Ultimate Christmas Wish List | 2014

Happy December! The countdown to Christmas has begun. 

It's tradition for bloggers to do Christmas wish list posts, right?! So, here's mine for 2014.

As always I'd like to clarify that I don't expect any of these, it's simply a fun post to do at Christmas time and it might give you a couple of ideas if you're looking to get people gifts, or you may even see something you'd like yourself.

Bag
I quite desperately need a new bag. The one I currently have is one I love, but the zips broken and it's falling to pieces really. I've never bought a Zara bag before, but I know they're brilliant quality and I love the look of this one. But a cheaper, and lovely looking other one is this from H&M.

NARS Sheer Glow 
Have I mentioned this enough? I tried a sample of this foundation in the shade Mont Blanc and I fell in love.

Clarins Exfoliating Toner  
I'm ashamed to admit I don't currently have a toner…and I exfoliate my face less than I should. Every review I've read about this product has been outstanding, and it sounds perfect for me.

YSL Black Opium 
It was love at first sniff. This perfume is gorgeous!

Soap and Glory stuff 
A classic. I've run out of all my Soap & Glory products, I'd love some more of their body butter and body wash…their scrubs are pretty fab too. The 'smoothie' scent is amazing.

Hair Straighteners 
I always curl my hair with a waving wa
nd, but because I have layers I get the inevitable flicks which I have to tame with straighteners. I currently have to steal my sisters….sorry Maddie.

Dressing Gown 
Who doesn't want a snuggly, cosy dressing gown for the cold months?!

Purse 
My current purse has been with me for years…it's a bit battered. Any simple, nice, chunky, quite plain purse with plenty of space for money and masses of cards would be great.

MAC Lipstick - Creme In Your Coffee
I really want a MAC lipstick that's an everyday shade. Creme in your Coffee is a gorgeous pinky brown shade that would be ideal. Who doesn't love a MAC lipstick?!


The Mystery Of Mercy Close 
I always like to get a new book for Christmas, and this one by Marian Keyes is on my wishlist.

Topshop Jumper
I need more snuggly jumpers, and I love the colour of this…surprise, surprise…it's grey.

Yoga Mat 
I took up yoga earlier this year and I've become addicted to it. The benefits are get from doing it are amazing, but I need a mat! A towel doesn't really cut it. They do some good ones at TK MAXX.

What are you hoping will be under your

tree this Christmas?

x

Top 5 Beauty Advent Calendars 2014

I know, I know, it's still October….but November is just around the corner and then it'll be 1st December before we know it! Plus, beauty advent calendars are notorious for selling out insanely fast. So I found what I think are the best 5 beauty advent calendars, take your pick and give yourself a treat every day in December during the lead up to Christmas.

1. The Selfridges Enchanted Spells Advent Calendar - £85
The priciest of the bunch, but full of amazing mini sized products. There's a selection of makeup, skincare and fragrances from high-end brands such as Yves Saint Lauren, Kiehl's, Lancôme, Urban Decay and more.

2. The Body Shop Advent Calendar - £50
I loved the look of The Body Shop's advent calendar last year, and the 2014 one doesn't look like it'll disappoint either. Every day leading up to Christmas you'll get one of their best-selling products, ranging from nail polish, to hand cream, to fragrance, and of course face & body care items.

3. No. 7 Beauty Advent Calendar - £35
Due to the price, and the fact you get 25 mini No. 7 products this one is very tempting, and I can see it being very popular. 2014 is the first year No.7 have brought out an advent calendar, and it looks great. Behind every door there is miniature version of their best products, including eyeliner, lip products, nail polish and more.

4. Benefit Advent Calendar - £60
Probably the most popular of all the beauty advent calendars, and for good reason. Benefit is a great brand, with amazing products. Behind each of the 24 doors you get a mini of their best selling products, that include the bestselling They're Real Mascara, Watt's Up! highlighter, Benetint, Ultra Plush lipgloss and plenty more.

5. Freedom at Topshop Jewellery Advent Calendar - £25
Not strictly a 'beauty' advent calendar, but one I'm sure you'd all be interested in. It's 24 days of getting a piece of Topshop jewellery! There's earrings, bracelets and necklaces in both gold and silver.

Which of these advent calendars takes your fancy?

x

Favourite London Fashion Week Street Styles

It's that time of year again. SS15 London Fashion Week has just finished, and with it brought lots of new styles….I'm always interested to see the clothes in the shows, to see which colours, fabrics and prints are going to be everywhere for that season, but I also love to look at the street style.
I've been looking at what all the celebrities have been wearing over the past few days, and put together a blog post on my top 4 outfits. You may see a slight theme running through this post….I kinda love monochrome.

I'm always a fan of Danielle Peazer's clothes, and this monochrome outfit definitely impressed me.

The lace cami dress from http://www.ohmylovelondon.com is very pretty and delicate, but Danielle has made the outfit more edgy with her leather jacket, hat and brogue shoes. I actually loved all the outfits she wore to LFW, so if you're interested in them do keep an eye out on her blog, I'm sure she'll be doing a post on them.

Rosie Fortescue looks gorgeous in this outfit. I love how smart is it, and not at all over the top. The tartan print paired with the black knit and light jacket is gorgeous. Very Autumnal! Outfit from New Look.

Doesn't Tanya always look amazing? This Topshop outfit is effortless. The stripy dress is stunning, and really compliments Tanya's figure, I also love the shoes and how she's brought the outfit together with a very on-trend hat. 

I'm always interested to see what Alexa Chung wears to Fashion Week. On a day to day basis I adore her style, and when she has a special occasion event to go to she goes all out. I think this outfit is gorgeous. That tailored look is really 'in' at the moment. I think her suede loafer shoes are so cute, and the pink jacket adds some colour to the otherwise dark ensemble. 

Those are my top 4 looks from LFW.

Which is your favourite

outfit out of the 4?

x

Fashion Wish List - September 2014

A new season is just around the corner, which means all the shops are getting new stock in, which results in me endlessly pining over new clothes, shoes and accessories.

I went into New Look the other day and saw this top and this jacket put together and the combination made me turn into that love heart emoji. The two colours go together so nicely - the crepe blazer style jacket (£24.99) is a light grey and the top with scallop hem (£12.99) is a dusky pink, both items of clothing are simple yet really pretty, and I really do need some new short sleeve shirts. Also, both the jacket and the top are under £25, New Look is great for bargains.

I have got an obsession with checked shirts. I only own one but I adore it and I always see others I want, this white one (£17.99) from New Look is really nice and inexpensive, I love that it would go with any colour jeans too.
I also saw these shoes (£14.99), which I'm sure will be a love/hate item, but I like them and I reckon they'd be super comfortable, a great style for going from Summer to Autumn and would go with more or less every outfit.

Urban Outfitters jewellery is my favourite, can I have it all? These are the pieces I'm currently dreaming of. Two necklaces - one has a double chain with a circle and triangle pendant (£12), and the other is a shorter necklace with a crystal and a coin on it (£14). This geometric bracelet with black drawstring fastening (£6) is the sort of style I'm drawn to a lot at the moment.

ASOS is a dream, isn't it? I daren't spent too long on the site or I'll end up with 200 items in my wish-list, at the least. But I did find these two items which I adore. The first is a stripy top (£12), such a staple piece that I need in my wardrobe. The second is another checked shirt (£28), surprise surprise, I like this one a lot..the colours are right up my street, I love the oversized style and the fabric looks so soft.

This wish-list was cut down by quite a few items, but still ended up being long….so I do hope you enjoy long blog posts! I'd love to know what piece of fashion you are looking to buy for the new season. 

xxx

InStyle Freebie - June 2014

Who doesn't love a magazine freebie? There's often some really great ones out there, especially at this time of year. I recently got the June issue of InStyle magazine, and with it you get a FREE nails inc. nail varnish, which normally retail for £11…the magazine is £3.90, what a bargain!

Nails Inc always do really amazing link ups with magazine, and this is no exception. With your InStyle magazine you can get 1 of 3 new and limited edition Nails Inc. shades from their Brazilian Collection, there's Sao Paulo Streets which is a light grey/beige shade, Sugarloaf Sunset which is a gorgeous bright pink and then there's the one I opted for, Copacabana Coral which is the most beautiful orangey red.

Copacabana Coral is a perfect colour for summer, it's bright and cheerful and also goes with a lot of different colours, which I always take into consideration as I hate painting my nails all the time.
I'm quite fussy when it comes to nail varnish, you'll know that if you read this post, but Nails Inc. have really impressed me. The consistency of the polish isn't running, but isn't gloopy either - you could get away with one coat, but I always like to do two. The brush is a nice size, and the colour lasts a long time on the nails before it chips. The only downside is it's not the fattest drying, but I can get over that. Oh, one more bonus, it's so shiny! Ahhhh, pretty.
This shade really is stunning, I adore it and feel like I'll be sporting it all Summer.

I would highly recommend going to the shops to pick up InStyle with one of the three Nails Inc. polishes. InStyle is a great magazine too, the June issue has got some good interviews in it, great fashion features, beauty tips for summer and more.

What's the best magazine freebie

you've ever got?

x

No.7 Pop & Glow Cream Blush Stick in Classic Rose | Review

I think I've mentioned before I don't often try cream blushes, I'm not sure why because the ones I do have I really like and I think they're particularly great for Spring and Summer but I always seem to opt for powder. However, I recently tried the new No.7 Pop & Glow Blush Stick in Classic Rose and it's pretty darn good.

Firstly, I really do adore the packaging of this blush, it's in a stick form (much like Nars multiples) so you can just twist it up, dab it onto your check, smudge with your fingers or a brush and you're good to go! The application of this product is really great, it's easy to get a sheer wash of colour when blended or you can build it up to a more intense look if you wish, which still would only take a couple of swipes as the colour payoff is outstanding (swatches above).
The shade I have is Classic Rose which is a gorgeous hot pink, I think this is beautiful for Spring and Summer! I had my doubts that the colour would suit me, but I find it warms up my complexion and gives me a healthy glow - the fact it has a sheen helps with that.
Often cream blushes can be very sticky, but this blush stick is far from it - it almost feels powder like once it's dried. It's creamy, easy to blend and sets into the skin really well. But as it's that cream formula it hasn't got the longest staying power  -  I'd say it lasted about 5 hours maximum before it faded on me, however if you put powder over the top it will make it last longer and you can always carry this around in your bag for touchups during the day!
Overall I would definitely recommend this chubby stick style blush if you're new to cream blushes, or perhaps you're not keen on them because of the stickiness or difficult application but like the look they give, this will ease you in. They do 2 more blush shades and 1 highlighter in the same packaging and formulation which I must pick up! The price (£9.95) is definitely a bit much for a high street brand, I would say it shouldn't be more than £7…but if you'd like to treat yourself it's worth it for a lovely product.

Have you tried this yet?

What is your thoughts on cream blushes?

x

Makeup I Got For My Birthday

It was my birthday yesterday! I had a lovely day spent with my family, just relaxing at home, opening presents, having a nice lunch and then in the evening me, my mum (whose birthday it was too), my dad and my sister went out for dinner at a restaurant called Bill's.
I am very lucky to have got amazing presents, and I thought I'd share with you the makeup bits I got! I'm only doing beauty presents because this is mainly a beauty blog and I figured that's what would interest you the most, but if you'd like to see some of my other presents do let me know.

(Disclaimer - I know some people find these sort of posts boastful, but I really hope it doesn't come across that way. I'm in no way boasting or showing off, I feel very lucky and I'm so grateful for all my presents and I just thought it would be nice to share them with you)


I finally got the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette! I've wanted this ever since I really got into makeup. Everyone raves about it and it's definitely a 'cult' product, along with the other two naked palettes. Naked 2 was definitely my preference out of the 3, it's got the most wearable shades in it for me and you can create so many different looks. I've already tried the palette out when I went for dinner and it's a dream to use, the shadows are amazing quality, they look beautiful on and last a long time.
I got my first MAC lipstick…I know, I know, I should have got one sooner. The shade is Fanfare and it's a gorgeous yellow toned mid pink that has almost coral tones to it as well, I think this lipstick looks different on everyone though. It's a cremesheen finish, which means it's gorgeously creamy and has a more glossy finish. I love it! (FYI it looks darker in the picture than it does in real life).
I got another lip product, which is the Revlon lip butter in Wild Watermelon. It's the most beautiful pinky red shade, perfect for Spring and Summer. I wore this last night and I just adore it.
I also got a new eyeliner. I've really been enjoying creating flicks with gel eyeliner recently, but that can take a bit of time and it's annoying having to clean the brush every single time. This Supercat liner from Soap And Glory is a pen style, so it's super easy and quick to use…perfect!
Last but not least, is the NYX blush in Taupe. You don't use this as a blush but instead as a brilliant contour shade for pale skin. It's great as it's well pigmented, not dark, not orangey, easily blended and creates the illusion of a shadow very well.

I hope you enjoyed seeing what beauty things I got for my birthday, I love reading these sort of posts.

If you'd like an in depth review of anything mentioned do let me know in the comments!

x

Spring Blushes - NYX

Officially Spring doesn't begin for another couple of weeks, but the weather is getting a bit sunnier and there's a definite feeling of Spring in the air. I feel like Spring is the season for pink blush, I tend to go for more coral or peach in the summer but pink is the perfect transition for Spring.
NYX do some really brilliant and affordable blushes in a huge shade range, I thought I'd share two of them with you that I'll be using this season.

Cream blush in Natural

Powder blush in Peach

The first is a cream blush in the shade 'Natural' (£5.50). I nearly always opt for powder blushes, I just prefer them a lot more but this blush is really gorgeous. It's a really natural colour like the name suggests, it looks darker in the pan than it is when it's all blended into the skin, and it gives a beautiful glow. I thought this might be difficult to apply but I found it surprisingly easy - the best way is to blend it in with your fingers. As it's a cream formula it isn't super long lasting, I'd say it lasts for around 4 hours on it's on, but if you powder a bit over the top it'll last that bit longer.
The second blush is a powder in the shade 'Peach' (£6)….I have no idea what NYX were thinking when they named this product as it's not a peach shade at all, it's a cool toned medium baby pink. Normally cool toned blushes don't look good on me at all, but I find Peach really suits me and gives me a natural glow without any shimmer. It can be sheered out for a subtle wash of colour, or built up for a more intense look. The formulation of this blush is amazing, very pigmented, easy to blend, feels nice and silky and lasts a good 7 hours on the cheeks.
Both blushes are packaged well, nothing outstanding but for the price I didn't expect anything fancy.

Cream blush in Natural (LEFT)
Powder blush in Peach (RIGHT)

I'd highly recommend checking NYX blushes out! They're brilliant quality for the money and the shade range is so vast there'll be something for everyone.
Unfortunately they're a US brand but you can buy them from their UK website or Amazon.

What's your favourite Spring blush?

x

My GIVEAWAY is still running! But not for long. ENTER HERE! :)

Makeup Trends Spring 2014

London Fashion Week has been in full force, and with it brought the makeup trends for Spring 2014.
It may still only be February but soon it'll be March, Spring is creeping up on us!

Bright Orange Lips - I'm super happy about this trend because I adore orange lips - Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous is my favourite. Lots of designers opted for orange lips, including DKNY, Rag & Bone, Nanette Lepore, and more.  At the DKNY show makeup artist Charlotte Willer brushed Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids Lipstick in Electric Orange and Neon Red onto the lips and dapped away any excess. Orange lips looks great on more or less any skin tone too, it's definitely a trend worth giving a go this year.

Natural Makeup - The 'no makeup' makeup look was everywhere on the catwalks this year with Alexander Wang, Balmain and Christopher Kane all going for the look that was achieved by just a bit of primer to even out the skin and a touch of concealer.

Cat Eyes - This is another trend I'm really happy about, I love a good cat eye flick! Dennis Basso and Tracey Reese both went for this look for their models.

White Iridescent Eyeshadow and White Eyeliner - this look is really clean and fresh and was used by Jenny Packham, Alice & Olivia and Tibi. Makeup artists used Stila shimmer liquid luminizer on the lids to create a gorgeous shimmer and glow. White eyeliner is used on the waterline to really open up the eyes and make them look more awake.

Pastel Eyes - Pastel is always something that's very in when it gets to Spring, but not normally in makeup. This year Burberry, Dolce & Gobbana and Rochas all went for this look, while Emilio Pucci and Ruffian went for more nude pastel shades. Pastel blue is meant to be very in this Spring too…I'm not brave enough for that one!

Golden Eyes - Brown eyeshadow with golden shimmer is really big for spring, Lancome makeup artists applied it to their models. I'll be doing a post on how to get this look very soon!

Glowing Skin - Always a big one for Spring! Welcome in the sunnier weather with healthy, glowing skin. At Philip Lim the models were given this look by using Nars Pure Radiance Tinted Moisturiser and Copacabana Liquid Illuminator.

Which looks will you be trying out this

Spring?

x

Have you entered my GIVEAWAY yet? :)

MAC Stereo Rose - Re-release!

MAC, as they so often do, are re-releasing one of their most popular limited edition products into a new limited edition collection, and it's the much talked about Mineralize Skinfinish in Stereo Rose.

If you've been an avid beauty blog follower for a while you'll have no doubt heard about this product before. It was first released years ago, then re-released last year, and will again be rereleased this year into the forthcoming Fantasy Of Flowers collection - which will be available 6th March (write it in your diary).

Stereo Rose is a gorgeous coral blush, with hints of pink and golden shimmer running through it - much like Nars Orgasm blush, and there are many other dupes out there. The shade itself looks very much like it would suit and compliment any skin tone. The golden shimmer running through will help highlight, so if you're in a rush there's no need to do both, and the colour will really help warm up your complexion.
Mineralize Skinfinishe's are really soft powders with a metallic finish to them, they're great for giving a healthy glow and a gorgeous sheen to the skin.

Stereo Rose will be ready for you to buy on 6th March this year, priced at £22.
Be quick, this will undoubtably sell out fast!