Blush || Bourjois Haul Product Two

This is the second product out of three in my Bourjois haul and it's a blush. I do love a good blush.

MaXfactor Colour Elixir Lip glosses

Blogging on a Sunday again? Yay! 

Sorry, I just momentarily had to congratulate myself for actually getting to blogging in amongst essay writing / creative writing (it's deadline week...). Anyway! I have a product for you that I just have to show you right now. I wore one of these out last night and it reminded me exactly why I bought them! It's not one of the things I bought the most recently (they will be blogged soon!) but in fact I bought these a few weeks ago when I went home and went shopping in Reading with my lovely Mum. 

I went to the MaXfactor stand in search of a new mascara - which I also bought but it's practically a repurchase as I have already talked about it on here but my previous version was the small sample one that you get free when they do promotions. It's the Masterpiece MAX Mascara (yes they write it like that on Boots website so I have copied...) and I love it even more now I have the full size version even though the brush is exactly the same. 

So I'm at the stand and I spot these lip glosses - the lady came over, as usual did the 'oh these are new and amazing' etc etc etc thing. I wanted a nude lipstick at the time (more about that soon) but hadn't had any luck and these looked like the perfect nude colours, they brand them as being non-sticky but high shine and I thought, perfect! the formula looked good when I opened a tester and I thought about it for a bit before deciding I definitely needed to try one. With the mascara and the lipgloss I could get a third item free so I decided to go for another lip gloss because, well let's just say I had been standing there a long time trying to choose just one colour out of the four available (the lady told me there are more coming soon!). If I remember rightly there were two more shimmer shades and two matte so I went for one of each. 

Wow my hand looks such a different colour!! I promise you - I haven't edited these at all! I think I only have Radiant Rose on my hand in the picture on the left as I was testing lighting but it really shows the shine factor!

I got Pristine Nude (more tan / matte colour, this does give a more 'nude' colour to the lips and is perfect for when you aren't wearing much make up and just want a simple look) and Radiant Rose (shimmery, very high shine without being over-powering pale pink, I would say that it doesn't really give a pigmented colour on the lips as much as it gives shine and a pretty look)

I love these, you do have to reapply them throughout the day if you want to keep the colour/shine but they look super pretty and I wear them all the time. The packaging is simple and nice, the applicator is a good shape and applies well and £7.99 isn't too much of a purse busting price really. There are so many cheap lip glosses out there but I think this is worth the price and I can't wait for more colours because I'll definitely be thinking about getting more! I think my next lip gloss purchase may have to be a Tanya Burr one though... Any recommendations?! I quite fancy a red lip gloss? My only red is getting a little old...

Em x

NYE Look.

I haven't blogged in a while... but it's been Christmas and I only got home for the holidays on Friday 20th and since then it's been very busy, needed a bit of time out! The holidays are like that, right? One minute you're buying presents, then you're wrapping, opening and suddenly it's boxing day, and the sales and you're buying all over again. That's me anyway. I have tried to be good this year but I may have bought a few treats that i'll be telling you about soon! 

I said I'd be doing a few festive looks and I have another one for you... let's call this the NYE look. I love New Years Eve. I like to try and spend it with different people every year - or at least at different places. Sounds silly but it's nice to be able to remember each new year differently. So here is another look!

Gold Eyes.

I used my Stila palette that I bought in last years sales and the gold colours from that to create a golden smokey eye. I also used the dark pink coloured blush which I'd forgotten that I LOVE and my Mac lipstick in Mehr. I finished the look with my liquid liner and lots of mascara. 

It's a simple look, just a little heavier on the blush and mascara then normal perhaps. 

My playsuit is something I got from ASOS and wore for my birthday this year :) It's a favourite of mine. It can be casual for day but works for a night out too! I love playsuits for that. 

It's a pretty and girly look which could go with anything. Wear your hair big in a top knot and you have a relaxed look, or curl/straighten your hair to within an inch of its life and then you have the perfect 'put-together' look :)

Enjoy NYE!

You'll be seeing more from me soon!

Em x

Festive Look: OTT Party

Hey girlies,

I love Christmas and I love how there is always an opportunity to party or get dressed up at Christmas! I've had a few Christmas things recently and I have another couple before Christmas so I thought I'd show you a few festive looks! 

This is the first one of the series and I think you'll agree, it's quite over the top/colourful!  Whatever you want to call it! I was going to a society meeting so to be honest it was quite OTT but it was fun to do and would be good for a party! Basically I was procrastinating from my essays...

I'll show you what I used and a few pictures!

Dior... I have Dior?!

Well this post is a little late as I was given this ages ago but I thought i'd share it with you now before I never do...

So it's a long story but basically my Dad knows a man who works for a company... you know, just a small one... it's called Dior. SAY WHAT? Anyway, I got all excited when he told me and then he told me the good bit, his friend was going to give him free makeup samples!! Do you understand my excitement here? I spend a lot on makeup but even I stop at Dior, well, I restrain myself anyway, it's just so expensive! I was so excited to see if it was worth the price...

I'm on YouTube!!!

I've finally persuaded myself to have a go at YouTube and i'm pretty scared but excited about it too! I will have to work hard to get lots of videos up to get it properly started but the first is up and that was the biggest hurdle... Now just for people to actually watch it! I enjoyed filming it and editing - I hope you like it too!

My first video features a few of the products that I have blogged about recently so hopefully it'll give you a chance to see them a bit better!

Em x

Benefit Beauties!

I had some time the other day before an appointment at Specsavers so I decided to pop into Boots. I walked past the Benefit counter and before I knew it I was trying things out and having my makeup done by a lovely girl called Lydia. I love having my makeup done so will take every opportunity I can get! I had been wanting to try out a couple of products for a while and there was an offer on at the time for if you bought 2 Benefit products you got 750 boots points. I decided to buy 2 products in the end as I loved one so much I thought I may as well get something else too!

I bought Rockateur - a blush and a set of three minis of Posie Tint, Sun Beam and Cha Cha Tint. 

MaXfactor False Lash Effect Fusion Mascara

For a long while now I have not strayed far from my trusted Maybelline 'The Falsies' mascara. I really liked it and I still do like it a lot. I started using it because of Tanya Burr and now it seems that I will only try a new mascara if it is one I have seen someone else use - i've had a few bad purchases with mascara in the past and they are expensive to replace! 

I wasn't intending to replace my mascara just yet but then I got conjunctivitis and definitely did not want it to keep coming back so I was forced to bin my old one and buy new. 

I took the opportunity to try a new mascara and break out of the habit... I chose MaXfactor's False Lash Effect Fusion because it promises volume and length, but mainly because I had seen Alix (click her name to see her blog) using it and saying that she loved it. Her eyelashes looked great so I thought i'd give it a whirl. Here is what I thought...

Apologies for the bad photo, the mirrored writing really didn't want to work in the lighting.

So I went to the hairdressers and this happened.

I went home for the weekend last week and although it was a flying visit I did manage to squeeze in a trip to the hairdressers. It had been six weeks since my last and I don't know when i'll be popping back home again till Christmas so I decided to go for it and get it done then. So I booked it whilst at uni for early on the Saturday morning when I'd be home after travelling on the friday night.  

When I got to the hairdressers I was only going to have it trimmed a little but as I was talking to my lovely hairdresser Rachel I could really see the discolouration of the ends of my hair in the light. I've noticed it a lot recently but didn't realise how bad it had got. The blonde from the bleach (dip dye) started to come back through quite quickly after I used the permanent dye on it in August and this point (early October) I couldn't really ignore it anymore. To most people the ends probably just looked a bit lighter but if you put the ends of my hair against the rest of it then the difference had actually become quite pronounced. 

I'll Captivate you with my Mehr.

I mentioned in my last week that freshers flu had hit and I felt rubbish? Well I didn't realise at the time but I had also got conjunctivitis. Perfect. My eyes are just about getting back to their normal colour now and don't hurt so much but it's meant that I can't wear eye makeup at the moment. It also means that I need to throw away my mascaras... I'm not sure how long the bacteria can be in your eye before it comes up and i've been using a few lately so I think I'm going to have to start again. Just when I'd told myself that i'm not allowed to buy any more makeup for a bit! (You'll see why in a second). Anyway, so after this little ramble lets get on with the post. 
On Thursday night this week there was a Student Shopping Night where I live. You sign up for free and get a wristband and there are discounts at loads of stores. I could have gone crazy and bought so much but I made myself choose one thing and only go to get that. I chose, surprise surprise - makeup. Not just any sort of makeup but MAC Lipstick. MAC never has sales so to get any discount is great (hence my recent purchases in duty free!), 10% off and i'm not complaining. I may have said to myself that i'd only get one but I honestly couldn't decide after spending about half an hour trying them all on. So I bought two. Yay! The girl at the counter was like, "well what are student loans for?" My reply of "food" made her laugh. These two lipsticks came to about the same amount as a weekly shop for me! But they are amazing, and beautiful and long-lasting and... I could go on but let me show you first!

Get Ready With Me!

Lanzarote was amazing, and whilst I was there I thought i'd do something a little different. Rather than just showing you the finished face I decided to photograph it stage by stage - hopefully you can see the difference! I was getting ready to go for dinner and then we went for drinks after. Nothing too fancy :)

So this was after i'd washed my hair and I had literally done nothing apart from twist it up. During these photos the only thing I did to my hair was take it down, brush it and pin it back. 

My Gorgeous Little Firecracker!

One of my trips away this summer was up to Birmingham to see my friends Louise and Lisa, I had a great time and whilst I was there I took advantage of the little bit of free time Lisa and I had, and I did her makeup before I had to leave to catch my train! I even just about had time to curl her hair and she did my face too!

Little Things

Sometimes just changing one thing about a makeup look can really change your appearance. Today it's all about the lips. I was chatting to my friend and she told me that she's bought one of the Revlon ColourStay Ultimate Suede Lipsticks and she is delighted with it. It got me thinking about the one that I own. I wrote a post about the collection a while ago (check it out) and I really like the range. The lipstick that I have myself is one of my only really dark lipsticks that I own. I do actually own a pure black lipstick too but that is generally reserved for Hallowe'en when I generally dress as a cat... (Really imaginative I know). Anyway, I decided to do a look and show you how it looks with and without the lipstick. I haven't really done a 'going out' look for a while on here so it's a little bit of a change - i've even stepped out of my comfortable golds and browns on my eyes for a bit and gone silver! 

Prom Queen!!

I was asked a while ago to do my friend's makeup for her prom and we had a couple of trials beforehand. She doesn't often wear much makeup so she wanted to see what she liked and I obviously wanted her to have the look she wanted, plus I am always up for doing hair and makeup! She is an incredibly beautiful girl and looks amazing without makeup but prom calls for a bit of extra effort. I got the privilege of adding some sparkle. 

Camping Part Two: Floral Headbands and Hoodies

It's time for the second instalment of photos from my 10 days away camping... 

The weather fluctuated so much during the time away that I had to pack for all eventualities! The second half of the holiday was a little warmer during the day, so these outfits are a little more summery. I love having a tan, I don't want to bake myself but a little bit of a tan always makes me feel a little more glowy! So there was a bit of sunbathing going on...

With flowers in my hair...

There has been one accessory that I have been wearing a lot (nearly everyday) this week. I have had it for ages, probably a couple of years. I went to Camden Market with my parents ages ago and bought it then although without asking my Mum i'm can't remember exactly sure when that was!

Anyway, it's summer and what's more summery than flower headbands?!

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer and Balmi!

If you've read any of my previous blog posts where I have listed what products I have on my face you will know that I have been wearing Collection 2000 concealer. It's been my 'go-to' concealer for ages now and I was planning on repurchasing again. However, I went into Boots in the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford and I couldn't find the stand for it anywhere! As far as my friend and I could tell there was no stand for Collection (as I think it is now called) anywhere in the store. Now please correct me if i'm wrong and you've been there but I couldn't see it. I shall stop rambling now and tell you about what I bought instead.

Printed Trousers OOTD

Yesterday I had been at work, all day. I hate being inside all day when it's so sunny and lovely and warm and you just want to be outside getting a tan and soaking up the rays. When I got home I did the first makeup and hair trial for my friend's wedding and that seemed to go well, she said she liked it and I just hope she really did. I need to work a bit on the eyeliner, that's always the most tricky part of doing someone elses eyes - getting the end (the flick) perfect is hard as everyone likes slightly different shapes and peoples eye shapes differ so much. I would love to show photos - and I do have some, but I don't want anyone seeing anything that is actually very close to the look that she'll wear on the day as that'll spoil the surprise!! Guess you'll just have to wait until the end of December!

Barry M Wink & Pencil Sharpener

I have bought quite a few things from Barry M recently, I seem to have taken quite a liking their products! I bought a lipgloss that is now my staple gloss (Lipgloss in 11 - Coral) and I also bought their kohl liner (Bold Black Waterproof Eyeliner). Since buying the eyeliner I realised that obviously it was becoming blunt (which this one does quite quickly) and therefore I needed to sharpen it. My old sharpener broke quite recently so I decided to purchase a new one. In boots they are doing a buy one thing, get something else half price, and I had had my eye on the Wink Eyeliner Marker for ages so I decided to purchase that too. It meant that the sharpener was only a £1, not a massive saving but every little helps! 

Beauty Tag!

This is going to look like a hugely long post but it's really not! It is the first completely text post I've done on here though, it's a beauty tag and it's basically a 'this or that?' question tag. I'm doing this whilst thinking 'if you could only have/do one of these for ages which one would you chose?' I hope you enjoy reading it and i'm sorry it looks so long! It doesn't help that i've spread it out but it was too hard to read without the spaces!

Here it goes... (the ones i've chosen are in bold)