Thursday 28 June 2012

NOTD: Peach Melba and Purple Ombre!

Doing fancy things with my nails has always been something I’ve been interested in, but never really have the time or patience to do! I had some spare time today though, so decided to give the ombre look a go. It’s not amazing, but for my first go it looks alright.

_DSC0034edit[Yeah, I didn't clean up properly and my cuticles are so dry, but oh wells!]

OPI Base Coat
Barry M Peach Melba
Kiko #331
Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Top Coat

_DSC0032edit[Tools! WoW in the background there haha! I did this while farming okay!]

This was alot easier than I thought it would be, although it does take time. I hope that with abit of practice I can get the tip colour less patchy with a smoother gradient.
What are your favourite colours to ombre? Got any tips for a beginner?

xox

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Fashion Purchases: River Island and Topshop, Purses and Bags!

I’ve never been one for bags and purses, I don't see why I would need to lug so much stuff around with me on a daily basis. Phone, keys, purse – done! But with Paris looming, I've been looking for a new bag which will fit a few extras in, such as my SLR. While I was at it, I started to search for a new purse as my current one was overflowing with points cards and whatever else was shoved in there. Here’s what I ended up with!

_DSC0001edit[River Island Blue Stripe Clip Top Purse]_DSC0003edit

At £17 I’ve never spent this much on a purse, but I love it! Sure I wish the brown would have been black, but multi-coloured things are my little obsession at the moment. I said in one of my recent posts, I'm feeling a little more grown up at the moment, well this adds to that feeling! I have a big girls purse! Yey :’)

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You can find this purse on the River Island website here!

As for a bag, this was a pretty spontaneous buy, but come on! It was on sale for £15. I think I still might buy a bigger one for my hand luggage, but this will be pretty handy when I don't need to carry much around, like when we go for dinner ect.

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It feels pretty hard wearing and actually fits my SLR plus other bits into it, which was a nice surprise. You can find this bag on the TopShop website here for the full price.

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I don't usually do fashion posts, but it was a nice change from the usual. Plus I really wanted an excuse to photograph the new pretties!
What do you think of them? Would you like to see some more fashion orientated posts in the future?

xox

Sunday 24 June 2012

That’s What She Said: BFTE Cosmetics Mineral Eye Shadows!

Something extraordinary happened a few days ago. I went into boots, intending to spend £30 for their summer points event, but i simply couldn't pick £30 worth of things! I just couldn't justify it or felt like i needed anything. I wish i could say the same for online shopping. Over the past few months I have been lusting over so many indie products! Unfortunately I’m trying to save my pennies for Paris, so have resisted the temptations. Luckily, my good friend Katie (whose blog you can view here) had a few spare shadows from well known indie company “Beauty From The Earth”, which she kindly gave me to try out.

_DSC0030edit[L-R: Big Ego, Butt Naked, Lava Momma, Panurple]
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First of all I have to say I love the packaging! The silver lids are so cute and original, they will definitely stand out in your collection. The full size jars are $6.50 each with samples being $2, although the website isn't clear on how much product you get in each. I would assume, comparing these to my Sugarpill and Victorian Disco jars, the full sizes contain 1-2 grams of product.

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The jars containing sifters is a massive bonus for transportation, as I've found jars without can sometimes come undone and spill product. I have to say though, for application I prefer them without. When applying loose eye shadows, I normally apply them wet (I really need pixie epoxy in my life), so I like to get my brush in there and pick up a decent amount of colour.

_DSC0085edit[L-R: Big Ego, Butt Naked, Lava Momma, Panurple]
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Swatches are applied wet using the BFTE Mix and Fix. The top image is taken in sunlight, the bottom in the shade.

The pigmentation of these colours is amazing! Just look at Big Ego and Lava Momma! Have you ever seen a brighter pink?!? I can’t speak for how they blend yet, as haven't tried any of them together, but expect a FOTD with them this week and I shall let you know! Overall I am really happy with what I have tried from BFTE so far, and am 100% going to make an order of my own soon. They are a little more expensive than most indie companies, but shipping is apparently dirt cheap and those pretty jars make it worth the little extra for me!

You can check out Beauty From The Earth here! What's your favourite indie company? Have you ever tried anything from BFTE?

xox

Thursday 21 June 2012

The Makeup Files: Storage #2, Back in the North!

Hey pretties! Life has been pretty hectic recently! I moved back into my parents house 10 days ago for the summer, and have had a massive cleanout! I am a hoarder through and through, so my sister helped me start the daunting task of purging my childhood bedroom. A week, 10 bin bags of rubbish and 7 bin bags of clothes later and I'm nearly complete! I just have to take down alot of posters from the walls and sort out my book/game/DVD shelves then I'm done! I really feel like I'm growing up now. Even though I am nearly 21 and live on my own while at university, I still considered myself abit of a child, but after this massive purge of stuff, I'm starting to feel like an adult.

Anyway! I have a little update to my makeup storage to show you today. My room here is smaller than the one back in Southampton (you can see that post and a more detailed version of where I keep things here), so I’ve had to stack things more.

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Hello MCR posters :’) As you can probably tell I haven't changed this room much since I was 16! Makeup wise things are pretty much in the same place with an exception to my eyeliners and mascaras now being in that black stationary holder, my eye and face brushes being separate and the top left drawer under my hair brushes now containing indie eye shadows.

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This drawer (second down) is pretty much everything else beauty related, including some makeup palettes, bags and brush rolls that won’t fit on top. I use old glossyboxes to separate things so its kind of organized, the things I use more often are easily grabbed anyway! My daily face products are kept in the bathroom, but i am going to do a whole separate post on my skin routine soon, so look out for that!

This is pretty much it! I’m really trying to cut down on the amount of beauty products I'm buying at the moment, and it’s working so far! If you would like to see anything in more detail leave a comment below and I’ll happily elaborate =]

Have do you store your makeup? I love to see other peoples collections!

xox

Sunday 3 June 2012

Current Hair Care Routine!

Hey m’dears! What do you think of the new layout? I thought it was about time I made a few changes. It’s not 100% finished, but it’s getting there! Anyway, todays post is going to be about hair care. Now my hair hasn’t been in amazing condition for a very long time. I’ve been dying/bleaching it since I was 13, and really don't look after it as well as I should. Hopefully, that will change this coming summer, though I doubt it haha!

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The Wash
Currently I’m using two brands to actually wash my hair. Naked “Intensive Care” is my primary shampoo and conditioner with Alberto Balsam being used when I’ve just dyed my noggin as it gives a better lather. What I like about these Naked products is how lovely it makes my hair feel when I've gotten out of the shower and am doing my aftercare bits. They’ve also lasted for absolutely ages, way longer than when I was using Aussie. Another bonus, they’re not tested on animals and claim to be 97% natural. As for the Alberto Balsam shampoo, it smell divine! My mum buys these back home, and they are amazing for the price. I’d happily pay £1 just to have this in my cupboard.

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The Colour
When It comes to dying my hair, I have two main methods. When the colour has started to fade a little I use some Alberto Balsam conditioner mixed with my hairdye, leave it on for 10 minuets then wash. This just gives a nice top-up keeping the colour fresher for longer. Every month I use a few dollops of Manic Panic Hot Hot Pink to make it vibrant again. I’m probably going to try special effects dye after this has ran out, as I’ve heard it lasts for ages. What I forgot to photograph is the bleach I use to dye my roots. Its a 6% peroxide solution and white powder by a brand called clynol, which I purchased from a beauty supply store. I bleach my roots approximately every 2-3 months as I’m generally lazy and cannot be bothered most of the time haha!

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The Aftercare
After getting out of the shower and towel drying, I apply two squirts of VO5 Miracle Concentrate. I don’t think I could be without oils now, they leave my hair feeling incredibly soft (you can see a review of the VO5 oil here). A squirt of Aussie’s Take The Heat leave-in cream is next. I’ve not noticed a difference since starting to use this to be honest, but I like to think it gives my hair some sort of protection against heat. I don’t use a heat protection spray, which I really should but just never got around to buying one. Bad bad me. I try not to straighten my hair all the time if I can help it, though usually do if I’m heading out somewhere. I don’t use any sort of hairspray or gel either. I hate the feel of them.

So, this is my hair care routine in a nutshell! I’ve kept it as short as possible as this is really just the beginning of my “I want nice hair” journey! If you guys have any product recommendations for me, leave a comment and I shall check it out.

xox

Friday 1 June 2012

Clarisonic Mia: Monthly Update #1

Heya! Now as some of you may have seen on twitter last month, I purchased the Clarisonic Mia from Buyapower. Having been eyeing it up for quite a while, I decided to take the plunge. Every month I am going to write about my progress, what cleansers I’m using and ultimately if I think it’s worth the £120 price tag.

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The Mia is a more “travel friendly” version of the original Clarisonic. Waterproof with one speed, it comes with the sensitive brush head although more can be bought separately. I’m not going to bore you with the technical information though, as I'm sure you’ve heard it all before.

Starting out I used the device twice a day, after 2 weeks decreasing this to once in the evenings. Firstly though, I am going to talk about the purge. That dreaded few weeks most people go through when using the Clarisonic. My skin started to show signs of this about a week into using it. I wouldn’t say it was very bad, but having just gotten my skin pretty darn clear it was definitely an annoyance. For reference, my skin is oily/normal and I guess I would call it acne prone.

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I mostly got breakouts around my chin with one or two blemishes appearing on my lower cheeks. Approximately a month later I’m still getting a few problem areas around my chin, but they have decreased alot. I haven’t noticed much difference in my skin overall, but some of the pigmentation on my cheeks has practically disappeared. I think the main thing i need to focus on now is sticking to one cleanser. My skins already recovering from the purge, so I hope to see some more noticeable results in the next month.

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Cleansers
I’ve tried 4 cleansers up to now, each with a different consistency. My favourite so far is the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, the full size of of which I'm going to pick up when I have abit more money to spend on beauty items. My least favourite is the Clarisonic cleanser, it smells disgusting and really doesn't leave my skin as soft of the others. The Murad acne cleanser and the Benefit Foamingly Clean facial wash are alright, but I really just prefer the Liz Earle over them both.

Overview
So this month the main things I have seen is the purge stage and the fading of some pigmentation marks on my cheeks. Not bad for the first month really. I aim to stick with one cleanser in the next few weeks to see what difference that will make, now that my skin is starting to clear up. I am not yet to the point were I can recommend the Clarisonic, so I shall update you next month with my progress!

What cleansers would you recommend to me ? (Nothing too expensive mind you!)
Have you tried the Clarisonic? Let me know your experiences!

xox

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