as a self confessed tinted lip balm lover it would only be right to try them.

3. Kiko Long Lasting Eyeshadow Stick- £6.90: Hailed as a dupe for the ByTerry Ombre Blackstar but much cheaper (thank god) these sound really intriguing and I'm kicking myself for not picking any up when I was recently in London. 

4. Because Cats Iphone Case: I recently broke my Iphone (d'oh) so to cut a long story short I've got a new phone and I am on the hunt for a new phone case and I am yet to come across a cuter one than this. Why you ask? Because cats.

5. Miss Selfridge Ring Pack- £8.50: I'm really feeling chunky rings at the moment but I only seem to have small, delicate ones. I really love the turquoise in this 3 pack from Miss Selfridge. 

6. Kevyn Aucoin Eyeshadow Duo in 208 Frosted Jade/ Bronze- £34: For my sister's birthday we took a trip to Space NK, I was extremely good and didn't buy anything but I did swatch a lot. It was like smelling a cake but not being able to eat it. One of the products that stuck in my mind was this eyeshadow duo from Kevyn Aucoin. The bronze shade is absolutely to die for while the other side is a nice olive green. Why does it have to be so expensive? Or more importantly, why do I have to be so poor?

7. River Island Top- £30: This top was at the very front of my local River Island and it actually drew me into the shop because I never usually go in. I love everything about it except the price. Harrumph.

8. H&M Shirt- £14.99: Finally something reasonably priced! I saw this as I was walking out of an H&M the other day but I was walking with too much gusto to turn around. 

Thanks for stopping by! Lots of love, 

Review: Bleach London Swamp Spritz Texturising Spray

Bleach London Swamp Spritz Texturising Spray- £6.00

I'm all about the reviews lately! I've mentioned this before on my blog but I have very damaged hair through years of refusing to accept my natural hair. So naturally I'm really drawn to products that claim to 'repair 200 years of damage in 0.2 seconds'. My hair has seen many masks and leave in conditioners in its time but I'm finding that it makes my hair really flat; it's almost too soft and moisturised (even though the ends still look terrible). I find it really hard to get volume and keep volume. Enter Bleach Swamp Spritz. The first thing that attracted me to this product was the packaging, it looks infinitely cooler than any hair styling item I have ever owned. But what I'm really interested in is if it works. I use this spray on damp hair and I don't hold back. Many, many spritz later (although it is possible to go over the top with this) and after working it into my roots I start drying it with my hairdryer scrunching and twisting my hair as I go. I find that this really helps to get those natural beach waves. Once your hair is dry you can really tell where this product has done it's work. It leaves the hair feeling matte and almost on the verge of sticky. It's not a 'run your hands through your hair' kind of texture but it's exactly what I hoped I'd achieve from this product. It kind of separates the hair giving it more volume and it creates waves that are very reminiscent of my hair when it dries after being in the sea (think Diana Ross). However the bits that dry straight balance out the curlier bits. I also find that my hair stays quite voluminous throughout the day and if it does drop a little, a quick 'tszuj' always helps. Obviously I have short to medium length hair so I don't know how this will work on longer hair but I think this does exactly what it says on the very cool bottle.

Thanks for reading and let me know in the comments if you've tried this!

Lots of love,

First Impressions: Barry M Cor Balmy Tinted Lip Balm in Currant Bun

 Barry M Cor Balmy Tinted Lip Balm- £3.49

Shade CB5 Currant Bun

Hi all! Today I treated myself to the latest tinted lip balm to hit the drugstore shelves and it comes from Barry M. I'm not gonna lie I get really excited for tinted lip balms (when Baby Lips came to the UK oh man) and so when I saw these for a snip at just £3.49 I knew I wanted to do a first impressions post. Off I went to the nearest mirror I could find (in the toilets) and slapped it on. One is always a little nervous about what the colour payoff will be in a tinted lip balm but I'm pleased to report that this has a really nice pigmentation to it. With the first layer it leaves a subtle wash of colour but can really be built up to a more intense shade. In the picture I probably have about 2 layers on but it can be built up even more. I really like sheer plum colours because I think it's a great way to keep wearing plums and purples into Spring and Summer. There are 5 shades in the range and I'm excited to try out the red shade named Jam Jar. There are also 2 pinks and an orange shade which look nice but I'm set on the pink lipstick front for the time being and I don't think I suit orange.

In regards to the formula it feels the same as most good drugstore lip balms. Nice and moisturising due to it's moisturising core but not over the top so it's sliding around all over your face. So far I think I prefer the formula to the Baby Lips which I actually find a little bit drying. I've been sitting with this on my lips for about an hour now and it still feels fresh and balmy. They also smell like sweets, much like the Barry M lipglosses. This might not be everyone's cup of tea but I've got one hell of a sweet tooth so I don't mind. 

The packaging reminds me a lot of the Baby Lips packaging but I like the way the shade of the balm corresponds to the writing on the lid.

Overall I think this is a good solid lip balm and it was £3.49 well spent. 

I'm barmy for Cor Balmy! (cringe)

Thanks so much for reading, lots of love

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The Perfect Nude

 L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Collection Privée in Barely Peach by Julianne Moore

Hi everyone! I have another beauty related post today which seems to be all I'm doing lately. I am loving clothes still but I'm too lazy to go outside and take outfit photos and there's nowhere good in my house to take decent pictures soooooo another makeup post it is.

Today is all about my perfect nude ( no, not David Beckham ha ha good one me). When this line of lipsticks first came out I literally couldn't give two craps about them; I'm not the biggest fan of nudes and I didn't give them a second glance. However one day I was meandering around the good ship Boots and I got caught in Julianne's alluresphere. It was love at first swatch as the well known saying goes. 

I find this is the perfect 'my lips but better' shade especially for my skin tone because I'm pretty pale. It's one of those lipsticks that ties your whole makeup look together without it being obvious that you're wearing a lipstick. But it does look like you're wearing lipstick, ja feel? It's all very sophiste. 

The formula is moisturising and looks very balmy on the lips but it doesn't have any shimmer or glitter in it which I greatly approve of. I wouldn't say no to a matte version of this as well though as, naturally, that would make it longer wearing. I've heard a lot of people complain about the smell of this (parma violets apparently) and though it is there I feel like you stop getting whiffs of it after about 5 minutes of application and I don't find the smell unbearable like some people do. But maybe smell before you buy if you have the nose of a bloodhound. 

Have you tried any of the nude collection? Do you hate the smell? Let me know in the comments!

Lots of love,