March Favourites

I can't believe that it is already the end of March. I'm currently on my Easter break now, and can't believe that I only have a month left of my second year of uni, it's crazy! (And can't come quick enough!)
Anyway, I thought I'd show you what I've been loving this month.

Benefit Hervana Blusher:  I think I bought this at the very end of Feburary or the very start of this month and have pretty much used it daily. I did a review on it here, but I honestly love everything about it, starting with the colours and ending with the smell. It gives the perfect girly flush to your cheeks.

Vo5 Give Me Texture Tousled Style Spray: I use this pretty much daily. I think I got it in December and I really love it. It gives a nice messy style to my hair, perfect when I want to wear a bit of a bed-head look or mess up some curls which are my everyday looks at the moment, I don't like how my hair looks straight, and the lack of heat can only do it good. This product takes it from looking just plain messy, to put together messy if that makes sense? Lotta love for it though. I used it in this post if you want to check it out.

No7 Vital Brights Highlighting Powder: I love this product soo much. I only got it a couple of weeks ago but I think it is the perfect highlighter for me. I use it underneath blush, on the cheekbones, anywhere I want a glow really. It isn't too pink or too golden, it has a lovely creamy yet powder feel, and goes on my skin perfectly. I honestly couldn't recommend this enough. You can see me wear it in this post. I wear it constantly now, and it is such a love item for me.

Lush Lemon Flutter: This product is amazing. It really softens up my cuticles, and is also great for elbows and knees, and it smells delicous! I think it's just a great product to have. Perfect for those dry knees when the fake tan comes out to stop it all collecting. I mentioned it in this post here, and it really helped my nails, as well as softened up my elbows. Win win!

Loreal Perfect Clean: I did a full review on this product here, but for the smell alone I love this product. I love the applicator, and I love how soft my skin feels after using it. It's fantastic. Not much else to say really, than I like it.




Five Favourite Youtuber's:

Essiebutton - I can't believe I only found Estee's channel this month! She is hilarious, and I think her videos are so easy to watch, she is so honest and refreshing to watch and laugh out loud funny.

Pixi2woo: Tanya's videos were the first I ever watched. I found her channel in November, and before then I had no idea that the youtube/blogging community existed. I've learnt, and continue to learn so much from her videos, and if I hadn't of found her I probably wouldn't be writing this post now!

Miss Glamorazzi - Ingrid seems like such a lovely person. Her tutorials are so helpful, and one of the first I came across, so I have definitely learnt a lot from her. Plus her new kitten nugget is so funny to watch in her newest videos.

Amarixe - I love Alison's video. She honestly seems like she has such an interest in make-up and is so passionate in every video. Her enthusiasm and sparkling personality is so catchy and her videos are always a great watch.

Lisa Eldridge: If you don't already know Ms Eldridge is a massive name in the beauty industry. An extremely talented make-up artist, Lisa shows you how to re-create looks she has created, whilst also sharing all the tips and hints she has collected. A few favourite videos are her Marilyn Monroe video and Cheryl Cole magazine make-up.

I hope you enjoy these favourites, and I would love to know what yours are too, so let me know, please?

Laura xoxo

Fashion Friday

Spring seems to be such a popular time for a wedding. Unfortunately for me, I've got none to attend, but if I was, I would probably wear this:

Blazer - New Look

Dress  - George at Asda 

Shoes - Matalan 

Clutch - Accessorize 

Just in case you have got a wedding to go to, I've put together a couple of nice wedding-esque outfits for you, 'cause I'm nice like that!

Which outfit are you liking?

Happy Friday :)

Laura xoxo

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation - Light

Ok, so I've had this foundation about a month now, and felt that I should let you know how I'm getting on with it.

I was matched to the shade one in the Double Wear Light, because no shades matched in the actual Double Wear. At first I was a bit bummed, I really wanted Double Wear, but I've gotta say I'm kinda glad now, I think it would've felt too heavy for me. 

For some reason I was extremely tired when I took these pictures, so that is why my eyes are weird!

So apologies for the no make-up but I wanted to show you what it looked like, and the coverage it gave. 

As you can see, it does give a very medium coverage, doesn't completely cover my redness, but does even out my skin tone. (The second picture is literally just the foundation.)

So the first picture shows how it looks with a powder, concealer etc, and it does give a good finish, however I have a problem with it. It takes a while to dry, and feels tacky until it does. Also, I find that it collects on random places of my face during my day, specifically, the middle of my forehead, nose and above my lip which is very strange, but I think that may actually be my skin at the moment, quite a few foundations are doing that, so I don't know. 

The second picture is how it looked just when I was about to take it off, about 8 hours later, and as you can see, the foundation really has lasted.

I find that it takes a while to really blend out, and I've tried brushes, fingers and a damp sponge, but still haven't found the best way to blend it onto the skin. But maybe it's just me? 

The one thing that I love about this foundation is the colour match. It is perfect. But that is probably the only thing I love about it. I do like the coverage and now find I save it for days when my skin is really awful, as I don't want to put it on my skin when it's behaving. Does that make sense?

I don't hate this product, but it's just not the one for me (sigh!) So, the hunt for my perfect foundation continues (when this has run out!)

Any recommendations? Do any of you use this? Any tips?

***Revised Opinion - I am now rather loving this Foundation - see why here ***

Laura xoxo

Disclaimer - I will not accept liability for any nightmares that may occur from seeing my foundation-less face!

Sigma F20 Brush

I love my Real Techniques Brushes, but I've also heard so many good things about Sigma brushes, yet always thought they would've been hard to get in the UK, but then I found this site Love Beauty, was in need of a new powder brush, and the rest, as they say  was history.

The delivery was really quick, I ordered it on a Sunday and it had arrived on the Tuesday. It was packaged well and cost me £13.99 plus delivery. The brush is a paddle shape, which at first I didn't really like, but now I love. It still puffs out to help the powder blend it, and also if you turn it on the side it's really good for blending any harsh lines left from contouring.  

I'm seriously impressed with this brush and can see why Sigma carries such a good name. I definitely want to try more. I do have to say though that there have been instances of shedding, but nothing outrageous.

Do you use Sigma brushes? What do you think?

Laura xoxo

No.7 Natural Blush in Honey

Those pesky No.7 vouchers sit in my purse and beg, beg, me to spend them and who am I to decline?

Although I do own quite a few blushers (yes, I have a make-up addiction) I found myself not really owning a peachy coloured one, so this seemed perfect for me.

This is quite a heavy swatch, but as you can see it is a lovely, natural honey colour. It is a very powdery blush, but is not chalky at all, and feels quite creamy/slik like. 

Just the blusher on top of No.17 BB cream and Loreal Powder

As you can see it give a nice subtle colour to my cheeks and think it's going to be great for a natural look during the summer. It doesn't have the longest lasting power, around 4 hours, so it will have to be touched up, but I don't mind that.

Been as though it only cost be four pound, and is quite a big blusher, I have no complaints, but really should steer clear of Boots when they have vouchers floating around. Or gain some will power!

Have you tried any of the No.7 Blushes? What have you used your vouchers on?

Laura xoxo

Loreal La Couleur Infaillible

So I ended up getting these little guys when looking for a new primer and was sucked in by a three for two offer (obviously I couldn't buy the one thing I needed, 'cause that would've been rude. Right? Ok, I just have a problem with spending money!)

I picked up two colours, Sahara Treasure and Time Resist White. Sahara Treasure is definitely my favourite, it is a golden brown colour, and the Time Resist White is very white, which it didn't look in the pan, I was hoping it would be a more creamy colour.

They come with a little black cap that keeps them powder together. They're a very weird consistency, not quite a powder, but not a solid shadow either. After I'd done my look with the White colour I dropped it (sad times) but managed to put a bit of it back together and used the black lid to compress and it looks good as new, just a bit less, so I'm very impressed with that.

So here they are swatched on my hand. As you can see they are very pigmented, and very metallic, the white is a bit too strong on its own for my taste, but I love the look of the Sahara Desert. 

Time Resist White/Sunray by Front Cover/Geroge at Asda Brown Eyeliner/Max Factor High Definition Mascara

I still find that the white is too strong (it hasn't come up in the pictures) but it does look a lot better watered down the with Front Cover Shadow and I'm actually really liking this look.

Sahara Treasure/Baked Bronze by FrontCover/MUA Shade 19/Max Factor Eyeliner/Max Factor High Def Mascara

This still comes off a bit more metallically then I would like, however I find it is a much more wearable colour, and think it would definitely be more eye catching. I think I'm going to try using it as a base when I wear dark colours for a night out, so you may see this appear again (I can feel your excitement!)

They are meant to last 24 hours, but although I haven't tested it out, I don't really see that happening, especially on their own. I wore the white one on its own and it creased in around four hours, but I don't know how they would last if you put more eye shadow on the top?

Anyway, they're a product that ended up being not what I expected, but not horrible either, and I think they will go along nicely in my little collection.

Have you tried these? What do you think?

Laura xoxo

A Post All About Nails

Over the last couple of weeks I've been using my Save The Nail Treatment, as it was intended, a treatment. I've been applying a coat a day in the attempt to help strength my nails, hopefully to fill out some broken ridges and allow them to grow.

Alongside my Save The Nail, I also used Lush's Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter. I've got to say, this product is amazing. I also place it on my elbows, knees and cracked heels and have seen a massive improvement. It gets a definite thumbs up from me

                          .

Here is a before and after shot of my nails, and I've got to say, there isn't a hell of a lot of difference. My nails, definitely feel a lot stronger, but they are still breaking and my ridges haven't really been filled, so I think I'll definitely be sticking with this polish as a base coat.

I do think that my nails needed the break from colours, however Buyapower put up this  O.P.I set just in time.

 L-R: Strawberry Margarita, La-~Paz-itively Hot, Dim Sum Plum, Cajun Shrimp

I love always these colours and think they are perfect for summer!

Also, feel like I need to add this last picture to show you how cute and tiny these bottles are.

Now that I'm back to painting my nails, I've got some nail pens I want to give a whirl, so expect some more NOTD's in the near future.

What's your favourite nail treatment? Is Nail Envy really worth the money?

Laura xoxo

Celebrity Inspired - Olivia Palermo

I see a theme appearing in my Celebrity Inspired posts, a lot of TV! Now I never really watched The City, I loved The Hills, and loved Whitney, but just never followed her to the East Coast. However this celebrity inspired look is from Olivia Palermo, most commonly known from The City, Olivia has made a name for herself all on her own, mainly for her exceptional taste in Fashion.

Source

Olivia always wears a dark eye with light cheeks and lips. She very rarely moves away from this look, and I can see why, as it suits her so well.

Base

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation - With Buffing Brush

Soap and Glory Trick and Treatment - Under Eye

Rimmel Hide The Blemish - On Blemishes 

Loreal True Match Powder - With Sigma F20 Brush (Review to come)

Eyes

Beauty UK No.4 Palette - Gold/Brown colour all over lid, White as a highlight

Front Cover Baked Bronze - In Crease

Darkest Bourjois Trio colour - Upper lash line with angled brush

Loreal Super Liner in Black

Clinique High Impact Mascara

MUA eyebrow pencil

Face:

Sleek Contour Kit - Bronzer - Contour Brush

No.7 Highlighting Powder - On Cheeks on Cheek Bone - Boots Blush Brush

Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades - Real Techniques Blush Brush

Lips

Rimmel Kate in N05

No.7 Lipgloss in Smile

What do you think of Olivia's style?

Laura xoxo

Also, a really good Olivia Palermo Video is Tanya Burrs' here!

What I Wore this Week

Losing an hour is a sure sign that Spring is officially here! I'm never normally a spring/summer person, but I am sick of the grey, dull, boring, cold weather, so I am officially excited now. I also broke up for Easter on Friday so that is another reason why I feel summery, even though I will be spending it doing work!!!

Monday:

Cardigan - George at Asda

Top - H&M

Vest - H&M

Leggings - Topshop

Shoes - Missguided

Monday consisted of a lecture, shopping and uni work. I still love these shoes, they're so comfy.

Tuesday:

Jacket - River Island

Vests - H&M

Leggings - Topshop

Shoes - New Look (photo in Wednesday outfit)

Tuesday was another early morning lecture so I wanted to be comfy. I then spent the afternoon packing up most of uni room, ready to take home on Wednesday. I also made Rose's Slutty Brownies, and oh my god they are amazing!!!! Check them out here.

Wednesday:

Jumper - George at Asda

Vest - H&M

Leggings - Topshop

Shoes - New Look

Wednesday I had a meeting at uni until 1ish, then I drove home for Easter which is exciting. 

Thursday:

Shirt - George at Asda

Vest - H&M

Leggings - Topshop

Shoes - Missguided

I actually can not remember what I did on Thursday so I obviously didn't do anything exciting.

Friday:

Jumper - Topshop

Vest - H&M

Leggings - Topshop

Boots - Primark

I had problems with my car on Friday so I couldn't go to my lecture and ended up just running errands instead.

Saturday:

Blazer - H&M

Top - H&M

Vest - H&M

Leggings - H&M

Boots - New Look

Yesterday we went round to my Aunt and Uncles to celebrate my Nan and Grandad's 60th Wedding Anniversary which was nice as we all got to sit in the garden and catch up.

Sunday:

Cardigan - H&M

Vest - Topshop

Vest - H&M

Leggings - Topshop

Scarf - H&M

Sandals - Miss Selfridge

Today I'm just sorting out my room and have done some Asda shopping with my parents!

So yeah, that was my exciting week, and the outfits that followed!

Hope you all had lovely weeks and are enjoying the sunshine.

Laura xoxo

New FOTD

I've had a lot of different ideas of what to title this post, lazy day face, new face or everyday face. But it's not exactly something I do when feeling lazy, I don't have an 'everyday' face, so new face it was. My spending ban has been well and truly broken, and I wanted to show you some new products I have. Quite a lot of them have already been reviewed by lots of people so I thought I would just show you them in a FOTD.

So a mixture of old and new products, and I thought I would give a quick review of new products I'm trying:

MUA BB in Light - I bought this because I had read quite a lot of positive things about it, and it was only £3 (such good value!!) It doesn't give me enough coverage to wear it daily by itself, but I love using it as a primer, it really evens out my skin tone, and helps my foundations blend in and look more natural. For a more in-depth review check out Zoe's!

No7 Vital Enlightening Highlighter Powder - I love this product! I am so glad I bought it. It was the last one left and I got it for around £8 I think as I used my No.7 voucher, but would happily pay the £13 for it. It is such a lovely creamy powder, and a gorgeous golden tone to it, rather than a pinky tone that quite a lot of powder highlighters have. Hollie's review is really good!

Maybelline 24 Hour Tattoo - 35 - On and on Bronze - I don't need to say much more than, these bad boys are worth the hype! Check out Lily's review and Sophie's too!

Gosh Eyeliner in 015 Pure Natural - I really like having bright, and awake looking eyes, and find that white liner is slightly too obvious and over powering, and have been looking for a flesh toned liner for a while, I then found this. I really like it, I think it really opens up my eyes and as it's waterproof it stays put all day. That my friends, is what the call 'good times.'

Collection 200 Shimmer Shades - 2. Blushalicious - I had seen Lily blog about the bronzer shimmer shades, and then saw this in Boots, and wanted a shimmery blush for summer, it also looks great underneath my Benefit Hervana blusher to make it pop. It has a simple shimmer to it, and think it will give a lovely flush in the summer. 

So here it is on my face:

MUA BB

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

Soap & Glory Trick and Treatment - Under Eyes

Rimmel Hide the Blemish - on Blemishes

Loreal True Match Powder

MUA Eyebrow Pencil

Maybelline Colour Tattoo

MUA Shade 20 eyeshadow - upper lash line

Gosh Eyeliner - Lower Water Line

No.7 Lash Adapt Mascara

Sleek Contour Palette Light - Bronzer as Contour

No.7 Highligther

Collection 2000 Shimer Shades

Belle Lipstick

What do you think of these products? Have you tried any of them?

If you would like more in-depth reviews just let me know!

Laura xoxo

Fashion Friday

Been as though there have been about three consecutive days of sunshine, in the UK!!! I thought it only right that I dedicate today's Fashion Friday to the Summer dress! (Even though the sun is no-where to be seen today!)

I got this dress from New Look around this time last year, for around £11, put it in my Wardrobe, and forgot about it!!! So I fully intend to get some wear out of it this year.

Shoes- New Look

Cardigan - Ralph Lauren - It is my pride & joy - Got it in America for around £20!

Shoes- River Island

Blazer - H&M

Shoes - New Look

New Look/River Island/New Look

So these are three looks that I just put together, I think the last one would be great for a job interview or an occasion that warrants smarter attire and the second great for a BBQ or beer garden.

Have you seen any lovely spring dresses, I would love to have a look?

Happy Friday :)

Laura xoxo

Topshop: Head Over Heels

Topshop make-up is very much gaining a high reputation, and it's one I think it deserves. I've only managed to actually purchase, a nail varnish, a brush and this blusher but I'm impressed by them all. I really want to try their highlighter in sunbeam and their lipsticks too ('cause I obviously don't own enough lipsticks!)

I always refer to this blush as my 'orange' blush, however whenever I open it I realise that, although it does have a slight peachy tone, it leans more towards the pink side.

It is a very creamy blush, which makes the packaging so dirty! But when you put it on your cheeks, it does dry slightly like a powder.

I apply this using my fingers, but I think a brush would work just as well. It gives a lovely flush to my cheeks and lasts around 4-6ish hours. 

Have you got this blush? What are your favourite Topshop products?

Laura xoxo

No.7 Mischief Lipstick

So, I'm sorry, I have broken my spending ban (hanging my head in shame as I type.) As we have established, I have a lipstick obsession and I've been lusting after MAC's new Nicki Minaj Viva Glam lipstick, and also found myself in Boots with a No.7 voucher in hand looking at the lipsticks looking for a dupe. I then found Mischief.

This comes off slightly more 'bubblegum' pink than the Viva Glam Nicki, which seems to have more of a hot pink undertone and be slightly darker, though the Viva Glam seems to look different on different people. 

The formula is slightly creamy, but it can also look quite chalky if your lips are dry, so be careful if you do have dry lips, some lip balm may be needed.

I think this will be a nice pastel, pinky colour to wear in summer, maybe with some nice sundresses and sandals? (I can't wait for summer!)  

I don't think this lipstick is worth the original £10, but for a fiver, it's not half bad. The packaging does boast a high quality compared to lower high street brands, but the quality is around the same, if not slightly worse than some I've tried? I think it's 'cause I prefer more moisture based lipsticks, were as this is more matte. 

So I apologise for breaking my ban but it could've been worse and I could've ended up with Viva Glam, or more No.7 (I still have more vouchers!?!)

Have you tried any No.7 lipsticks?

Laura xoxo

Call of Beauty: Modern Haircare #3

After reading/listening to Gemsaquillage talk and post on hair oils, I decided that although I love how Moroccan oil makes my hair feel, I didn't realise it wasn't actually doing anything for my hair, except making it easier to style, and smoothing it. Where, may I ask, was that in the add campaign? I feel that, although it does make my hair look and feel soft, if it's not nourishing my hair, I would rather find a cheaper alternative. Enter John Frieda Full Repair Perfect Ends Deep Infusion.

This was on offer in Asda for £4, and as they whole collection is getting such good reviews in the online blogesphere, I pressumed I had nothing to loose.

This product (I don't know what to class it as, oil or serum? It's quite watery/oil based?) claims to feel 'like it instantly absorbs into worn-torn strangs, instead of simply coating the surface. Weightlessly repairs the look and feel of damage to lengths and ends, leaving hair smooth, shiny and full of body. Helps protect against breakage from heat styling.' Sounds good to me, so how did it do?

The consistency of this product leans more towards a more water based one than oily. However, one pump covers all the ends of my hair, and I can feel it sinking rather than coating, which I'm guessing is good? It helps me comb my hair out easily, and my ends are still looking as hydrated 

So does it beat my Moroccan oil? Well, yes. I prefer the consistency and smell of Moroccan oil, but this does the the same, if not better, and is less than half the price. I'm sorry Moroccan oil, you will always have a place in my heart, but right now, this is a much better product for me. Also I love that it comes with a pump.

So there you have it. Have you tired any products from this range? What do you think about what Gemma has to say? I think it's definite food for thought.

Laura xoxo

Benefit Hervana Blusher

I know this has been out for a while now, and you've probably read a load of reviews on it, but I really wanted to give my views on this too.

Now, until the day I bought this blusher, I had never bought any high end products. To get this I had saved up all of my Boots points, so really it didn't feel like I was spending £23.50 on a blusher, which is a lot in my opinion, but it's just so pretty.

The colours in it are so gorgeous and light, with a lovely mix of  lilac, pink, orange and cream tones blending together to make a amazing light pink colour. 

The blusher comes with a nice angled mini blush brush, however I use my Real Techniques Blush Brush (yes, I'm still obsessed with Real Techniques.) The box, which I love, also contains a mini mirror, making it easy for blush to be applied on the go. 

I also need to say that this blusher smells a-mazing. I cannot begin to describe it, but it is so sweet and lovely, I remember the lady saying something about Tulips maybe? Anyway, it's lovely. 

(So hard to photograph, these were the best I could get, but it looks better in person.)

Would I be happy with this product if I had 'bought' it? I don't know, I love this colour, I've been wearing it every day since, and having that gorgeous packaging in my collection ceartainly adds a smile to my face (I feel so fickle saying that,) but I want more lasting power from it. Thinking about it now though, I really love this colour, (so subtle and pretty) and probably would, as I will miss it when it runs out.

Have you tried this blusher? What do you think?

Laura xoxo