Hello again my lovelies,

Just a handful of items I've treated myself to recently! I'm now on a spending ban as far as beauty bits are concerned as my birthday is approaching and I need to leave things on my wishlist for gift ideas!

The Real Techniques Core Collection - I actually bought this solely for the buffing brush, but love all of them! I use them for foundation, concealer and blusher and as you can see I was so eager to start using them I didn't take the time to photograph them before tearing the packaging open. I bought mine from victoriahealth and they arrived super quickly, AND they're a full pound cheaper than in Boots, haha!

Topshop Lash Catcher mascara - I am quite impressed with this formula, it leaves my lashes super long but doesn't hold much of a curl, so I combine it with a blob of Benefit They're Real. This is only the second item from Topshop make-up that I own, so I'm thinking of expanding my collection now!

Benefit Bella Bamba blusher - such an impulse purchase! I don't even need a new blusher, just swatched this one for fun really and somehow ended up buying it. It smells gorgeous though and is quite pigmented, giving you a perfect flushed look. I cannot for the life of me apply it with the brush that accompanied it as it gives me clown cheeks...so I use the Real Techniques one instead to build it up carefully. A very light hand is needed with this product as you can see by the swatches on my cheek.

So there we have my thoughts on my recent buys! Do you own any of these? What are your thoughts?

Hello my lovelies!

A rarity on the blog today...it's not often I wear jeans. In fact, I hardly own any - I have my high-waisted Miss Selfridge ones, a pair of pink ones from DP that are simply too big, and now these. 

They're the Jamie jeans from Topshop, except I refused to pay Topshop prices and found these for about £7 on eBay. I figure jeans are such odd garments on me, I have yet to find any that fit perfectly and don't fall down after a few minutes' wear, so there's no point in spending a fortune on them! These are lovely and soft and properly skinny (isn't it hard to find proper skinny jeans??) so they almost feel like leggings. They are a little large around the waist though, which is irritating as it means I have the unattractive belt "lump". I'm not brave enough to try the size 12s yet though, think I might need a few more sit-ups before that happens! 

The one thing that irks me with jeans is what style top to choose! I think this H&M t-shirt might be a little clingy, but anything looser makes me look, well, larger. I have visions of me rocking a Breton stripe top with a nifty little blazer over the top and nude ballet pumps, but as yet I own none of these things, so this outfit will have to occur after some hard-core sale shopping I think!

Looking back at these pictures I really think I need to start wearing heels, my legs look so short! I'd quite happily wear heels to work if I didn't have the half hour trek there and back; maybe this is something I need to master in 2012!

How do you style your jeans? Do you prefer to dress them up or dress them down?

xoxo

Hello my lovelies!

Today started off so beautifully sunny, I had to wear a bright outfit to match! I actually wore this to work on Monday and liked the combination so much I wore it again. It's my take on the ubiqituous nautical look that filters into shops around this time every year.

The top is actually a dress, from Next via eBay (I still shop like a student!) that I lusted over for ages whilst it was in the shops. It's quite clingy though, which is why I popped my H&M skirt over the top. I love the shape of the skirt and the way it swirls, although it's quite a cheap-feeling material. 

Apologies for the blurry photo! I think I fiddled too much with the settings before taking the picture, but we were on our way out so I didn't have much time. It gives a decent impression of the outfit though!

Finally, a scary close-up of my face. This was unintentional, but does show off my latest spoil-yourself-purchase...Benefit's Bella Bamba! I will review this properly once I've used it a little more.

In other news I have finished the Hunger Games trilogy and cannot get it out of my head. The characters, the whole idea behind the plot, the influence of the Romans, the brutality, the popularity of reality television...there is a terrified little part of me that can actually see how it could come to pass and I don't like entertaining that thought one bit! They are a wonderful series of books though and I would definitely recommend them to anyone who likes dystopian fiction. I'm excited for the film because it looks to be a reasonably accurate representation of the book, I love when that happens! I'm off to see it on Friday for a girls' night out, if anyone wants my opinion (spoiler free!) do let me know and I'll pop it on the blog!

I also caved into the overwhelming urge to buy the Real Techniques Core Collection after reading yet another rave review about the buffing brush. I think I might stop my spending now as it's coming up to my birthday and I mustn't buy everything off my list myself!

Have you had a good weekend?

xoxo

Hello my lovelies!

What a lovely day it is in the South East, I've been sitting in the sunshine reading and nibbling cheese today - bliss!

Mixed two of my favourite items today, the ASOS skirt and H&M polka dot top. Not a combination I've tried before but it works! It really seems as though this skirt goes with everything I throw at it, patterned or not.

I keep trying out new places for my outfit posts, but still look awkward in every photo...sigh!

Once again I'm wearing Viva Glam Nicki on my lips, with Chanel Le Vernis in May on my nails. I'm really into pinks at the moment, what can I say?!

In other news I've finally got round to reading The Hunger Games; I was hesitant at first as I expect every teen novel these days to resemble Twilight in some way (and I will never get back the time I spent reading Twilight!) but it's actually superb! I read it in about two hours and have promptly ordered the next two from Amazon's used bookstores. I miss having charity shops in the near vicinity of my home! 

I also got my mitts on these shoes from my Dorothy Perkins wishlist. I'd actually written them off as a lost cause as they went into the sale and promptly sold out in my size online. However, once again the Brentwood store has come up trumps and they had my size waiting there for me, for £20. I don't know why I bother visiting any other store, really! I've also ordered the navy bow cardigan as there was a code floating around for 20% plus £1 delivery. I do love Dorothy Perkins!

How has your weekend been?

xoxo

Hello my lovelies!

Now I know this lipstick has appeared on pretty much every beauty blog around recently, but I was so won over by the swatches that I placed an order earlier this week and am absolutely in love with it.

I like that it's a yellow-based pink as blue pinks don't suit my skin tone, and it reminds me of my favourite pink shade, Impassioned. It's just so nice to be able to wear bright colours again to coincide with spring on the way! 

I find it swatches as a coral-pink, but once on the lips it's an extremely bright proper pink! I tend to apply, then blot, then apply another layer and blot to help it last. It lasted me a good four-five hours yesterday at work and works nicely as a stain as well. It also goes perfectly with the Chanel nail varnish I bought last week!

The best thing? The proceeds go to charity, helping those affected by HIV and AIDS. 

What are your thoughts on Viva Glam Nicki? Yay or nay?

xoxo

Mac Viva Glam Nicki can be purchased for £13.50 here or at Debenhams.

Hello my lovelies!

I've been away this week, visiting my family in Luxembourg and stocking up on Belgian chocolate - I love going home! I also had to go for a CT scan for my yearly check-up, and let's just say it wasn't fun...there were some silly complications which resulted in me spending far too long in the hospital and leaving with a puffed-up arm. So to cheer myself up, I grabbed my mum's Paris 8 discount card and headed straight for the Chanel counter...

I was really only after the Le Vernis in May as I'd actually dreamed I bought it, so it was meant to be! The lipstick was a total impulse buy but it is so pretty and perfect for a natural-every day look. 

A quick swatch, it's difficult to show the exact colour on camera! It's a hint of pink with a nice soft gloss.

And a somewhat blurry shot of me wearing the lippie!

How do you treat yourself after a nasty experience? I have to say this isn't my usual "treat", I'm more likely to go for the choc chip Maryland cookies!