Holiday Hauling!

Hello ladies! I hope your having a happy hump day! I’m still on annual leave so I’m in my lay about clothes watching The Thick Of It, this is the life! If you’ve never watched it you need to, Malcolm Tucker is my hero. I can only dream of swearing like that.

Not last weekend but the one before the boy and I went on a little city break dahling, to Amsterdam! Him indoors has been before, I hadn’t but it was on the to do list. I managed to find it for a good price on lastminute.com so off we went! We were staying in a really nice 4 star hotel which was a little way out of town a few streets away from the Van Gogh museum but we got tram passes for a few Euro and hammered them, we literally went everywhere! I can’t recommend visiting Amsterdam enough, it’s so beautiful and easy to walk around.

It was my birthday on the day we got there annnnd birthday celebrations along with my having purchased no cosmetics since July…lets be honest I need no excuse for a haul. And haul I did. Like a mother.


Some bits I’ve used a bit and some bits I haven’t touched so this will just be a skim over what I got before I start playing around and get some reviews up.

First up a visit to Sephora. There isn’t one actually in Amsterdam but a few km away. Yes I did drag my poor boyfriend all the way there and he didn’t even moan! WIN!

Make Up For Ever HD Blush in #6, Aqua Cream in #13, Rouge Artist Natural lipstick in N36

Sephora Jumbo Liner in 05 Beige, Ultra Vinyl Lip Pencil in 05 Miami Pink

Then a small trip to the Make Up Store…

High Tech Lighter in Venus, Blush in Must Have and Matte Lipstick in Pretty Baby

I also had a stroke of genius on the tram one day and remembered Inglot! I haven’t been anywhere near one of their stores but I see beautiful stuff from them on blogs. One small google to find a location later aaannnddddd

AMC Lip Paint in #66, Freedom palette (I will put shade names on when I do a proper review these are a total bitch to get out!), Sleeks Cream Lip Paint in 105

Drug store and Yves Rocher…

Yves Rocher Sexy Pulp mascara, Catrice Absolute Eye Colour in I Like To Mauve It and Mr Copper’s Fields, Essence lipstick All About Cupcake and Essence Superfine Eyeliner Pen, I also got an Essence cream eyeshadow that isn’t pictured here

Last of all, Douglas and duty free purchases

Lancome Rouge In Love in 340B Rose Boudoir and 322M Corail In Love, Burberry Lip Cover in 28 Devon Sunset and a teensy weensy sample in 04 Rosewood, Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait De Gloss in 57 Insolence

I feel disgusted at myself. Normally I need to hide new purchases away from the boy under the bed or something but he was present for all of these purchases and therefore aware of my horrendous dependence on lipstick and the buying thereof. He still hasn’t mentioned it or taken the piss…keeper!

Have you been to Amsterdam? Or used any of these badboys?! xo

NOTD–Green Nail Comparisons

It is well documented that as well as being a lipstick fiend, there is more than enough space for ample amounts of nail polish too.
It can’t be just me that despite owning more than I wish to count I end up with several variations of a shade. Lets just say I definitely have a type (or ten).

So after the post about NYC’s Mint Macaroon I was tidying around one day and noticed I had another shade I’d forgotten about that looked similar. And repeat. And repeat.

I figured I’d do a quick comparison while I have time and inclination in case you had some of these or any catch your eye…


From L-R these are NYC’s Mint Macaroon, Models Own Jade Stone, Beauty UK unnamed (may be called Jade), China Glaze For Audrey

2 coats of each, the Beauty UK one is still pretty patchy, the other three could of got away with the two coats


China Glaze straight away is the most turquoise of these. It’s one of my favourite polishes and one the boy loves as well! Beauty UK and Models Own are a similar shade but I prefer Models Own and it has a better formula. Plus can you hate something if it has your name in it? Mint Macaroon is a shade on it’s own, a beautiful spring green. I love these kind of shades!

Do you like? Do you own any of these shades? Do you have any more suggestions? I need more polish like a hole in the head but I love it!

Top Fave… Lip Combo

Hello ladies! How is your Sunday going? I hope your making the most of the sunshine!
I worked a night shift last night and unfortunately my body has decided that 4 and a half hours sleep is the new 8 hours. This means my Sunday will be spent in my dressing gown on the sofa watching the F1 eating Sweet Chilli & Red Pepper Tyrrells…not that I’m complaining!

As I’m sure you are very aware by now, I am a total lipstick fiend! I have so many I don’t want to count. The idea of how much £ they have cost me makes me feel a little ill. Which is why I’m so overjoyed to be entertaining the idea of finishing one!

MAC’s Angel has been a consistent fave for a long long while, it’s so easy to slap on and go without worrying too much about my lip line (ain’t nobody got time to apply lip liner EVERY time!) and it wears fairly well, two hours or so on me. It’s a frost formulation which sounds like a horrific 90’s throwback but it’s not noticeable. Thank god.
My tube of Angel is now a shadow of it’s former self so it’s high time for the final push to use it up so it can go to lipstick heaven. I’ve been wearing it with a dab of Clinique’s Long Last Glosswear in Air Kiss, a sample from Glamour magazine at some point.







This is just an easy to wear lip that goes with everything. I don’t like to pile on the makeup for work because barely anyone wears any but this makes me feel ‘done’ without feeling like a overdone tramp. Bonus!
Once my husk of a stump of Angel has depleted I will try Air Kiss with MAC’s Creme Cup, a similar shade that I also love!
Are you a fan of Angel? Or Ange in my case as the label has worn…

One last thing…

Bought some new Havaianas after having my old ones for 6 years…GRIM!

AAAAHHHH BUTTON IS OUT!! DEVASTATED!!!!!!!!!

NOTD–NYC Mint Macaroon

This whole ‘no nail varnish at work’ shenanigan is getting old fast. It’s depressing when one of the reasons you are excited about having days off work is so you can paint your nails. Especially in summer time when wearing pastels is the law!

A new purchase and current fave is this cheapie courtesy of NYC…



It goes between a minty and a more ‘spring’ green, either way I LOVE IT!! I want to paint just about all of my belongings this colour. Awesome.

This was three easy coats. I could of got away with two were it not for my shoddy painting skillz.
As for the 7 day wear claim? Nada. I wore this for three and it was looking tatty, you can see a chip on my ring finger in the above pictures. However for £2.49 this is a total winner!

Do you get cravings for summery hues? I gladly wear pastels all year round but this is a new fave!

Until next time! x

Moving On…Botanics All Bright Toner

Sooooo….I’m slack to say the least! I feel as if I don’t leave work right now and this week is a 6 dayer for me which sucks balls. However I have booked a little holiday for me and the man for a few weeks time so things are looking up!!!

This post is following on from the one I did a few weeks ago on my current skincare routine. I know skincare is incredibly subjective but when I ran out of the product last week I rushed (may contain traces of porkie!) out straight away to repurchase without a second thought.

Toner is a take it or leave it product for some people but I am firmly in the take it camp! My face doesn’t feel properly clean post cleansing without it and I’ve tried a few high street offerings in the past few years. Most of them I haven’t been too taken with and had even been using my own rosewater and witch hazel concoction of late until I ran out. That’s when I picked up this badboy and I haven’t looked back!




Boots’ Botanics All Bright Cleansing Toner claims to “…helps visibly tighten pores and instantly brighten skin.” Personally I’m not completely sold on these claims. While my skin has been looking brighter and my pores bothering me a little less, I doubt it is down to this toner, more down to my routine as a whole. It contains AHA’s to help smooth the skin (can you tell I know eff all about these things?!) which means you should use sunscreen after use, a pain in the bum for some but I personally do anyway.

At the end of the day, it’s a toner. I’m sure it won’t make miracles happen. That being said, I have used plenty of toners that have stripped my skin and this is not one of them. It really does leave my skin feeling refreshed and ready for a good moisturisation! For the £4 odd this cost, and it is currently on special offer for less, this is a great buy.

In other news, there was a kite festival on Southsea Common last weekend. We didn’t stay too long but of the ones I saw this was a fave…
How’s that for a bodge job Spongebob! I’m guessing that’s what this is meant to be!

Until next time x

Current Loves: My Skincare Routine

Herrow ladies! How are you all feeling post-Olympics? I’m feeling a little bit lost, much how I felt when series 2 of the Danish Killing ended. It was a bit of a contrast to Beijing though as 4 years ago I was at uni and didn’t leave my house for two weeks whereas I had to work this year. Sad times!

 

One thing that is perking me up in these dark times is the current condition of my skin! A few months ago my usually normal/combination complexion was way oilier than normal and there were blemishes all over the shop, especially on my crazy oily chin. Factor night shifts in there and the disruption in sleep/eating crap that go hand in hand with working crazy hours and you have a big ol mess!

 

Since changing a few things around my skin has changed considerably and while my nose and more so my chin are oilier than the rest of my face they are much less oily than previously! I don’t have to blot until lunchtime as opposed to when I arrive at work woohoo!

Another concern is my enlarged pores. I can’t say for sure the degree to which they have been affected but they definitely bother me less than before. It is also looking more luminous and just all over healthier than before.

 

Less rambling, I’ll get to the goods!

I remove any remainder of eyelash serum with No7’s Beautiful Skin Eye Make-Up Remover. Shortly before I hop in the shower I rub nspa’s Melting Cleansing Gel (review here) all over my visage before rinsing off in the shower. Finally prior to moisturiser I squirt some Botanics Cleansing Toner on a cotton pad and rub it all over my face.

 

After toner I spread one pump of No7’s Pore Refining Serum over my chin, nose and the top of my cheeks. I fanny around for a bit while that sinks in before adding La Roche-Posay’s Effaclar K on the same areas. I then put some of No7’s Beautiful Skin Day Cream for normal/oily skin on the drier areas of my face (forehead, bottom of cheeks and neck). Finally I rub some No7 Beautiful Skin Vitality Eye Roll-On under my eyes. Hey presto! Ready for makeup!

 

In the evening after a long day at work when all I want to do is hang out with my wang out (note: I have no wang) I like to use stuff I can just chuck on without too much hassle.

Same as in the AM I remove my eye makeup with No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make-Up Remover before rubbing Superdrug Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser all over and removing with a warm damp flannel. Again I prep my skin for moisturiser with Botanics Cleansing Toner.

 

I rotate though three different night creams depending on what I feel like. On the left is Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse which I pat on my aforementioned dry areas before using HEMA Nightcream for normal/combination skin. If I want something a bit more brightening I use Nuxe Creme Etincelante (review here) or Alpha-H Balancing Moisturiser and Gentle Exfoliant.

Origins GinZing eye cream and Mavala Double-Lash are the final bits of my night time routine and I’m really liking them both at the moment.

In addition to all this I also use a face scrub and a few masks…. What a palaver! Some of this stuff I’ve used for ages and some is pretty new so reviews will come as and when I’ve formed an opinion…..

 

Have you used any of these products? Or can you recommend me an anti-aging night cream for combination skin? I’m sure to be needing one soon and I have no idea where to start!

 

Sorry this post was a bit boring! This is the first time I’ve been pleased with how my skin looks for more than like three consecutive days so I want to share it with you!

New Purchases–Laura Mercier

Hola!

As I said in my previous post my spending has been a bit mental lately – there is much more to show you but these two babies are some of the many culprits!

Whenever I head back to Bristol I have to indulge in some shopping! Portsmouth’s shopping is a complete let-down and I can never be arsed to drive to Southampton so I take advantage of a trip back home every so often.

For some unknown reason I decided to head into Harvey Nichols. I hate going in there as no-one at the counters ever speaks to me. I know I look like a scruffy mare at times but I have money burning in my pocket and can be coerced into buying anything – a shop assistants dream! The only counter I have a good experience at is SpaceNK where the staff have always been lovely and I always end up dropping a few too many ££.

This time however I trotted over to the Laura Mercier counter. I don’t own anything bar a concealer bought via Buyapowa from the brand and having seen many pretties on Vivianna Does Makeup I thought it high time I took the plunge. The lady was lovely and it didn’t take long for me to leave with some new beauties.



I came away with a Second Skin Cheek Colour in Lush Nectarine and the limited edition Crème Lip Print in Nude Coral.



Lush Nectarine is on the left and Nude Coral on the right.

The lady applied some to me and while cooing over it I mentioned that my blush doesn’t always last very long at work. I think it is constantly going between air conditioned and non air conditioned environments – I’m always freezing or a sweaty betty!
I then moved on to gushing over these Lip Prints – this and the more pinky colour are really pretty. The lady then suggested this could be worn as a cheek product under the powder to make it last longer.

I’ve been doing this for the last few weeks or so and loving the result! It’s a really pretty peachy apricoty glow that withstands the arctic environment I work in!




Lush Nectarine has a teensy bit of shimmer, enough to make it ‘glow’ rather than ‘frosty the snowman’. The Lip Print feels really nice on the cheeks too – non sticky. I have also worn it on the lips but for me it requires a little bit of gloss over the top.


I normally shy away from luxury items. The price tag is a little scary and I have been disappointed in the past but these are totally worth it! The blusher is £20.50 for 3.6g and the Lip Print is £16.50 for 1.9g which sounds steep but these are highly pigmented so will last ages.

There is another Lip Print in Nude Pink that caught my eye – if I wasn’t on such a hideous NO BUY it’d be mine for sure!

Are there any other Laura Mercier goodies I should keep an eye out for? For my birthday wishlist?

Review–Bourjois Flower Perfection Primer

Happy Saturday ladies!
I decided to stop blogging for a while as my spending was getting a bit out of control and I thought getting away from the trials and tribulations of lipstick would help me manage that.
Turns out no. I’m ABSOLUTELY NOT buying ANYTHING until my birthday in September. Except maybe perhaps for the new YSL foundation, I got a sample yesterday and I’ll see how it goes. But that’s it.
Well instead of still spending the ££ and having no one to spend it with I may as well pull my finger out and do some posting ay?!

In true me style I ran out of primer and ended up buying too many to replace the one that ran out. My last post was about Laura Gellar’s Spackle primer which was my daily work primer and I used this for weekends. However I soon began to notice how much better my oily chin was when using this so began using it for work instead. Add a switch in moisturiser and hey presto! My oily chin is not diminished but a billion times better than it was.

Bourjois Flower Perfection Translucent Smoothing Primer (what a mouthful!) claims to have a “Correcting airbrush action” creating “Beautified skin”. I can’t really argue much with this. In terms of covering my pores (my main concern), it works almost as well as Benefit’s Porefessional.
Price: £9.99 for 7ml at Boots – I swear I must have got this with some ££ off because I wouldn’t of paid that! It’s also available in Superdrug and a bunch of other chemists.
Packaging: A small plastic pot – I know some people have hygiene issues with pots. I personally don’t mind as I know where my hands have been but I see why people do.

The product is a white-cream-light pinky-ish balm. It feels velvety in application – like a lighter GOSH velvet touch.
I need to use quite a lot for the areas I cover – nose, chin, top of cheeks and bottom of forehead – to make it feel evenly covered. I have ploughed through this in the weeks I’ve been wearing it – considering I barely made a dent in the Spackle primer in 4 months and a bottle of MAC Prep+Prime lasts me 6 months plus.
I have also noticed a bit of pilling when applying, no matter how long I leave my moisturiser on before I apply this. Even when applying it to my hand it pilled and I barely used any.

That is probably the amount I’d need to use for my nose and cheeks, maybe a bit more.

I can’t really argue with this primer’s claims. It does make my pores less noticeable and my skin look and feel a better texture. My oiliness is managed better than with other primers I have used and my makeup does last longer than without a primer.

Regardless of this I wouldn’t repurchase. In terms of ££ for amount of product and how quickly I’m going through it I don’t think this is a good deal and there are other primers around that are more economical. I do like it and will use it up but I’m not completely satisfied with this!

I was going to post a little update of what I’ve been doing since my last post butttt I haven’t really done much. Worked a ton, a quick trip back home and that is pretty much it! A few token photos..

This picture is crap, I took it of the screen before he came on but we were miles back! He’s hilarious! About 60% of it is the accent though, I love the Welsh!

Standard bunpic, a t-shirt of my Mum’s fell on the kitchen floor and it was been adopted by Brownie. No Fluff pictures today, she wasn’t particularly impressed by my camera skills…

Hope your all good! I won’t leave it so long next time x

Review: Laura Geller Spackle

Gutentag!

I hope you are all well! This is just a quick one from me, I realised I haven’t properly reviewed much in ages and my daily work makeup routine has changed a bit since my previous Weekly Wear post – I really should pull my finger out and update it! I am hoping to be done with some of the items I’m using soon, wearing the same concealers and eyeshadow for nearly 4 months is doing my head in!!

Anyway, in that post I was using Benefit’s That Gal primer which I only ended up using for a few days due to a crop of spots appearing. They may or may not have been down to that but when I stopped using it they went so who knows! Around that time I had ordered a Laura Geller set from QVC which came with a huge 59ml bottle of the range’s primer – Spackle.



They say “Oil-free primer prepares skin for makeup application by smoothing and perfecting the texture of your skin. Helps makeup last longer and keep colors true”

I whole-heartedly agree with this statement. I apply a tiny blob to my face once my moisturiser has sunk in and leave it for a few minutes before starting my makeup. It does make my skin smooth and velvety without feeling at all heavy which is an issue I had with GOSH’s Velvet Touch primer. My makeup just glides over it! It makes no claims regarding pore minimising but I do find that mine are slightly filled in with this alone and once my makeup is on they are hardly visible.

I find it hard to comment on the issue of the wear of my makeup because of my workplace. I work in a heavily air-conditioned environment where I am running around like a blue assed fly all day. Sweaty face (sorry but it’s true!) plus blasting air con = a messed up complexion. It does extend the wear of my makeup in comparison to makeup without primer but it still fades and is a little patchy by the time I get home. However, I feel it is unfair to use these as negative points because the best primer in the world would struggle in my workplace!




It’s in a tube so it’s easy to control how much comes out – handy because that blob above is enough for my whole face!

A little goes a long way with this stuff making it’s already pretty good value price on QVC of £24.52 for 120g even better. My tube is 56g and it’s lasted months already.

I really like this primer – my skin feels amazing, it’s oil-free, doesn’t feel heavy on my skin and my makeup goes on like a dream. If I didn’t have loads of primers to use after I finish this one (which will already take me aggges) I would repurchase straight away for sure. I definitely will in the future.
Have you tried any Laura Geller products? Or do you have any other primer recs?

Just one more thing…

A lazy girls dream dinner – yes it’s sauce in a packet which made me feel a little bit dirty (the boy and I make our own pasta sauces regularly but haven’t ever braved curry!) but it was a quid from Asda and aside from being a little hotter than I expected Butter Chicken to be it was really good! NOM!

Things I Can’t Live Without: Vier

Oh ladies. Another day another dollar I know but this week is wearing me out! Thank goodness I’m on normal day shifts or I would be dead on my feet! I hope your week is a little less taxing.

It’s times like these, where work is knackering me out, I’m trying to watch The Killing and my bra is injuring my armpit, that I wish to tell you about my all time top fave face cream.

I’m a bit of a cheeky monkey in that you can’t actually buy this in the UK as far as I know, it has been discontinued. When my previous jar ran out I did a few extensive internet searches that brought up a few potential sources but I got my second jar while in France on holiday last summer. It was easily obtainable there – I got it in Carrefour in Calais for around €27 – so if it tickles your fancy and your off abroad this year keep an eye out.

Enough preamble – meet Nuxe’s Creme Etincelante



For my €27 I received 50ml of product in a sturdy glass jar – I know jars aren’t everybody’s thing but this is a nice one and the lid is heavy plastic. Packaging wise this is a thumbs up from me.

I don’t have the box for this anymore so some details may be a bit sketchy but this product calls itself a ‘radiance resurfacing cream’ and it contains fruit acids that gently exfoliate your skin. I use this exclusively as a night cream as if you try and put anything over the top it ‘pills’ like jumpers do if you know what I mean…and because of the fruit acids I wear a moisturiser or something with SPF in it the following day.

The morning after using this my skin is brighter and more even in tone – great for me because I am prone to redness on my nose and cheeks. My skin is always soft but hydrated and feels smooth. It may sound like a bit of a full on rave but I love this cream! When I ran out of my last jar I was devastated and trawled the internet looking for a replacement that wouldn’t cost me one hundred billion dollars. I was so glad when this was among the other Nuxe goodies in Carrefour!



You can kind of see the texture here, it’s not the thickest night cream I have and it glides on easily – sinking in quickly but not so quick I can’t give my Chevy a quick massage at the same time.

The amount above would cover most of my face, I might use a tiny bit more. You don’t need a lot though – I’ve used this at least three times a week since the end of August and I have about a quarter of a jar left – hopefully enough to last me until my planned-but-not-yet-confirmed Eurotrip in September!

That’s all from me tonight ladies, I am going to take off this bra and give The Killing (the Danish first series, I love it!) my full attention. You know you are ready for maxing and relaxing when your bra-less and in your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pyjamas.

I just thought I’d share another of my loves and something I wish I could imbibe more of

Cold on a hot summers day = perfection

A Glittery Pretty NOTD

Happy Sunday birdies! I hope you are having a good weekend and aren’t full of work dread (sorry if I reminded you!). Today for me is full of my gorgeous niece and brunch with hopefully a sprinkling of F1, football and a whole lot of maxing relaxing. Fingers crossed anyways!

Seeing as I am buying nail varnishes like they are going out of fashion, which I am pretty sure they aren’t, I figured I had better show you what I am actually wearing on my nails at this moment in time.


                  
Apologies for the crazy FLASH picture, it best showed the glitter. These are Kendall On The Katwalk and Wear Something Spar-Kylie from the Nicole By OPI Kardashian Kolor (cringe! I hate writing colour both with a k and without a u!) collection. I’m not a great lover of the Kardashian’s as a rule but that wasn’t going to prevent me from purchasing these beauties!


My nails are so hideous at the moment I really hesitated about posting these pictures. However I’ve not posted for a few weeks and surely one of the only things that can brighten up manky nails is a shedload of glitter?!




You can see Kendall On The Katwalk has both turquoise and a royal blue-ish glitter in a blue base whereas Wear Something Spar-Kylie has pretty much just rose glitter in a rosy base. Both are awesomely pretty though, if it hadn’t of started to chip soon after these pics I would have put on some matte top coat. I’m sure I’ll be trying that sometime soon!

I am also pretty pleased with the nail varnish on my toes at the moment! I love turquoises on toes for summer and this combo is really cute! No fear, no shots of my horrendous feet will ever grace the pages of this blog so unshield your eyes! I painted what I’m wearing on three of my fingers, meaning my little finger is awkwardly cropped out…



This is two coats of China Glaze’s For Audrey with two coats of Models Own Ibiza Mix. I only got Ibiza Mix a few days ago but it’s a fave already! I was going to pass on it but when I spotted it in a lesser-frequented (by me) branch of Boots I caved and I’m so glad I did!

What do you think of these pretties? Is glitter your thing? At 24, worryingly soon to be 25, I sometimes feel it isn’t that age-appropriate but on the other hand, you only live once!

The Nicole By OPI polishes are available from asos (where I got mine) and Lena White. 
Models Own polishes are available from Boots (where I got mine) and the Models Own site.

Just one last thing…

Fake tan mishap, looks SO much worse in real life! What a dick!