February Favourites

You really don't know how long it takes me to write February. I probably shouldn't admit that as I'm studying English, but I think I've spelt it incorrectly more times than I have correctly. Such is life. Lack of spelling aside, I found it a bit of a struggle to write this months favourites post. Although I have picked up a few things this month, nothing has really stood out to me. But after a bit of think, I give you my Feb-ru-ary favourites. Gotta love phonetics.

Stila Merry and Bright - I mentioned this in a post earlier this week so I won't bang on that much. All the eyeshadows are gorgeous as you expect from Stila, but what really blew me away was the convertible colour.

Bare Minerals Original Foundation - I picked this up half way through the month and I'm really enjoying using it, but I haven't fully made my mind up on it for a post yet. Of course when I do a post will be winging its way to you.

Garnier Ultimate Beauty Oil - I picked this up on a whim 'cause I'm a sucker for an offer and have been applying this to my arms and legs before bed. It has a lovely smell and leaves my skin feeling nice and smooth.

Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm - I'm sure I've featured this on my blog way too much, but I seriously love it. I use it morning and night and just love it.

Topshop Glow - I only got this toward the end of the month and a review is in process, but I loves it!

What have your favourites been this month?

Laura xoxo

Review: Stila, Merry and Bright

I got this lovely palette from Shen for Christmas. I never really intended to blog about it just because I'm presuming it's limited edition, but I've been using it a rather lot lately and just had to share, as I think you can get each thing individually.

There are six colours in the set that gives you a lovely golden smokey eye. As you would expect each compliments each other perfectly.

The stand out thing for me at the moment though is the convertible colour in Lilium. I don't normally use blushers from sets, especially lip/cheek ones, but I am now obsessed with this cheek colour, which is the main reason I'm sharing this today.

I found the colours can be used really subtly for a nice everyday smokey eye, but if you add more of the molasses (the dark brown colour) it can be made even smokier for evening.

Lilium applies so nicely and looks so natural on the cheeks. It blends really well, and gives the most natural flush a girl could want.

Overall I love this set, and if you can't your hands on that, I defintely recommend getting the convertible colour, and there are similar colours to the shadows in the In The Light palette.

So major thanks to Shen!!! Have you got this?

Laura xoxo

What I Wore this Week

This week has been pretty uneventful again. My life really is quite plain to be honest. It basically consists of Uni, TV, Food and a bit of work. I bet you're jealous aren't you. What I wear usually coincides with that too.

Monday: Top: H&M // Skirt: Topshop // Shoes: Primark

Tuesday: Top & Boots: Topshop

Wednesday: Skirt: New Look // Top: M&S // Shoes: Missguided // Cardigan: George at Asda

Thursday: Top: Dorothy Perkins // Shoes: Converse

Friday: Trousers: Pineapple // Hoodie & Socks: Gift

Saturday: Top: Topshop // Cardigan and Shoes: George at Asda

Hope you all have a lovely week :)

Laura xoxo

Building a Collection

For some reason, I've turned into a bit of a lipstick junkie the last few weeks. I've always loved Rimmel lipsticks, and have had Berry Queen for a while. Then the other week I picked up Nude Delight after seeing Tanya Burr use it, and then when I wanted a new coral coloured lipstick after watching The Carrie Diaries, I went back to this range, as I love the moisture they give. I then thought 4 lipsticks of the same make deserved a post.

Nude Delight:

Now I've never really been one for orange toned lipsticks, but I've found myself reaching for this a lot. As it's one of my few nudes that doesn't have a pink undertone, I find it really makes dark eye make-up more day time appropriate.

Soft Coral:

This one I picked up when I couldn't decided what kind of coral I wanted, so I picked up this and the one below. It is definitely on the lighter more pink side of coral, and is more subtle than the one below.

Coral Queen:

This is definitely the brighter side of coral (you can see how I justified the two) and is really quite bright in real life. I think it will be perfect for summer.

Berry Queen:

They like their Queens don't they? This is a much deeper colour, and is very red and berry toned. For me it is a definite winter shade, and I have to have a lot of confidence the day I wear it, as bold lips scare me,  but I do love them.

Have you tried anything from this range?

Laura xoxo

Throwback Thursday: Maybelline Gel Liner

I bought this little guy aggges ago. Before I even new the whole blogging/youtube world existed. I bought it 'cause of something I saw in a magazine, but never really got on with it. The brush it came with used to always give me such thick lines, and it never really suited me, so I just cast it aside.

When I started watching youtube videos, I saw a lot of people use an angled brush to apply it, so when  I got an angled brush I tried it out again. The look it gave was much better and thinner.

However I still found it quite difficult to use, which could be down to the fact that mine is quite old, but it also smudged really easily, and just didn't look as good as I wanted it to.

This will probably be a product I never master how to use, but keep going back to, 'cause that's just what I'm like.

Do you use this?

Laura xoxo

A Face of the Night

This is what I wore when I went out for dinner on last Thursday, and wasn't feeling too great, so decided to use some of my more 'luxury' products in a bid to make myself feel a bit better. It must have worked as I had a really good night. Anyway, I thought I'd share this look with you today.

Base:

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer

Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer

Eyes:

MAC Charcoal Brown - Brows

MAC Handwritten // Satin Taupe // Carbon

UD Foxy

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

Cheeks:

Chanel Bronze Universal 

Nars Multiple Portofino

Dior Amber Diamond

Lips:

Rimmel Appocalips in Celestial

I love the Silk Creme Base and I found that by applying it with a damp sponge, the effect looked really natural. Of course if you can't use Chanel and Dior to cheer yourself up, when can you? Still loving that combo; and a simple smokey eye is enough to add a smile to my face.

What are your feel good products?

Laura xoxo

What I Wore this Week

This week has pretty much been spent sniffing, and falling on my bum in the ice. I'm a very attractive creature. Babysitting and uni pretty much filled my week again, but I did manage to squeeze in time for a rather lovely meal on Thursday. I've also tried to make a bit more of an effort with what I've been wearing, minus Saturday obviously.

Monday: Cardigan and Skirt: Topshop // Top: H&M // Socks: H&M

Tuesday: Top: George at Asda // Cardigan and Skirt: Topshop // Socks: New Look

Wednesday: Blazer: George at Asda // Top: Topshop // Boots: New Look

Thursday: Top: George at Asda // Skirt: River Island (it has a floral detail on it, it's not blurred) Boots: New Look

Friday: Dress: Topshop // Cardigan: George at Asda (comfiest cardi ever!) Shoes: Primark

Saturday: Top: New Look // Cardigan: George at Asda // Shoes: Primark


Hope you all have a lovely week!

Laura xoxo

Fashion Friday: 3 Ways to Wear - LBD

I seem to be on a bit of an obsession with finding a little black dress. Every girl needs one, and I was yet to really own one. I then found this one from ASOS  and I really like it. I then thought I'd show you three ways I plan to wear it.

One: Casual

I'm looking forward to wearing a look like this in summer. Please hurry up!

Evening:

A nice pair of heels and you're good to go!


Work:

I love this George blazer so much, and I think it makes the dress perfect for the office.

How do you wear a little black dress?

Laura xoxo

Treating Yourself

Yes, tomorrow is Valentines day, and whether you are into the whole thing, or it's just another day to you, it gives us an excuse to give ourselves a little pamper.

I was going to do a post on what I'll be doing to pamper myself, but as I haven't bought any new 'pampering products' really, I thought I'd link to some older posts for you.

Skin Treat: post

My favourite treat is still slapping on a good layer of the Emma Hardie cleansing balm with the rosehip seeds on my face and leaving it for around 5-10 mins.

I then layer on the Orgins Drink Up Intesive Overnight mask, either over night, or just for 5-6 hours in the evening and then carrying on with my usual skincare routine.

Hair: Post

A good layer of this coconut oil overnight is a cheap and easy way to give you silky soft locks.

Nails: Post

A few more pamper posts.

Will you be treating yourself this V-day?

Laura xoxo

New In: Rimmel ScandalEyes

When shopping with the gorgeous Rachel, I was browsing the Rimmel stand in Boots, and noticed these little guys. Now eyeshadow crayons have always fascinated me, and I've never really come across any that I wanted to buy, but I love the smaller scandaleyes liners, so thought I'd give these a shot.

I picked up these two colours as they are the most 'me' colours. On the left is 003 Bad Girl Bronze. It is a lovely bronze/brown toned colour which looks really lovely on it's own blended out toward the edges.

I also picked up 002 Bullet Proof Beige, which is the perfect base colour and is great both on its own and under shadows. I love putting this on and smudging another liner into the water line with it.

In these pictures I've put the lighter colour all over the lid and placed the darker colour in the crease and corner and just blended.

Longevity wise, I've found the brown wears that little bit better than the beige which can crease on me after a few hours.

Overall I'm really impressed with these, and would recommend you try them out.

Have you tried these?

Laura xoxo

Review: Olay Essentials Daily Facial Cloths

I mentioned these a while back and really wanted to do a full review of them for you. These cloths are basically a flannel with the face wash already built in, which makes them perfect for travelling.

They come in packs of thirty, and are really thin so they can be stored easily.

As you can see, one side has these tiny beads on which is the facial wash. The other side then acts like a flannel.

They clean your face really easily, and quickly which makes it perfect for on the go and travel.

Have you tried these?

Laura xoxo

What I Wore this Week

Hello, and happy Sunday. I hope you've all had lovely weeks. My week pretty much consisted of uni work and babysitting, alongside a couple of meals. Luckily I managed to avoid any settling snow which has made me immensely happy. 

Monday: Top: M&S // Skirt: New Look // Shoes: Primark

Tuesday: Top: Topshop // Skirt: New Look // Boots: New Look

Wednesday: Top & Skirt: Topshop // Boots: Primark

Thursday: All New Look

Friday: Jacket: George at Asda // Top: H&M // Boots: New Look

Saturday: Top: George at Asda // Skirt: Topshop // Boots: New Look

I hope you all have lovely weeks.

Laura xoxo

Review: No.17 Dolled Up Mascara

I purchased this after seeing No 17 retweet a picture of someone wearing it, as their lashes looked amazing. If you've followed my blog for a while you will know that I am extremely faithful to Max Factor when it comes to mascara, but at a fraction of the price, I thought I'd give this a go.

The wand of this mascara is not something I'm very fond of, I prefer thicker wands, but it isn't the worst I've used.

As you can see it gives my lashes a nice length, and it does look quite natural (not this zoomed it) but it didn't blow me away like I was expecting.

I then decided to check it out next to my faithful False Lash Effect:

and realised that 17 was not the one for me.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think this is a bad mascara, I've definitely tried worse, but I won't be re-purchasing it.

Have you tried this? What do you think?

Laura xoxo

Worth the Hype? #6

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette: YES. I love this palette, each shadow is highly pigmented, blends easliy, and just creates such beautiful looks.

Nars Laguna Bronzer: Yes. I love this bronzer. It gives the perfect gorgeous golden glow to my cheeks. I can't wait until summer as I know it will be perfect.

Rimmel Apocalips: Yes. I really didn't want to buy into this hype, but I saw a lot of people wearing this shade Celstial, and I just had to have, and I'm really enjoying using it.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo: In the middle. I do think this is a really good product, and it has really reduced the red tone of my skin, however I was hoping this would clear up the stupid spots that won't leave my face, but it hasn't yet, so I can't give this a full yes, but it is a lovely product.

Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray: Yes. This product gives gorgeous volume and the perfect tousled look, however I do find it slightly drying, which is the only negative effect. Review.

Have you got any of these? What do you class as hyped up products?

Laura xoxo

Previous Posts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

FOTD; Uni Face

For today's FOTD post I thought I'd share with you the look I've been wearing to uni the last week.

Base:

Dr Jart + BB Cream

Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Eyes: 

Brows: MAC Charcoal Brown

MAC Naked Lunch//Handwritten//Carbon Eyeshadow

Max Factor False Lash Effect

Rimmel Kate Scandaleyes Liner in Nude

Cheeks:

NARS Laguna

NARS Multiple in Portofino

MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle

Lips:

Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie

I really like the simplicity of the face, with the slight smokey eye on the lid. I think it makes the best I've made and effort but not a lot for uni face.

What do you wear to uni?

Laura xoxo

Review: Dr Jart + BB Cream

I know I'm very late to the Dr Jart + party, but I've finally arrived, with a bottle of wine in hand, so I'm sure they'll forgive me. I've always wanted to try it, but something had always stopped me, then I 'popped' into Boots with my mom, and had about 5 mins to pick up my 'essestinals' and saw this was on offer, and picked it up without thinking twice; so to call this an impulse buy would be perfectly correct.

I decided to pick up the Water Infused one as it seems to be the one most oily skinned bloggers have gone for. I spent ages (precious Boots seconds) searching to see what colour this was as most BB creams come with a light/dark shade range, but couldn't find one so it appears it only comes in one shade, which scared me as I'm quite pale, or at least my neck is; but I still thought I'd give it a go.

Shade wise it matched my skin pretty much perfectly. It looked very orange toned on my hand, but that didn't transfer to my face. It hasn't got a full coverage, it didn't cover my breakout, but it definitely evened my skin tone, and reduced the redness of my stubborn spots that will not disappear (slightly off track.) However, it doesn't claim to do that. It is not a foundation, it is essentially a tinted moisturiser, and for a tinted moisturiser, it has done bloomin' well.

This is it with concealer and powder on top, and if I do say so myself, it looks pretty flawless.

This is it 8 hours later. The rest of my make-up has faded, and it doesn't look 'flawless' anymore, but what I love about this product is that it still gives me an even skin tone, and when I look in the mirror I'm super impressed, I love the way my skin still looks, it never does that with foundation.

For me, I see it like Orgins Vita-Zing, but better. It's great at covering redness, doesn't leaving me worrying I look like an oompa lumpa, and it's hydrating too. I also feel that it keeps my skin looking 'good' the whole time it is on.

Overall it gets a massive thumbs up from me.

Have you tried it?

Laura xoxo