Hello my lovelies!

Sorry to bombard you with outfit posts at the moment, but I've recently acquired some things that I think are lovely and, what can I say, I'm a show-off! I've been looking for another high-waisted skirt for ages and just haven't got lucky. H&M have some gorgeous skirts in at the moment but they're all a bit short, and elsewhere they just don't seem to be stocking the kind of thing I'm after. Yesterday, however, I found myself wandering into Zara and was delighted to see they had an array of lovely clothes on sale. Seriously, it seemed as though the whole floor was on sale! I'm tempted to go back and see if they have any lovely berry-coloured tops! The reason I didn't look for tops yesterday is because I found this gorgeous skirt, tucked away on a rail in between heaps of boring black ones, and they were all £9.99 so of course I picked it up!

I love how it came with a little brown waist belt, I've been after the perfect skinny belt for ages, so I couldn't be happier! I teamed it with one of my H&M tops (polka dots, true to form) and my tan brogues although you can't see them in the picture. It even seems to work with my leather jacket, but at the moment I'll need a cardie over the top as it's a bit chilly out there! I'm really happy with the shape of the skirt as well, it's swishy, but not too full - just perfect!

Accessory-wise I added a lovely Accessorize necklace I got from my friend Becky for my birthday ages ago. It's so pretty and in my opinion pearls just add that touch of glamour to any outfit.

I kept my make-up relatively simply, with a little bit of eyeliner and lip tint to brighten my face up a bit. I've got back into using my Bourjois blusher as I'd forgotten how pretty it was and it sometimes suits my face better than the bright pink MeMeMe tint I usually use! A powder blusher is also easier to blend with this new No7 foundation, as it dries to a matte, powdery finish that doesn't get on well with my liquid blush.

Here's a quick snap of the products I used, in case anyone's interested:

I really, REALLY like the Collection 2000 mascara. Granted it doesn't hold a curl for very long but it does not clump! It DOES. NOT. CLUMP. I approve!

Thank you for reading!

xoxo

Hello my lovely readers!

The other day I was left with a tenner I didn't spend on a night out so I decided I'd treat myself to some beauty bits and bobs, as you do! I read about the Body Shop's face brush and it sounded good, and for £3.50 you can't really go wrong, so into my shopping bag it went, soon followed by the Superdrug mud mask. I LOVE mud masks. I used to have a massive tube of what was basically green mud, bought in a supermarket in Luxembourg, and I'd just whack it on whenever my skin felt particularly ugly (so every two days, then). This is just as lovely, if in a slightly smaller tube, and it was only £2.49 too. After that I trotted off to Boots and picked up the Collection 2000 pressed powder because it was £1.99 and I wanted a really light powder to try and offset the...well, orangeness of my Chanel foundation. This powder SMELLS, though, it's really strong and floral and granny-like, so it's probably not going to worm its way into my favourites. It does the job though, if you can put up with the smell!

A couple of days later I decided to put my £5 No7 voucher to good use which meant I got their latest foundation for £8.50. I shall review it at a later date once I've had a chance to use it for a few weeks and get a proper feel for it. I quite like the matte effect though, but it's a bit cakey with powder so I'm going to try and use it without and then I shall report back to you!

What do you think of my purchases? Anything similar you'd like to recommend? I love hearing your thoughts!

Hello my lovelies! Today marks a very important occasion...the first time I've used the self-timer on my camera! (Hurrah, yay me, I shall dole out champagne later...) I was in a bit of a rush this morning to get to my seminar on time (and managed to arrive ten minutes before anyone else, because I am that cool) so please excuse my gormless expressions and awkward posing. Both items haven't been featured on the blog before but undoubtedly will appear again, such is the nature of a student's wardrobe!

I don't really have anywhere with a plain background to pose other than my door, but hey! I saw this tunic in the Dorothy Perkins sale and had to pick it up, although they described it as a dress I'd hesitate to wear it as one because, well, it's very short. Leggings are a must with this! I love the colour though, it's slightly more red in real life and it's just gorgeous. I want to buy more tops in this colour!

Eurgh, I look so smug in this one, I was trying to go for 'approachable' but oh well. The jacket is my new favourite thing ever, I've coveted it since September and my parents got it for me as a Christmas present from Next. It's weird, I never really shopped in Next up until the end of the summer and now I own plenty of things from there! The jacket is beautiful, SO soft and it's lovely and warm too. I also like how it complements the colour of the tunic and I've been rooting through my wardrobe finding other things to match it too. It also matches my brogues, which makes me happy! I'm a matchy-matchy girl, I don't care how uncool that is!

Finally, I tried for ages to get a nice shot of my make-up but it didn't work, so I must leave you with this rather gormless look. I've been using the new No7 Beautifully Matte foundation, but I'll save my thoughts on it for the review! I've also been curling my lashes recently, which is something I'd never done before, and I really like the effect. I decided as I had a slightly smokier eye than usual that I'd balance it out with my Rouge Coco Mademoiselle lippie; it's not so visible in this close-up but for some reason you can see it really well in the outfit photos?! I don't understand my camera...I should probably rectify that at some point...

Anyway, thank you for reading, as always, and I'd like to take this opportunity (if you've made it this far) to say that if you have any questions regarding ANYTHING then please comment and ask! I noticed a few people asking about the By Terry concealer and I really liked it as it gave me ideas for posts, so if you have something to say, please speak up! I love comments, I do :D

xoxo

Hello!

I've mentioned this product a few times in recent posts and a couple of people said they'd never heard of it, so I thought it was about time I did a review! I first read about Touche Veloutee on The Beauty Bite (whose review I highly recommend as she talks about how it was developed and the links to YSL!) a while back and although it appealed to me I was slightly put off by the price. As time went on I saw it featured on Pixiwoo as well, and when I spotted it in the Sephora sale for only 15 euro I snapped it up immediately!

Those of you familiar with YSL Touche Eclat will notice the slight resemblance here! I've used Touche Eclat in the past and quite liked it, although I found it was a little runny and didn't conceal as much as I hoped. Touche Veloutee, however, is a thicker consistency and therefore offers more coverage, which is perfect for people with massive dark circles like mine! Personally I find this is easier to blend, and it dries faster than Touche Eclat. Colour-wise, I chose the second colour named "Cream" as I use the second shade in Touche Eclat as well, and it's quite a good match for my skin tone, although paler people would most likely fare better with the first shade (um, yes thank you Captain Obvious!).

The other difference to Touche Eclat is the SIZE. I have placed them side by side to highlight this:

Admittedly Touche Veloutee is a tad more expensive, retailing at £33 compared to Touche Eclat's £24.51 (on Boots website), but you get 4 ml more product so it'll last you longer. I have to say, although I did like Touche Eclat I think Touche Veloutee is a better product for me because of its coverage! Here's how I wear it:

 First, I use the brush to cover the under-eye area. You really don't need a lot of product for this, one push of the button on the end can last two applications!

Then, I blend it using either my finger or a little brush. It does settle into fine lines, as you can see in the photos, but that's something that happens with every concealer I've ever tried so I won't be fussy about this!

Overall it's a lovely product and I would recommend it. Now that I've tried it, I'd probably repurchase at full-price, but thankfully this will last me a long time so I can save up in order to replace it.

You can purchase it at Space NK (here), or Sephora if you are lucky enough to live near one!

xoxo

Jenn over at Beauty Bloggings is doing a wonderful giveaway where you can win, among other things, the MAC lippie of your choice! Excellent stuff! To enter, click HERE and follow instructions!

Normal blogging service will resume tomorrow, as I've spent the weekend in Essex and lack my camera and time to blog!

My lovely sister Nat tagged me to do this award and, you know, when you're tagged you HAVE to cooperate (just kidding Nats :)) and I am waiting to get back to uni before I post any more so I shall do this here thing now.

First things first, les rules!

1.Thank and link back to who gave you the award.


2.Share 7 things about yourself.


3.Pass it on to 7 beauty blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy.


4.Leave your recipient a note, telling them about the award.

3 - My best friend is my dog. We communicate telepathically (she doesn't like Skype). But seriously, she can read my mind. She is awesome. Here, have a picture:




Look at the wisdom in them eyes!

6 - I never watched television until I came to uni. Honestly. Never got into a series, rarely watched films...now I obsess over Glee, Gossip Girl, Being Human, Misfits...I liked Skins but not sure about the newest cast...no twins with lovely hair to covet! No pretty-boy-Freddie! No one with the obvious charisma that most of the original cast had! What is this?...Also Jon has taken it upon himself to show me all the 'best' (read: his favourite) films so that I can grow as a person or some other such rubbish.

7 - My biggest dream...that I want more than a Chanel 2.55...more than that flat in Paris...more than I want to win the lottery...is to have gone to Hogwarts. Still waiting for that letter...still waiting...

And there you have my 7 things!

I'm going to pass this on to...


Stephie
Ella
Franki
Sophie
Amanda
Loveaudrey

and I can't think of a seventh blogger so...if you feel like doing this, then I tag YOU!

xoxo

Well, technically, this is yesterday's face, although I'm writing it on the day I wore it, today, in order to publish it tomorrow, which is not today, yet...oh I am confusing myself. Anyway, in this I'm wearing some products that I haven't reviewed yet so despite it being my usual look, it's still somewhat new...kind of.

A few posts ago I was talking about how I'd be posting about one of my latest and more expensive purchases to those of you who are interested. I am pleased to reveal that this purchase is...

Ta-da! 

Two things: First off, I bought this with some Christmas money (and a little 15% off voucher, thanks to Sephora). I can't afford this on a regular basis, sadly. And now the second thing...

It is TOO DARK for me.

Yes. Sad times. I've never been one of those people who changes their foundation with the changing seasons (I change my foundation on A WHIM because that is how I roll!)...I just wear less when I'm tanned in the summer, and usually my tan lasts all year round so I never have a problem with foundation. And I'm ALWAYS a shade with the word 'beige' in it. Always. Sadly, for whatever reason (Seasonal flu? Too much exfoliation? Have I mini-mitted all the colour out my face?) I am rather...on the pale side. For the first time in my life. And so, the foundation that I adored, fell in love with, swatched on a regular basis for the best part of a year, is now too dark. And it's not just the Chanel. Even my beloved Bourjois Healthy Mix is too dark! But obviously it saddens me more that I can't wear this beautiful, gorgeous, amazing (etc etc) foundation because it makes me look strange!

It's not awful. With a lot of blending and some powder to lighten it up, it is passable, to the extent that Jon can't tell it's too dark (unless I make him peer closely at my neck), and Jon is pretty well acquainted with my face so it can't be that bad. However, I see it. I look in the mirror and I feel like one of those girls who piles on fake tan and has strange tidemarks everywhere. My face looks dirty. Other people mightn't notice it, but I do.

And that saddens me.

So alas, I cannot wear this until I've got some colour back into my face, but I do think that given the texture and 'matte' factor of this foundation that it will be lovely in the warmer months. It's so disheartening though! I know it's such a trivial thing but I was so looking forward to wearing this...Until my face darkens, I shall just have to content myself with taking Mat Lumiere out its box and stroking it from time to time...and in the meantime I shall test some more to see if they fit my lighter complexion. At the moment I'm using a sample of Estee Lauder Double Wear (having heard horror stories of sales assistants and their colour matching, I matched myself to Fresco, had a slight panic when I saw how light it was in the bottle but it seems to be the right colour once applied!) and if that doesn't break me out, I may spend the remainder of my Christmas money on a bottle of that for the time being.

Isn't it irritating when this happens? Bah humbug!

xoxo

I know EVERYONE is talking about the Golden Globes (very happy Colin Firth won best actor - The King's Speech was brilliant!) but I just had to talk about my favourite Glee girl, Lea Michele!

Doesn't she look lovely? The dress isn't my style, but suits her, and I love her beautiful hair and pretty, glowy make-up. Wish I looked this good all dressed up!

I really wish I had a more creative mind when it comes to thinking up titles for my posts...alas, you shall have to make do with my boring descriptive titles! Yesterday was gorgeously sunny and quite warm (when you weren't being buffeted by gale-force winds, that is) so I had the opportunity to grab a quick outfit pic without my coat on, because, let's face it, although my coat is lovely there's only so many times I can show it off. 

I actually wanted to show off one of my H&M purchases from the other day, a lovely polka dot wrap dress with a big red belt, but a) it was too cold to forgo my jumper and b) the belt isn't actually very nice so I'm keeping an eye out for a nice new one! I want a bright red patent belt, preferably with a bow, so if you know anywhere selling lovely belts at the moment please let me know!

I teamed the dress with my tan brogues and my adored satchel...although sadly, second after these photos were taken, my satchel began to fall apart! It doesn't close now because the metal bits you use to close it have fallen off and the screws have vanished...I may have to attempt Superglue and if that doesn't work...well I'll have to buy a new one! Bit gutted really because this was my favourite bag and perfect for lugging my uni stuff around, but oh well!

Term starts again (for me at least) tomorrow so it's back to reading heaps every week. I tried to read over the holidays but Amazon messed up and didn't send me all my books so I'm a bit behind! What have you lovely readers been up to?

xoxo

Featuring this time on the Foundation Files, it is...Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum!

Like the original Healthy Mix, I find I need a light dusting of powder to keep this in place and to stop it from going too shiny on my combination skin, so there's something to keep in mind!

 H&M has been one of my favourite shops since...since...well, I can't really remember the days where I didn't shop there so let's just say it's been my favourite for a VERY LONG TIME. They always seem to have items I love, patterns I love, prices I love...so it's not difficult to see how it's become the shop I fall back on time after time. Their sales are always pretty reasonable and I nearly always find something I like. This time around, I managed to nab two lovely dresses (as well as the black and white polka dot dress featured a few posts ago), a pretty pink top, some lovely fluffy slippers and a bow hair clip!

 As my hair's been growing longer I've been looking for a pretty bow to clip the front bits away from my face and this was just 1 euro. Most excellent! I'm pretty chuffed with this as I basically walked into the shop, picked out these items and that was that. All in all, a successful shopping trip!

Also...this is my 100th post! Woo! That's 100 times I've managed to find something worth rambling about - that's something to be proud of, right? Right?

What are your thoughts on H&M? Do you have a particular store you find yourself going back to again and again? 

Hello my pretties! Like lots of other people in the last few weeks I too have been struck down with the deadly flu bug, hence the lack of photos and posting in general (I cannot show my hideous mug to anyone just yet!). However, before the germs hit I managed to nab myself some bits and pieces pertaining to the beauty world and so my blog doesn't die from malnutrition I thought I would show you them!

[Warning: very long, rambling post ahead]

Make-up-wise, for me 2010 was the Year of the Lip...in other words, the year I discovered lipsticks and tints and what-not could actually work for me. I think this can be traced back to a vintage photoshoot I did with my friends Stephie and Steph (I know a lot of Stephs) in October 2009, because before then I'd never really worn lipstick (I don't think I even owned one!)...yes I was one of those people who was "nervous" about wearing lippie...and suddenly it was being slapped on my lips in order to recreate a 40s/50s look.

After that I went out and bought a cheap Maybelline lipstick (I think it was called Fatal Red, or some other enchanting name) but it wasn't great, didn't smell very nice or last very long. I'm wearing it in the photo below, but it wore off literally five minutes after the pic was taken. Bit of a waste of money there.

As you can see, it's slightly orange against my skin tone although when I first swatched it, it seemed to be a true red. Blegh.

 Then...I discovered...the LIP TINT.(Ta-da!)

It all started with a Body Shop tint I got free with a magazine, and then I bought the MeMeMe tint in Pussycat (which I have mentioned many, MANY times on this blog...I use it on my cheeks as well, it's a major part of my make-up routine!) which I absolutely adore, and thus my obsession with lip tints continued. As you can see above, it's a lovely dark pink once layered, but you do need lipbalm to stop your lips from getting too dry!

In this I'm wearing the Max Factor Lipfinity pen in 06 Royal Plum, which is slightly pinker in real life than it looks here. I'm thinking of buying the Berry one next! I now own this one, the Models Own one (which has gone up a pound in price since I bought it, tut tut) and two MeMeMe Pussycat tints (because they change the packaging from when I first bought it and I think the newer one is slightly more pigmented.)

And finally...my favourite.

Oh yes. It's no secret I'm a big fan of Chanel (and if you didn't know, shame, shame on you!) I lurk by their counters in every department store I venture in to. It doesn't matter where I am, my Chanel-radar will always take me straight to their iconic black and white counters, and I basically just stand there and drool over all the pretty things whilst swatching them. Unfortunately, for a cash-strapped student, Chanel products are slightly out of my price range and so the only items I own have all been gifted to me by people who know how obsessed I am (aka Jon, and my mum). The first item I owned was Rouge Coco lipstick in 05, or Mademoiselle, which is absolutely lovely, and soft, but alas does not show up on my lips in photos, at least, not the way it does in real life! I don't have it with me at the moment so I can't show any swatches, but if you're after a 'my lips but better' shade then I recommend this!

Now, here is my latest acquisition, courtesy of Jon. I'd been banging on about it for yonks, ever since reading THIS post on Loveaudrey. It was, quite honestly, love at first sight. After reading the post I subsequently swatched it at every single Chanel counter I passed; I remember dabbing some on my lips in House of Fraser and absolutely adoring it...and Jon, bless him, listened.

Here it is, the lovely Rouge Allure Laque in Dragon.

Or, you know, in 'number 75', because according to Jon two people at different counters looked at him like he had a screw or two loose when he asked them for 'Dragon'. Just a little tip for you there.

I love this so much. It's ever so soft and feels really moisturising, not at all like that Maybelline lipstick (hiss) and very different to lip tints. Application takes a teeny bit more time than lip tints because I like to smudge it a little round the edges of the lip to make it look less harsh, but otherwise it is, quite simply, perfection.

I'm afraid I can't give you prices for every item as I didn't buy some of them (although Dragon is £24, I know that from my many yearnings) but I have blogged on the lip tints before so prices should be in those posts.

What are your favourite lip products? Do you go for a classic red lip or do you prefer more understated looks?

xoxo

Hello my lovelies! Hope you've all had a good start to 2011! So far my year has been uneventful, and I've spent the last few days wrapped up in the most shapeless, chunky jumpers you can imagine, no make-up, ugly hair, the works - so I thought I'd dress myself up a little bit to get out of this slump!

Like I said, it was freezing! I'm also wearing my adorable panda hat that I love and treasure (thank you Jon!). I don't know that animal hats have really caught on in Luxembourg, I got a few funny looks when I wore it at the Christmas market, but at least it made it easy for my friends to find me, and kept my ears nice and snug as well!

 In this picture you can just about make out the lovely necklace I received from Stephie for Christmas, it has such a pretty striped bow on it and a little Eiffel Tower charm as well!

Sorry this is such a rubbish outfit post, like I said, it was very cold and sadly we don't have any suitable backgrounds inside the house for outfit photos (I also prefer taking them outdoors, I find other people's outdoor outfit photos very pretty!). I'm missing the rest of my wardrobe back at uni, but having only a few items to work with means that I'm mixing stuff up a bit more, I suppose it's a good thing!

Moving on...I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, so I shall just carry on doing things I decided to do last year. These are as follows:

*I will try to eat more healthily and do more exercise (I am horribly unfit!)

*I will try to be more daring with my outfits (hence the blogposts, because they keep me motivated, in a way!)

*I will try to continue to embrace my natural hair (poofy and curly) and take better care of my skin (enough with the teenage spots already, I'm nearly 23!)

How about you, have you made any resolutions (New Year's or otherwise)?

xoxo

It's been, like, eons (okay, a few weeks) since I did a recommendation of the week post, so without further ado, a blog I've really been enjoying recently (okay, technically just today, but I've honestly spent the last hour or so reading the archives) is

THE LITTLE CURLY GIRL.