The Period Edit

Oh yeah. I'm going there. We're talking about girl stuff.

You know how sometimes when you get your period you just spend the whole week going from "I need to eat everything now" to "WHY DID I HAVE TO BE A GIRL" to "Oh my god this advert for toilet roll is so sad" to "I HATE YOU GET OUT OF MY FACE" to "I want chocolate and nachos and pizza and sushi and Mcdonalds and Jelly Tots" to "OH MY GOD I FEEL SO FAT AND DISGUSTING" to "I'm just going to stay in bed, FOREVER" to "I THINK MY UTERUS IS TRYING TO KILL ME"? Yeah, I'm having one of those weeks.

I think because of that I am incapable of thinking of anything else, so today we're talking top tips for surviving the dreaded time of the month.

1. Succumb. Succumb to it all. Put on your cosiest pyjamas, slap your hair in a messy bun, gather all the food you can find, and binge watch Netflix. Obviously this isn't always a viable option, but if it is, do it. You're allowed to, you're practically bleeding to death.

2. Pull yourself together. If disintegrating into slobbery just isn't an option, then this is what you have to do. Pull on a nice thick pair of leggings, preferably the kind with a giant elasticated waist panel to disguise the post-chocolate-binge-bloat, a nice top, and a big spangly necklace. Apply a high coverage foundation (try Max Factor Face Finity) to disguise any hormonal breakouts, lashings of mascara and a bold lip. Dry shampoo the hell out of your hair and stick it in an 'artful' messy bun. Stick a heat pad on your tummy, knock back some painkillers (I find Ibuprofen Lysine works the best) and grab yourself a giant coffee. YOU CAN DO THIS.

3. Pamper yourself. Run your self a nice hot bath (or better still, get someone else to do it), use your favourite bath product (right now I'm loving a combination of Lush Sunnyside Bubble Bar and Neom Lemon and Basil Bath Oil), stick on a deep cleansing mask (Origins Clear Improvement is a good'un), light your favourite seasonal candle (Diptyque Pomander is my top pick) and relax with a good book/magazine/movie and a big old glass of wine. Hell, just stick a straw in the bottle, nobody can judge you, you're on your period.

4. Tell all your male friends how this is all their fault. Trust me, it'll help you feel better.

5. Make plans for when it's all over. Then you'll have something to look forward to whilst you wallow in the despair of your gender.

I'm leaving it here to go and lie in the bath and eat chocolate. To all you women out there, I salute you. You're all warriors.

What are your top tips for surviving that time of the month?

How To Shop for Foundation

Foundation is probably the hardest beauty product to buy, it's the easiest to get wrong because there's so much that can go wrong. It's taken a long time and a lot of wasted money, and even a spell working on a beauty counter to really get good at it, so today I'm sharing my top tips.

1. Identify what you want before you go near a store.

It's so much easier to find the perfect base if you actually know what you're looking for. What sort of coverage do you want, do you want a matte or dewy finish, what sort of price are you willing to pay, and what type of skin do you have? Knowing the answers to all these questions will help you massively, and stop you from looking in the wrong places.

2. Research, research, research.

Don't blind buy foundations. Check your favourite blogs, read up in magazines, even ask your friends what they use. A lot of blogs (mine included) will have either a search bar or a product directory, so you can find what you're looking for easily. Even just googling 'medium coverage foundation for dry skin' will help you out!

3. Find your perfect shade.

If you're going into a store, take a foundation that already matches you well for reference. If it's a high end foundation, ask the sales assistant to try it out on you, so not only you can see how it wears, but you can also make sure it's not going to oxidise throughout the day. Make sure you go outside and check the colour match in natural light. If it's a drugstore product, apply a little product to your neck and then get outside and look, or get a friend to snap a picture so you can see. If you're buying online, check out Temptalia's Foundation Matrix, to match you up with your perfect shade (that thing is never wrong).

4. Get a sample.

Having worked on a beauty counter, I know that a lot of sales assistants are reluctant to give out samples, but if you're shedding out your cash for their products, then the least they can do is give you a day or twos sample. Be nice, be reasonable, explain that you want to make sure the shade doesn't oxidise, and that it wears well throughout the day.

5. Wait.

After you've had the product applied at a counter, or you've put a little on yourself, leave the shop, carry on with your shopping, and see how it looks in a few hours time. Make sure it hasn't worn away, or changed colour!

 

I hope some of these tips are useful!

What's your favourite foundation?

The Best of Nars

I've made it no secret that if I were to pick one brand for all my makeup needs, it would definitely be NARS. I've tried a fair amount from the brand and nothing has fallen short for me in the slightest. The brand also has an amazing ethos that I can totally get behind. Back in March I was lucky enough to meet and chat with the Lead International Makeup Artist, who not only was full of amazing advice and inspiration, but was also a total babe. So, here's what you need to know about the products I love...

Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser: I've been going through samples of this for a good few months but finally got my mitts on the full size last month. This stuff evens out your skin tones and gives a good healthy dose of glow, whilst having coverage that is buildable. Although it's not cheap, you get 50ml of product, which is nearly double the standard foundation size. Your face but slightly prettier. Not that you guys need to be prettier, you're all beautiful already.

Radiant Creamy Concealer: Not pictured because it's all used up and in my empties bag waiting for me to film a video. This stuff is the mother of all eyebag coverers. Seriously. Good for blemishes, dark circles, redness, the lot, good coverage but not cakey. I'm rushing out to buy another of these asap.

Blushes: Probably one of the things NARS is best known for, particularly the ones with the risque names. These are by far the longest lasting blushes I've ever tried, and the colour range is fantastic. I particularly recommend the shades Day Dream, Deep Throat & Gilda.

Laguna Bronzer: My favourite bronzer ever, and the only bronzer I've ever hit pan on. Not too warm toned, no risk of looking like an oompa-loompa, but really fantastic at warming the skin up.

Velvet Matte Lip Pencils: Holy mother of all matte lip colour. Beautiful, intense matte lip colour that doesn't feel dry or flakey and lasts all day. Cruella is my absolute favourite shade, but I also love Sex Machine.

Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils: Not too different from your standard glossy lip colours, but these are really long lasting. I particularly love the shade Rikugein.

Eyeshadows: These are right up there with my absolute favourite shadows ever. Buttery and smooth, with fantastic colour payoff. My favourite palette ever comes from NARS, as well as my most versatile palette (And God Created the Woman, and NARSissist respectively) but all of the ones I've tried have been fab. They also do some excellent little duos for everyday, easy looks.

Nail Polish: I don't normally splurge on nail polish, Essie does the job just fine for me, but I do love the NARS polish, if you're after a little treat head here.

Soft Touch Shadow Pencils: Again, this is a product that I think the drugstore does well, but there's no denying that these are pretty damn fantastic. Soft and easy to blend, good colour range, and they set and won't budge. Good stuff.

Multi Protect Primer: One of the best primers I've ever used, only pipped to the post by Hourglass since this one contains SPF which can cause a flashback in photos! Gorgeously smoothing and really prolongs the wear of your makeup though.

Foaming Creamy Cleanser: A gorgeous cleanser if you've got a bit more money to spend on skincare. This really leaves your skin feeling super clean and fresh, but the price tag is pretty high.

Next to try on my list are the liners and matte multiples!

What is your favourite NARS product?

Four Years: La Redoute The Language of Love

I get a lot of press releases, campaign information and pr requests falling into my inbox on a daily basis, but it's not very often that one grabs my attention, and actually makes me feel quite emotional.

La Redoute's The Language of Love is all about inspiring the world to tell people how they really feel, to express otherwise unspoken words, and to spread the love. So often, we can go throughout without truly telling people how we feel, and really, isn't that just a massive shame. La Redoute's research showed that  19 per cent of Londoners forget when they’ve said I love you, and that makes me quite sad really. You can watch the above video for a little more of an idea as to what this campaign is about, and I'd really recommend it, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

They tasked me with writing an open letter to someone I love, to share how I really feel, and hopefully inspire you guys to do the same with your loved ones. And really it couldn't have come at a better time, since today marks four years since The Boy and I started seeing each other. We aren't a particularly lovey dovey couple, and whilst we will always tell each other 'I love you' every day, we don't really ever take the time out to tell each other why. The last four years haven't been smooth sailing, but things are better now than they've ever been. So, I'm going to try and make this not vomit worthy, but read on for my letter.

Connor,

I know opening up and telling each other how we feel doesn't always come easy to us, but sometimes you've just got to do it.

Thank you for always being my constant. For being there through the ups and downs no matter what and no matter when. Thank you for getting three buses in the middle of the night because I needed a hug, for bringing bags filled with sweet treats and magazines when I'm sick, for staying in all weekend and watching Four Weddings, for holding my hand at the dentist, for always knowing what to say. I know that things were difficult, and that I was difficult, but I hope that for you too, it's worth it.

Thank you for always letting me take control of the remote, for putting up with me when I'm hangry, and for buying me food. Thank you for letting my makeup obsession take over half our flat, and for being my in house outfit photographer. Thank you for asking for seconds when dinner goes wrong, and for always putting a smile back on my face.

I only hope that over the next four years, I can make your life as wonderful as you have made mine.

All my love, to the moon and back.

 

If you do one thing today, just tell the people you love how you feel.

 

This post is in collaboration with La Redoute*

 

In The Makeup Bag

The contents of my makeup bag is looking pretty simple these days. I'm going for a natural looking complexion, simple eye makeup and a low maintenance lip. I think because this week and next are pretty much going to be spent giving the flat an Autumn clean, and getting some reading done in preparation for my return to Uni, I haven't been that bothered by fancy makeup.

I've been using the L'Oreal Skin Perfection as a base, this is kind of along the lines of the Origins Vitazing, a moisturiser that tints to skin colour on application. It's not gonna hide much, but it evens out the skin tone without making you look like you're wearing makeup. I've been leaving it at that most days, just adding a little of the MAC Mineralize Concealer under my eyes if I think I need it.

To go with the natural skin, I've been loving just a hint of blush, in a natural, pinched cheeks shade. I'm totally in love with the Tarte 12 Hour Amazonian Clay Blush in Fearless, which gets the job done perfectly, and still looks immaculate at the end of the day.

I've been dropping eyeshadow in favour of a simple winged liner and lashings of mascara, and I've been using the MAC Paint Pot in Painterly to even out the tone of my eyelids and create a good base. I think winged liner looks so much better against an even canvas, and this stuff is perfect.

I've mostly been sporting low-maintenance lip products, in particular the Korres Lip Butter in Plum, which ticks all the boxes. Intensely moisturising, easy to apply, wears off evenly, and the pretty berry shade gives a nice autumnal feel to everything.

What makeup have you been wearing recently?

The Makeup Addict Tag

I've been tagged by loads of people to do this tag over the last few months, so I figured it was about time I got around to it. I'm not sure at what point you stop being just a makeup-wearer and become a makeup addict, but I think it's safe to say I'm there.

1. Which product do you still keep buying more of despite having plenty in your collection?

I go through phases, but the main thing is lip balm. I have more lip balm than anyone will ever need, yet I never seem to have it on me when I need it, and I keep buying more when I'm out.

2. What's the one product you couldn't live without?

Mascara. I look ill without it.

3. Favourite makeup brand?

Without a doubt, NARS. I've yet to try something from them that I haven't loved, and they do everything well, good bases, good cheek colour, good eye colour, good concealer, they're just the bomb.

4. How big is your make-up collection?

Not as big as some of the disgusting 40 minute videos you can find on YouTube. I'm pretty good at parting with things I'm not using (speaking of which, keep your eyes peeled for a blog sale coming your way), but it's big enough to horrify my mum. I can fit the lot into an Ikea Helmer unit.

5. And how do you like to store it?

The aforementioned Ikea Helmer Unit, a few Muji drawers and some candle jars for my brushes. I'm thinking of doing a makeup storage/collection video if you guys would be interested?

6. How many items of make-up have you got in your handbag at the moment?

A fair few, the Chanel Les Beiges Powder, a Chanel Creme blush and around 8 or 9 assorted lip products. Girl's gotta have options.

7. If you could raid another blogger's stash, who would it be?

Oh god, anyone's, I love being nosey and seeing what people use!

8. How long does your usual make-up routine take and how many products do you use?

On a day to day basis, generally about 15 minutes, I enjoy putting on makeup, and taking that time in the morning to get ready. I'll get a cup of tea and catch up on YouTube Videos while I get ready! I generally wear foundation, concealer, powder, blush, lipstick, eyeshadow, mascara, and I'll fix my brows too. But I do shake up my makeup every day, one day I'll wear very little, and the next I'll go all out. Sometimes I'll skip blush and use bronzer and highlight instead, and sometimes I'll swap complicated shadows for a swish of liner.

9. Have you ever bought make-up knowing you wouldn't use it?

Not that I can think of, I generally only buy things I know I'll use, it seems like a waste otherwise!

10. Tag a few other make-up addicts to do the tag!

I tag the usual suspects, Tami, Daphne, Danniella, Rachel, Vanessa, Alexandra, and anyone else who wants to!

 

Do you consider yourself a makeup addict?

The Review: L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss

Since my hair-dye-disaster of 2012, I've steered clear of the stuff, sticking with my mousey-brown natural locks whilst the poor stuff recovered. Now I've left the pixie cut and damaged tresses behind, and my hair is looking healthier than ever, and it's reached a much more respectable past-collarbone length.

I had no intention of reaching for the dye again, but I missed my hair being a little darker, with a hint of red to it. I didn't feel quite like me without it. A little research led me to the L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss, an ammonia-free wash out 'conditioning colour'. Basically, this stuff is so intensely hydrating, it can actually improve the condition of your hair, and the colour is only semi-permenant (I found it lasted about two months of near-daily washing & swimming in chlorinated pools, before I wanted a top up), and therefore not as damaging as a permanent formula.

I decided to bite the bullet and go for the shade 515 Chocolate Truffle, which is a few shades darker than my natural mop, with a slight warm sheen. This is the second time I've used it now, and I left the colour on a little longer (I was a little terrified the first time in case all my hair fell out again) and the result is a much richer colour. I love how it looks, you can see a slight red sheen when the light hits it, but my hair really is just a touch darker. The main difference is how soft and healthy it feels, so many people have commented how shiny and healthy my hair looks!

Application is super easy, it's a simple two product mix, it's easy to apply even on your own (I did enlist the boy for help this time just to make sure I got it all. He ended up dying his hands too, since the gloves were a little small for man-hands. Something to keep in mind if you're getting a guy to help!), and the formula is non-drip. Also, since this is a wash out colour, any dye that gets on your face/shoulders/neck/ears, can be wiped off and won't leave a mark.

The verdict? I might just be a Casting Creme Gloss convert.

Lazy Sunday Makeup

First off, apologies for the low quality image clearly nicked off my own Instagram account - I left this post til the last minute and then realised that the photos I had taken for it have disappeared from my memory card. Good stuff. So you'll have to make do with the picture of the same products, but the Insta-edition, sorry!

I tend to not do much on Sundays, any excuse for a lazy day is fine by me, but the reality is that a lot of my Sundays are spent chained to my desk, working. They might also include an afternoon stroll, or a movie night, but for the most part, they involve staying in. However, I find that I am far more productive (read: less likely to go back to bed), if I have a little makeup on. I'm not talking trowelling it on, but a little mascara does a lot for productivity levels. Can't go to bed if you've gotta take it off first.

I ten to go with a light coverage base, something to even out my skintone, that still looks like skin. At the moment, this means a blob of the NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser, applied and blended with fingers for a natural look. I tend to always reach for a brightening concealer too, to battle those undereyes, I like the MAC Mineralize Concealer, it brightens the undereyes without looking or feeling heavy.

I tend to skip any cheek products, a light layer of tinted moisturiser allows my naturally flushed cheeks to show through enough to warrant skipping blush and bronzer. I'll pay a little attention to my brows though, combing them into shape with a spoolie and filling in any obvious gaps with a natural looking pencil like the Soap and Glory Archery Pencil. For my eyelids, I'll generally just even out the colour with my base product of choice, add a little liner to my upper lash line with the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper, and a slick of whatever mascara I'm currently loving (right now the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara).

I'll often leave my lips bare, opting for lashings of lip balm instead of colour, but on the odd occasion I fancy colour, I'll go for a pretty nude, like the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Satisfaction.

What's your lazy Sunday makeup look?

What's in my Bag - The Video

It wasn't that long ago that I did a post on the contents of my handbag, but new bag, new junk and a new video format, I figured why not revisit it.

I can only blame hunger for the slight delirium I seem to be experiencing during this video. I filmed before breakfast. Big mistake.

Enjoy!

The Review: Chanel Les 4 Ombres Poésie

Chanel collections don't normally take me in, but this may just be the exception that proves the rule. As part of the Autumn drop, Chanel added another eyeshadow quad to their range, Poésie, a collection of slightly pink toned shimmery shadows.

Now lets not beat around the bush here, Chanel Eyeshadows are really pricey, and this is by no means a palette you need in your collection. Yes, it's a nice palette, but it's in no way a necessary purchase. If, however, you're looking for a treat for yourself, or a gift for someone, then this would be a great option. I was lucky enough to receive this as a gift, I would never spend this much money on four eyeshadows for myself! (unless, maybe it was my birthday...)

Onto the eyeshadows themselves, there's a champagne cream shimmer, a pink toned champagne shade, both which work fantastically as highlight shades or as base colours. Then there's a pretty bronzey taupe which is the ultimate all over the lid shade, and a dark plummy brown, which I love in the crease or as a liner. The formula of these isn't anything groundbreaking, they're pigmented and blendable, but nothing super intense. They all blend together really nicely and the shades are really complimentary of each other. These shadows all have a slight pink tone to them (not as much as the Naked 3, it's subtle but there), which works especially well on anyone with hazel or green eyes!

The nice thing about this quad is that despite only holding four shades, you can create a good range of looks for day or night, it's pretty versatile.

The verdict? A nice treat, but not a necessary purchase.

What are your favourite eyeshadows?

Schoolgirl Chic

 This September marks four years since I last had to don a school uniform. I hated my school uniform, it looked like something nurses wore in the 20s, blue stripes and skirts past the knee, with massive shapeless blazers, but in some ways I miss it. You know, in the not having to think of an outfit everyday sort of sense. It wasn't until I was editing these photos that I realised how school-uniform-esque this outfit looks.

The boy and I headed down to the riverside one evening last week, with no particular purpose other than to watch the sunset. I'm pretty obsessed with wild flowers that the council has planted down there, they look so pretty!

The sunlight coming through the trees looked so pretty, so we decided to snap some outfit photos. Big thanks to the boyfriend for taking them for me (he even snapped a picture of me ordering a pizza on my phone).

As soon as September hit, I whipped out my H&M pleather skirt, I bought this last year for about £20, and it was a good buy, I wear it all the time! It's such an easy piece to style, you can even just chuck on a big knit with it, and it looks like you've made an effort. It's the sort of skirt that looks best with a heel, so I'm sporting the same boots from the last post, they're surprisingly comfy, and I love the gold details. The top is from River Island, my boyfriend picked it out for me last term, it's slightly fitted around the waist, so it's quite a flattering fit, even just with jeans. I chucked my black H&M blazer with the three quarter sleeves, which generally makes outfits look a little smarter. I'm still sporting the Zara handbag, I can't get enough of it!

The Beauty Blogger Bag Edit: Daphne from Subgenre of a Dream

Since I'm really not that interesting a person I thought it was about time we had some new blood in this joint. And since I know you're all secretly as nosey as I am, I figured, why don't we have a root around in other people's handbags? I've roped in a few beautiful people, and persuaded them to empty out their bags for me, and starting it all off is the wonderful Daphne. Now I talk about Daphne all the time, so if you haven't heard of her before, where have you been exactly? You can find her over at Subgenre of a Dream most of the time, and I whole heartedly recommend following her, not only is she funny, beautiful and a fountain of beauty knowledge, she's also one of my very best friends. Without further ado, lets dive into Daphne's bag, shall we?

Now, I was hesitant at first to get Daphne involved in this, since she isn't always the best with bags, when she remembers to bring one, it's normally missing the important stuff like flat keys and Oyster cards. However, she assures me that whilst she's been in Taiwan over the Summer, she has been on her best bag behaviour! "The bag was bought from a small shop in one of the night markets in Taiwan - it was like £15, which makes it cheap here in London, but for a night market price, it was more of the mid-high priced thing. I bought it thinking that I needed a smaller bag to carry around less things as all my other ones were massive and I was getting shoulder problems from hauling around all my belongings."

Daphne is now finally on the iPhone bandwagon, which I am entirely pleased about because it means I can send her all the Emoji's. "My phone case is from Society 6 and it's the most beautiful thing ever. There's another one that I showed on my blog and I had the hardest time choosing which one I wanted to use first. And then I had a slight panic attack after I put this one on as I didn't know how to take it off - I did a lot of youtubing before I finally realized how easy it was to snap the case off, although there was a stupid video that told me to use a knife to take off the case." I had a momentary panic when she told me this, Daphne has been known to do the odd stupid thing, I had visions of iPhones impaled on kitchen knives, previously only used to open packets of frozen chicken nuggets.

"The portable battery is a lifesaver as I always forget to charge my phone before leaving. This is another thing I got in Taiwan as it's much cheaper to buy the same (or even better quality!) portable batteries there. I think I paid around £15 for this one and it's able to charge my phone around three times. Plus, just look at how pretty the colour is!" I pointed out at this point that she could also use it to charge her iPod but apparently that cable will never be remembered. I had to remind her it is the same cable. "I kept using the chunkier version to charge my iPod - i didn't realize they just gave the cord a diet to charge the phone!" Bless her. "I don't think you can actually think you can get this anymore - it's the first iPod touch that's like, 6 years old already. I can't update any apps on this, find pretty cases to replace the one that's already breaking at the corners, nor justify repairing this if (hopefully not) it breaks some day, but I love it. I am very sentimental about this as it was a gift from my parents the day I finished my college entrance exams."

I can always tell a kindred spirit by whether they carry an abundance of books and notepads in their handbags. "I need to have a notebook with me at all times, otherwise I end up writing on the back of my hand. I'm pretty sure that I've built up a tolerance for ink poisoning from writing paragraphs on the back of my hand for years. Also, you can't see it, but my planner is the cutest thing - it's called 'Becoming Ruler of the Universe (and other plans for 2014)'. I used to carry around actual books, and usually at least two at a time before I got my kindle. this little device has saved my shoulder from so much weight torture." This is actually Daphne's second Kindle, since the first met an unfortunate end on an Italian beach. "I ended up bothering my friend for his book for the rest of the trip as there was no way I could read a book when only half a page was showing. He retaliated me stealing the book by throwing me into the pool - when i was fully clothed. Bastard."

Whenever Daphne and I go shopping we always have to give the Fossil store a wide birth, for the sake of her bank account. "FOSSIL IS MY LOVE. My last wallet was also from Fossil was falling apart and looked absolutely disgusting, my mum actually demanded that I buy a new one. I got this one as my 22nd birthday present from my dad and I'm pretty sure this one is going to be well used before I move on from it. It's just so handy with a bajillion card slots, a separate place for coins and bills, plus an extra bag place thingy (whachamacallit?) for me to stick my phone and keys in." I don't know what it's called either.

Both Daphne and I are a fan of Instagram prints from Polabora. "The Polabora prints were what helped me be less London-sick when i was in Taiwan. now i just carry them around because I forgot to take them out. i have a some of the prints decorating my room. also the Polabora prints envelopes are adorable."

And lastly, the most important thing, the beauty bits! "I don't actually carry around that many beauty products with me - i just cleaned out the half dozen lipsticks that were rolling around in my bag a week ago so there's only MAC Peach Blossom and Urban Decay Fiend in there at the moment." I should point out, that both of these picks were encouraged by me!  "I realized that lip balms were much needed when I first came to London last year and after going out a couple too many times sans lip balm, I got home and chucked a lip balm in every one of my bags and my most worn coats."

And that's it! Make sure you check out Daphne's blog, you won't be disappointed I assure you!

Budget Beauty #5

It feels like ages since I've done one of these posts, but right now I have a big basket on my dresser of drugstore products I'm loving (and a few I'm not) so I thought it was about time to whack out a sequel.

The product that inspired this post, the Tresemme Renewal Hair & Scalp ,Nourish & Renew Tonic, is a bit of a different one, I've never used anything like it. You use it after washing on damp hair, pushing the nozzle into the roots of the hair, dispersing the product directly on the roots and scalp. Back when I destroyed my hair with excessive use of hair day, I damaged my scalp to the point where it was sore to touch. It never really went back to normal, and is definitely a lot more sensitive than it ever was before, so I picked this up in the hope it would help. Now, I've only been using this for a couple of weeks, so I'm still not sure if it's really helping with hair renewal, but it's done wonders for my scalp. When you apply it it feels incredibly cooling and soothing, and the tea tree extract & sunflower seed oil really help nourish the skin. And for that at least, it's worth the money for me!

Another hair product worth a mention, the V05 Nourish My Shine Miracle Iluminator. I've been running this through the lengths of my hair before blow drying, and not only does this work as a heat protectant, it makes your hair incredibly soft and silky after drying, with very little effort. I've even been carrying this in my handbag to fight flyaways throughout the day.

I picked up the L'Oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream by accident (I thought it was a BB cream...), but I'm glad I did. This is basically a high street dupe for Benefit's The Porefessional, but I think it's better! This stuff completely blurs the appearance of pores, but also creates the perfect base for makeup, and helps it last throughout the day. I've been wearing this as a base for foundation, or on it's own on no makeup days, just to perfect my skin a little. This is good stuff.

I picked up the Wet and Wild Lipstick in 902c whilst I was in LA and it hasn't had a ton of loving since, but over the last week I haven't been able to put it down. It's a perfect matte nude shade, and it really compliments my skin tone right now. I've also been wearing it with the Maybelline Colour Elixirs over the top, to add a little gloss! Such an easy lipstick to wear with the darker, smokier eyes I've been loving recently.

And lastly, I finally picked up the Essie Professional Routine Trio, which has been on my wishlist forever. Inside are three mini polishes, the First Base Base Coat, Good To Go Topcoat and a little bottle of Mademoiselle, a milky pastel pink shade. All three are polishes I've wanted to try forever, so the little trio is a great way to see if I like them before parting with the money for the full size bottles. I've been wearing this trio of polishes on my nails for four days so far, and not a chip in sight! I love the shade Mademoiselle too, it's so sophisticated, it's like a grown up, girly nude! FYI, this kit is currently only £5.99 on Fragrance Direct here!

What budget beauty picks are you loving right now?

Autumn Eyes

Can we say we are officially in Autumn now? I hope so, I freaking love Autumn. I tend to neglect my eyeshadows throughout Summer, reaching for sticks or creams instead because it's just easier, but come Autumn I'm back on the shadow train again. I've been playing with my palettes for you, and whipping up some of my favourite autumnal eye makeup looks to share with you today. Please ignore the fact that my eyebrows desperately need doing.

Starting with the most complicated of the three, but possibly my favourite! I used the original Urban Decay Naked Palette for this look, which just screams Autumn to me, all the shades are so rich and bronzey. I started by taking Virgin up under the browbone and all over the lid as a base. I then took Buck, the matte brown shade, all into the crease, blending it from inner corner to out, in a bit of a V shape at the outer corners. After that I applied Sin all over the inner third of my eyelid, and Toasted on the rest. Then I took a super fluffy brush with Darkhorse in the crease, concentrating on the outer edge, and then with a pointed brush I added a little of Hustle into the very corner, just to really darken it. I then went back in with a clean blending brush and blended the lot out. A little of Half Baked in the inner corner and on my bottom lash line, which really brightened the look up and we are done on the shadow front. I then used my Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper to create a thin winged liner for extra definition, before curling my lashes and adding a ton of the Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara. I LOVE how this looked, it was so pretty and smokey and gorgeous!

Look number two was much simpler, since I only used one shadow! For this look I used the shade Fez from my NARS NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette (the bronzey shade on the left), all over the lid, and then just blended it out with a fluffy brush. This shade is available on it's own from NARS and I'd totally recommend picking it up, it's such an easy all over the lid colour, and so pigmented too. I then used the same liner as before to create a thin wing, the Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara, and a little of TheBalm's Mary Lou Manizer Highlighter on the inner corner and under my browbone.

For the last look I used my Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette, I find the rosey shades in this palette really emphasise my hazel eyes, bringing out the green! I started by priming the lid with my Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer to even out the colour. I then took Liar all over the lid and Nooner through the crease, before using Blackheart on a flat definer brush as a liner, to add a little soft definition. I finished it off with the Maybelline The Colossal Go Extreme Volum' Mascara, which is a bit more of a daytime mascara, and a little of the Smashbox Halo Highlighting wand under my browbone.

Let me know which of these looks is your favourite in the comments! What eyeshadow looks do you love in the autumn?

The Review: Essie Dress To Kilt

The Essie Autumn drop has landed in my local Boots, so of course a peruse was necessary. Most of the colours were pretty meh as far as I was concerned, there's a couple of greens which are okay, an off white very similar to Summer's Urban Jungle if anyone missed that, but the red stood out to me.

I rarely wear red polish, I find true reds look a little cheap on me, so I have to go for something a little different. In the Summer I love Rimmel's Salon Pro Polish in Hip Hop, a pretty bold red with a hint of orange to it, but i was after something a little more autumn appropriate.

Dress to Kilt is a pretty dark burgandy red. It looks lighter in these photos than it is in reality, the shade doesn't photograph well which is annoying. It's really warm and wintery, it'd be a great Christmas polish! It's a fairly sophisticated red, I feel like quite a grown up wearing it!

The formula of this is fantastic, it's almost gel like, I only needed one coat for opaque, glossy colour, and it's lasted fantastically well. Four days and not a chip in sight! Although, the Sephora Formula X Topcoat has probably helped!

I can see this becoming an Autumn/Winter favourite!

What's your favourite nail polish for this time of year?

A Mini Boots Haul

You know the drill, you go into Boots for Paracetamol and mouthwash, and leave with a little more than that? Well I had some Boots Points burning a whole in my pocket last week and I picked up a few things that were worth a mention.

The first thing I picked up was a packet of the Yes To Grapefruit Exfoliating Face Wipes. Now, I'm not endorsing the use of face wipes, I know that my skin is much much better if I properly remove my makeup and cleanse, but sometimes it's just handy to have a pack about, incase you want to take your makeup off and reapply it in the day, or for those nights when you fall into bed and just don't have the energy to get up and take all your makeup off. I tend to keep a pack in my bedside drawer just in case! I've never tried anything from the brand before but I know my Mum is a fan of their haircare range, so I'll blame her if I don't like them! They were a third off and not particularly pricey to begin with, so I'll report back how I get on with these.

Also in the skincare aisle, I was taken in by a new product promotional stand (read: the pretty colours on the stand), and ended up picking up the new L'Oreal Skin Perfection Anti Fatigue Perk Up Cream. If any product says anti-fatigue on it, you know it's coming home with me, I have really bad insomnia and my skin always looks tired! This stuff is white when you squeeze it out of the tube, but when you blend it into the skin it changes to a light-nude sort of shade which helps even out this skin tone and minimize pores, supposedly. I'm interested to see how I get on with this. I don't feel too bad about picking this up since I just got to the end of my Origins Ginzing Moisturiser and was in need of a new morning moisturiser!

Last thing from the skincare aisle (I don't normally buy skincare so it's strange that I ended up with so much), I was intrigued by the Avene Cold Cream Lip Cream. I have extremely chapped lips at the moment and none of my lip balms seem to be doing the trick (do your lips build up an immunity to lip balms if you use them over a prolonged period of time? I'm starting to think they do.), so when I spotted this I thought I'd give it a whirl. It's pretty thick and it's in a handy/hygenic squeezy tube, and I like that it's fragrance free. So far so good, it's improved the dryness of my lips impressively, I think this could become a winter essential.

And lastly in Boots, I came across the Essie stand and noticed that the Autumn collection had dropped. Most of the colours were pretty unremarkable, but the shade Dress To Kilt caught my eye. More on this tomorrow!

Have you picked up anything in the drugstore recently?

Kilver Court & An Afternoon in Bath

Kilver Court

So this week The Boy and I bundled into the car and headed north to Shepton Mallet in Somerset, desperately hunting for something for my Mum's birthday that was a little different (what do you get for the woman who says she doesn't want anything?). I had been keen to wander around Kilver Court for a while, it's a designer outlet with a beautiful garden attached. 

After a slightly horrific drive there, I think we hit every possible diversion and road block in the south of England, we arrived, and if I'm honest, were a little disappointed at first.  The website definitely bigs up the selection of brands there, a lot of the mentioned brands on the site there were only a handful of pieces from, and it was much smaller than we expected. We were done and ready to leave in an hour, although we did leave with a few swag bags. 

Before we left, I couldn't resist grabbing a few snaps down the cute little lane running down the side of the gardens, even though my outfit is nothing fancy. My top & bag are both from Zara, the top is so me, since I rarely wear anything other than black, and the bag is perfect, so soft and slouchy, and it holds all my crap. My jeans are a new purchase from French Connection, they have nowhere near as much elasticity as my usual Topshop jeans, but I kind of like that, they hold their shape much better! They're also slightly coated so if I spill my lunch down myself, I can wipe it straight off! 

The star of the show here though is my boots for sure, if any of you have been around for a while, you'll know I raved about the boots from Tesco last year, and sure enough they've done it again. These ones are a little higher than I'd normally go for in a day boot, but they're still really comfy, I was wearing these from 9am and they didn't start to hurt til just after seven, and we walked miles! I love the gold detailing on these, and that they look good in the day or at night.

Shopping in Bath

 Since we spent a lot less time in Kilver Court than we had originally planned, we decided to drive across to Bath, it took us so long to get to Somerset, that it seemed a shame to turn around after an hour, and Bath is only a 30 minute drive from the outlet. I'm so glad we went, I grew up near Bath but haven't been for about a decade, so it was nice to go and have an explore, and The Boy had never been before! We didn't have time to visit the baths but we had a delicious lunch in Ask (I had the most divine raspberry lemonade with my meal), and I loved wondering around the shops. There's so many cute nicknack shops, and the cutest Anthropologie store I've ever been to! The Boy and I decided we definitely want to go back and make a weekend of it, visit the Roman Baths and maybe hit up the Spa!