50 Random Facts About Me Tag!

Hello darlings! So you may have seen that I started doing YouTube beauty videos twice a week and I decided to jump on the whole 50 random facts about me tag bandwagon. If you would like to find out some random bits and bobs about me, well, watch this video! I’d also love if you could check out my other videos here. I’m going to be starting a Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire inspired series of tutorials very soon (can you tell what the above look was practice for? Ofcourse you can!)

I’m also considering doing a bunch of photography related videos guiding you through how I take my blog images, what I use and how I edit them. What do you think?

Finally I just want to let you know that I’m going to be launching my photography website very soon! So if your interested in fashion, beauty and portrait photos then I’d love if you could check out my work. Here’s a little sneaky peek of what I’ve been editing today.

xox

NOTD: Disney Villains – Cruella de Vil!

Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil, if she doesn't scare you….
Anyway! You’ve heard me go on about the Disney Villains Nail Polish Collection many times before, so here's the psycho fur lover herself! A bright red and opaque in 1-2 coats, this sure makes a statement!

OPI base Coat
Cruella De Vil x2
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri

I do love this representation of Cruella, it’s perfect! What do you think?

Remember to check out Evil Queen, Mother Gothel and Queen of Hearts!

xox

That’s What She Said: Shiro Cosmetics Intertube in Leeroy Jenkins Review!

Leeeeeeroooooy Jeeeenkinsss! If you don’t know the reference, learn to internets and click here! I picked this up when I made an order for my sister's birthday present (Hunger Games Collection) as I've been wanting to try an Intertube for ages! I’m glad I did, as this has fast become one of my favourite lip products. I would describe it as a pigmented balm, very moisturising but amazing colour payoff. The colour is a beautiful lilac-pink with subtle blue interference and gold sparks, it looks scary but is actually really wearable! With a spearmint scent Leeroy Jenkins is a pleasure to apply and lasts an average amount of time, fading evenly and leaving a slight stain.

This product can look a little bit patchy close up, but in person it looks pretty even. I only realized it wasn't 100% on close up pictures. The packaging is reminiscent of a lip balm and is very easy to pop in your handbag for on the go.

[Direct Flash][Flashgun Bounced & Natural Light]

I am wearing Leeroy Jenkins in the above FOTD image and also in my video here.
Bring on my next Shiro order, as I am 100% going to be picking up more intertubes! I’m eyeing up ‘Over 9000’ and ‘Smashing’. You can get this online here for $6.50.
Have you ever tried anything from Shiro? What do you think of the intertubes?
xox

That’s What She Said: Tangle Teezer!

You’ve all probably read about the Tangle Teezer at some point, I know I've been eyeing them up for ages but could never really bring myself to spend £10.99 on some plastic. Walking past a hair salon after Christmas, I luckily spotted a few for £6 and had to snap one up.

“Whether you wear long hair, short hair, have highlights, hair extensions, an afro or a weave, the Tangle Teezer will detangle and smooth your hair into superb condition.
The Tangle Teezer dramatically reduces hair breakage, splitting and damage, resulting in beautifully shiny hair. After brushing, your hair will feel silky to the touch and stunning to look at.
The Tangle Teezer is a must-have for Mums! It’s loved by children as it helps them get rid of their painful tangles quickly and effortlessly!”

Now I'm pretty naughty when it comes to brushing my hair. I don’t comb through it when wet as recommended, I have some crappy £1 brush which always pulls tonnes of hairs out, so the Tangle Teezer was totally worth a shot. I have to say, I am really enjoying using it. My hair gets really knotty on the rear crown portion of my head after washing and I’ve always had to yank a brush through it. This glides through so easily visibly reducing hair breakage.

I use this when brushing my hair in the morning also, and it manages to make everything silky smooth. People with thicker hair may have to brush through section by section, but my hair is pretty thin so a few strokes and I'm done. I haven’t come of out this totally breakage free though. I still do get some hairs in the brush and they are actually a pain to remove which is probably the only negative about this product (see below for disgusting hair in brush image haha). The shape takes a little getting used too, it’s pretty large but fits nicely in my hand.

Overall I’d definitely recommend this over a regular hairbrush as I really have seen visible benefits and results.

You can get the Tangle Teezer for £10.99 online or in store at Boots, coming in a variety of colours and even a few more compact sizes.

Have you ever tried the Tangle Teezer?

xox

PS. I have just posted the details of my Summer in the states over on my Disney Travel Blog if you want to go check out what I will be doing June – August!

FOTD: Smudgy Grunge!

A little grungy look from me today! Inspired by the beautiful Kenzi from TV Show Lost Girl, I added a little contour to the crease then smudged some black liner out to create this bold but messy eye. The crease looks a little more blended out in life than it does in the pictures!

Face
The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver, Illamasqua Skin Base 2, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in fair, MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural Light, Collection Pressed Powder in Ivory, NARS Laguna Bronzer, Vivo Blush in Rosy.

Eyes
UDPP, UD Buck, MUG Beaches and Cream, Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Errant, UD 24/7 Pencil in Zero, MUFE Smoky Lash, Collection Skyscraper Mascara, ELF Lengthening and Volumizing Waterproof Mascara, MUA Brow Pencil in Blonde.

Lips
Clinique Chubby Stick in Pudgy Peony

A sad panda face a my messy hair! I’d left it to naturally dry and this is the result!
So yeah! Nothing more to say really. I did this quickly before I went to the shop so nothing particularly special about it.

Have you ever seen Lost Girl?

xox

NOTD: Disney Villains – Queen of Hearts!

More Disney Villains! Oh yeaah! So without further ado, I present to you, her majesty the Queen of Hearts! The baddie from Alice in Wonderland, at first I was confused to why the polish to represent her was Gold. I see her more of a red, but I guess too many reds would be silly. That aside though, this is a gorgeous almost antique gold shade with flecks of glitter which goes opaque in 2 coats.

OPI Base Coat
Disney Villains Queen of Hearts x2
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri

The application of this was really smooth! These polishes are all rather runny, so you have to get the hang of them at first but their finish is beautiful. I’ve already spoken about how gorgeous the packaging is in my previous Evil Queen and Mother Gothel posts (click the name to go see!)

This collection continues to blow me away with the quality and colour. Lots of love to the Disney Store <3 If you can still find these, I 100% recommend you grab them while you can,

What do you think of the colour they picked for the Queen of Hearts?

xox

FOTD: Obligatory ‘Snow Day’ Malarkey!

Ain’t it funny how the UK tends to grind to a stand still when snow arrives. I was begrudgingly woken up by my housemate knocking on my door this morning exclaiming with excitement “Look outside! It’s snowing!” After my initial groggyness of being dragged from my slumber, I headed towards my window and had a peek outside. Even I cannot deny the spark of giddyness which surged through my body at that moment. I was originally gonna film a makeup tutorial for this look, but i started a little late and it got too dark for it really! Oh well, some other time. I did manage to snap a few pics before evening fully arrived though. It was, ofcourse, inspired by the snow & winter, big cliché there!

Face
The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver, Illamasqua Light Liquid Foundation in 120, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair, Illamasqua Cream Foundation in 110, Illamasqua Under Eye Concealer in 105, Illamasqua Powder Foundation in 105, NARS Laguna, Vivo Baked Blush in Rosy.

Eyes
UDPP, NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk, Disney Villain Palette Ursula, Chinovi Inception, Chinovi Whisper, Paris Berlin Silver Glitter, Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Errant, Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner, MUFE Smoky Lash, ELF Lengthening and Volumizing Waterproof Mascara, MJ Mix Blue and Black Luxuriant Eyelashes-310*.

Lips
Shiro Intertube Leroy Jenkins

I’m really into my glitter and these lashes at the moment! I think my makeup rut is well and truly over haha.

If your from the UK, did you do anything in the snow today?

xox

Video: 2012 Makeup Favourites!

Hey lovelies! Just a really quick post to let you all know I’ve started the whole YouTube thing again. This time I promise i will keep up with it. I hope for it to be more makeup tutorial based but for now I have a 2012 Makeup favourites to share. Over the next few days I'm going to upload a Face Products for Pale Skin video and my favourite Eye shadow palettes so I’d love if you could subscribe/watch/whatever!

I don’t plan on posting every time I do a video so I promise this will be the only embedded vid post!

Thanks for being such lovely readers <3

xox

Blog Photography 101: Product Shots & Winter Lighting!

Hey guys! I’m starting a new series today based around blog photography and how to make the best of your blog imagery. I know there's a few of these around but I wanted to share my take. Now I’ve been studying photography for 5 years and worked as an assistant for 3 years, so I pretty much know what I'm talking about. I’m going to try and share with you lots of tips and tricks I've picked up through blogging and work! To be honest with you, alot of this will be based around using SLR’s but you really can take things away from this if you use a compact or bridge, especially when diffusing flash and reflecting light is concerned.

Shooting products in winter can be difficult because of the horrid lighting and small time frame in which you can shoot during the day. Depending on your home, the first area you would choose to shoot would be somewhere like a conservatory. Alot of natural light! Try setting up a scene or using something for a background. One thing about winter is that alot of images can become too cool which i personally don't like. To counter this I sometimes switch the ‘big light’ on for a slight warm cast. Now i know many other bloggers say don’t use flash, but I nearly always use it in winter as a “filler”. Now that doesn't mean go in flashgun blazing. If you are using an on camera flash try and turn it down or diffuse it through a carrier bag. If you use a flashgun, bounce it off something.

[Taken in conservatory in Winter – Flash][Taken in Conservatory in Summer – No Flash]

A great way to add more light is reflectors. Using a white piece of paper, place it next to your product to bounce natural light onto it. You can really go that extra mile by using silver or gold tinfoil like materials to cool down/warm up an image depending on personal preference.

If you don't have a conservatory, a window with alot of light will be your next best bet. When I’m at university I don't have a conservatory unfortunately, so I have to make my bedroom window work. My curtains have white lining luckily, so i can use them to help reflect light back onto a subject. I normally do use my flashgun in this case but I know alot of people wont have them, so I do really recommend investing in a white piece of card from a craft/art shop. Even if you like to take photos somewhere else in your room, it will really help on a dull winters day.

[Taken in Bedroom at University]

Another thing, is if you have an SLR use manual! I cannot stress this enough. Images will look so much better than if used on auto. If you don't know what all the settings mean, learn them. I can do a DSLR tutorial if you wish, but learning how to use it properly should have been one of the first steps you took when getting it. Make sure you bump the ISO up to at least 400 to help brighten, noise shouldn't be an issue. The image above was taken at 1/125th of a second at F2.8 with an ISO of 720 and look how clear it still is.

If you really want your blog photography to be the best it can be, you will put the effort into finding the best place to take pictures. I have certain areas all over both of my houses where I prefer to photograph certain things in certain ways. Another tip is to use the bathtub if your bathroom is bright enough and you want a flawless white background. In my old house I used to do product shots in the bath as I got a nice amount of light which came through the window. If you don’t have any great places with natural light in your home, I’d say purchase a daylight bulb from a store and use a lamp to help light your images. Go that extra mile! Great photography isn’t just snap and go, it can be pretty technical.

[Taken in the Bathtub in my Old House]

Remember, be original, be personal. I’ve now stopped using a plain white background and either use a scene or a Disney Comic Strip tissue paper background (see below) as I’ve been wanting to inject a little more personality into my images while still having them practical for their purpose. I’m sure my blog imagery will develop even more over time, it’s just practicing what works and improving on it.

[Taken in Conservatory with a Disney Comic Strip Background]

My next post in this series will be about how to improve upon your Makeup and Nail shots! It should be up next week so stay tuned.

What do you think of this series about photography? Was this helpful at all?

xox

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EOTD: Disney Villains Designer Collection #1

Hey lovelies! Here’s the first look in (hopefully) a series using the Disney Villains Designer Collection Eye-shadow Palette! Now I wore this particular look over Christmas, minus the lashes, so just made it a little bit more dramatic for funsies. I also filmed two videos today, as I'm gonna start getting into the whole YouTube thing again. There are 4 for me to upload once I've got my channels sorted (one for Disney/Travel vlogs one for beauty) so I shall post links when I get them up.

Eyes
ELF Primer, DV Mother Gothel, DV Evil Queen, DV Cruella de Ville, DV Ursula, DV Queen of Hearts, Wet & Wild Petal Pusher Brow & Lid colours, Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner, UD 27/7 Pencil in Zero, Barry M white Pencil, MUFE Smoky Lash, ELF Lengthening and Volumizing Waterproof Mascara, MJ Mix Blue and Black Luxuriant Eyelashes-310*.

Mini Review - MJ Mix Blue and Black Luxuriant Eyelashes-310*
These lashes were sent to me by KKCenterHK a few months ago and I never got around to using them, being in quite a rut with makeup. I regret it so much though, as they look amazing with my eye shape, making them look so much bigger. The blue is really bright as well, more like the image below than the ones above (I got my hands on some glitter after photographing the makeup haha!) They work really well while wearing my glasses also, not hitting the frames at all. You can get these here at £10.56 for 10 pairs.

What colours do you think I should use for my next Villains look?

xox

*Disclaimer: Some products in this post were sent to me free to charge. This in no way effects my opinions.

FOTD: Attempting to Break a Rut!

Oh gosh! I’m wearing makeup! Shock horror! I think I've worn eye shadow maybe twice this year so far. I don’t wear anything on my eyes while I'm in the house, and there's been alot of bedroom dwelling while university deadlines loom. So anyway, this morning I dug out some bits I've not used before to create this bog standard look. Where have my bright colours gone?!? I’m in such a rut at the moment, need inspiration!

Face
The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver, Illamasqua Skin Base 2, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in fair, MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural Light, Collection Pressed Powder in Ivory, NARS Laguna Bronzer, Vivo Blush in Rosy.

Eyes
UDPP, Geek Chic the Pointy End, Geek Chic Mana Battery, UD Creep, UD Virgin, MUG Beaches and Cream, UD 24/7 Pencil Liner in Zero, Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner, Colllection Skyscraper Mascara, ELF Lengthening and Volumizing Waterproof Mascara, MUA Brow Pencil in Blonde.

Lips
Disney Evil Queen Lipgloss

On the top right you can see my natural hair creeping down! Not long now! I’m going to get it cut a few inches soon to get rid of all those dry horrid ends, and hopefully can have it all natural and shoulder length by the time I go to Florida! Also, I’m going to add a quick wee bit embarrassing photo (hello myspace?)  below of my new shirt! The boy got it me as part of my Christmas present but it was a little late, I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

What makeup have you been wearing alot so far this year? Also isn’t my shirt badass?

xox

That’s What She Said: La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo Review!

This is a product which has been doing the rounds recently appearing on quite a few blogs as abit of a miracle product. I’m always a little apprehensive of splashing out on skincare which is raved about as I’m aware that what may work some some people, may not on others. Luckily, La Roche-Posay’s Effaclar duo was not one of the latter. As an anti imperfection cream which claims to correct skin tone and unclog pores, ultimately leaving skin clearer, this is actually shaping up to be pretty spot on. I’ve suffered with my skin for years, it’s not terrible but I notice it. Over the past few months in particular its been pretty bad after being swapped to a new contraceptive pill. With relief I’ve gone back to my normal pill and have started a whole new skincare regime which I hope will give me the confidence to not wear foundation/concealer when I go out anywhere other than the shop. Effaclar Duo, i believe, is really working towards evening out my skin tone (scarring ect) and preventing outbreaks. I use this morning and evening as my moisturiser on its own. It isn’t drying or greasy, and really sinks into the skin creating a great base for makeup. I have genuinely seen great results since starting to use this a month ago and will 100% be repurchasing when I run out.

At £13 for 40ml this isn’t ‘budget’ by all means, but it’s actually lasting me quite a while which is surprising. I thought it would run out pretty quickly. How happy I am to be wrong! You can pick this up from Boots online or in store.

Have you ever tried Effaclar Duo or any other La Roche-Posay product?

xox

NOTD: Disney Villains – Mother Gothel!

Hey darlings! I have more swatches of the Disney Villains Nailpolish Collection for you today, this one being Mother Gothel, the villain from movie Tangled. This reminds me a little of Essie’s Bahama Mama but less pinky/purple and more wine toned. Apologies for the mess around my nails, I had no nailpolish remover around at the time to clean up and photographed this soon after painting.

The application of Mother Gothel was actually smoother than Evil Queen was, opaque in 2 coats with decent wear time. I’ve already mentioned previously how much I adore the packaging, it feels so luxurious and gothic, perfect for the theme.

Vivo Clear Nailpolish
Disney Villains Mother Gothel x2
OPI RapiDry Top Coat

Do you think this is a good representation of Mother Gothel?

xox

That’s What She Said: Disney Villains Designer Collection Eye-Shadow Palette Review & Swatches!

Now you guys may or may not know that I am completely obsessed with anything Disney, so much that I’m even spending my summer working in Disney World Florida. It’s just one of those things. Some people have music, some people have TV, I have Disney. When I spotted the Villains Designer Collection in the store a few months ago I literally obsessed over it for weeks, picking up various bits over time until I owned a good portion, mugs, clothing, accessories and makeup. Like many, I disregarded the makeup at first, thinking it would be rubbish quality and not worth the price. How wrong I was.

Each shadow represents one Disney Villain with a black eyeliner thrown in to complete the palette. Now when I first dipped my brush into Mother Gothel and applied it to my lid I gasped. The pigmentation is amazing, a quality which is constant with all six shades. Creamy and buttery with no chalkiness at all, reminding me alot of Urban Decay’s new formulated shadows. The villains colours last ages over a primer! I wore 4 of them a few nights ago while I had abit of a teary eye (my left eye is a pain and sometimes randomly waters) and they stayed put, while my collection eyeliner went bye bye!

[Artificial Light: L-R: Cruella De Vil, Evil Queen, Maleficent, Mother Gothel, Queen of Hearts, Ursula][Natural Light & Fill Flash: L-R: Cruella De Vil, Evil Queen, Maleficent, Mother Gothel, Queen of Hearts, Ursula]

Forgive my horrid descriptions! I can’t seem to find anything online about these what so ever, so bare with me! Also the swatches don’t do “Queen of Hearts” (or any of the others for that matter) any justice what so ever! The least pigmented is Evil Queen while the most pigmented is probably Mother Gothel. Believe me when I say though, they don’t disappoint and fit together easily to create whole looks.

Cruella De Vil: Black with gold glitter.
Evil Queen: A satin plum with small flecks of burgundy glitter.
Maleficent: Satin metallic moss green with a hint of gold.
Mother Gothel: Satin metallic orange toned pink. Reminds me of Fyrinnae’s Rapunzel has Extensions but more orange toned.
Queen of Hearts: Metallic gold.
Ursula: Metallic silver with a hint of blue.

The packaging is a cardboard material but feels pretty sturdy, hosting a gorgeous design! As for the eyeliner, well, who really needs more black eyeliner swatches/reviews? Especially as you can’t get this on its own anyway.

Overall I am so happy my boyfriend got this for me. It’s literally one of the best palettes I've tried for a while and i can see it making a regular appearance on my blog. This collection is currently on it’s way out and on offer for half price so grab it while you can in Disney Stores worldwide.

What do you think of this eye shadow palette? Do you think they successfully matched the colours to the villains?

xox

That’s What She Said: LUSH Emotional Brilliance Liquid Lipstick in Drive Review!

Many of you have probably heard of LUSH’s makeup range when it skipped onto the scene last July, and like most people I was dying to try it. I finally got the chance when bits were on sale this Boxing Day! My favourite lippy colour being purple, Drive went straight into the basket. Why have I not tried anything sooner? The price. Sure I heard good things about the range, but I am not going to pay £14.50 for something which isn’t luxury/designer. So I waited, hoping a sale would come. Obviously, it did!

Firstly, the packaging. Ain’t it cute! The little bottle and tag reminds me of Alice in Wonderland, but unfortunately makes it not very practical. Nice on the dressing table but there is still going to be tonnes of product left in there when it’s life seemingly comes to an end, unreachable and wasted. Secondly, the smell. This thing smells horrid. To some that’s not really a big deal, but I hate when lip products don’t have a nice scent. It’s not overpowering but to be fair, they probably don’t want to add artificial ingredients just for smell.

As for Drive, it is a cool purple with blue & pink sparkle. Pretty original for something found on the high-street and my kind of colour! The application is average, not needing much blotting and re-application but I advise to moisturise the lips beforehand as this can cling to dry bits. You can have the colour as translucent or opaque as you like depending on how much product you apply and it does go on pretty evenly with no streakiness, being a matte finish. On me I would say the wear time is a couple of hours, pretty mediocre and I don’t get it transferring onto anything (a teacup, a glass, the boyfriend haha) which is definitely a bonus.

Overall, I am really not too impressed. The price is way too high for a product which isn't overly amazing. The idea behind the collection is pretty cool, I'm just not going to spend the money testing out the concept. OCC lip tars are much better value for money and I’d much rather recommend them. Sorry LUSH, but this ones a miss for me.

Have you tried anything from the Emotional Brilliance range?

xox

That’s What She Said: Soap & Glory Peaches and Clean Review!

After picking up Soap & Glory’s Best of All set in Boots just before Christmas, this was the product I was most excited to try. My current makeup-removing cleanser just wasn’t cutting it and with claims to “melt away makeup”, I had to crack it out the moment I got home. Peaches and Clean is a 4-in-1 cleansing milk which claims to have all sorts of lovely benefits for the skin, but does the product live up to the claims?

First thing I and probably anyone else who has used this noticed, is the smell. It is simply divine. Now you can see why it has its name. Being a huge fan of fruity scents, the peach aroma is porn for my nose. One pump is enough to cover my face, which i then wipe over with a muslin cloth. I personally don’t believe it removes every scrap of face makeup in one go to be honest (eye makeup is taken off at a different time), but I’ve never found anything which has. I’m a double cleanser, so this will always be followed by either my La Roche-Posay Facial Wash or S&G Hot Cloth Cleanser for that extra deep clean. In combination, they work a treat to remove my ‘day face’.

I started a whole new skincare routine before Christmas, which I shall shortly being posting a video about, and in combination it’s all working amazingly. After using this product in particular, my skin feels majorly soft and refreshed, something my old cream cleanser failed to do (that used to make my face slightly tender in an uncomfortable way). Peaches and Cream does contain exfoliating alpha hydroxy acids which I think really gives it that little bit of a push past other cream cleansers in the same price range. I really think continued use of this has really aided my Effaclar Duo in clearing up my skin, allowing it to reach its full potential.

For £6 you get 200ml of product and seeing as I’ve only used 1/6th of the bottle in a month, this is going to last me quite a while. I am going to 100% repurchase when I run out! Find Peaches and Clean in Boots online or in store.

Have you ever tried any S&G Cleaners? What's your favourite S&G product?

xox

That’s What She Said: Lady Gaga ‘Fame’ Perfume Review!

By now most people will have seen or smelt Lady Gaga’s first offering to the perfume market, but having picked this up myself in the boxing day sale here’s my take. Now it’s not often I will purchase a scent for myself, in fact barely even once a year. I’m one of those people who you don’t generally tend to buy perfume for unless I ask for it, even though I spritz myself daily. My collection, if it can even be classed as that, consists of around 5 different titles. These generally last me quite a long time, and when I run out of one i shall ask for a new one. It’s a one in one out system (a complete opposite theory stands for my makeup collection). The thing which attracted me to ‘Fame’ was 100% the bottle. I’m such a sucker for pretty packaging. Hell, I don’t like Lady Gaga’s music at all and her image is of no concern to me, so this was one of those “ooooh pretty” moments i often have.

The scent is much like every other celebrity perfume out there in all honesty. Lovely smelling, but nothing original. Fruity and Floral with an underlying musk, there really isn’t anything that stands out, which you really would expect coming from someone like Lady Gaga.

The scent is built around three main accords: dark, sensual and light.
The dark accord was inspired by Belladonna, the deadly nightshade possessed by haunted beauties since the 18th century.
From this darkness, the fragrance evolves to a sensual accord of opulence, a fusion of dripping honey, saffron and apricot nectar.
And lastly, the light accord whispers magnificence. The rich floral layer of crushed Tiger Orchid and Jasmine Sambac embodies timeless beauty.

I’m personally pretty happy with it as I only have one other celeb perfume in the form of Taylor Swift’s Wonderstruck, which is a hell of alot sweeter than Fame. The signature point is the black fluid which, correct me if I'm wrong, I don’t believe has ever seen seen before. I do admit, if this wasn’t on sale I probably wouldn’t have purchased it, but I probably wouldn’t purchase any perfume if it wasn't discounted.

Overall I do like Fame, it’s my ideal kind of scent. A pretty bottle, average wear time and doesn't break the bank. If your looking for a new celebrity fragrance, I would recommend you check this out. If you already own many, you should probably give it a miss.

What do you think of Lady Gaga’s first perfume? What’s your favourite celebrity scent?

xox

Bringing in 2013: Let the “No-Buy” Commence!

Hey darlings, Happy New year! 2013 is shaping up to look amazing for me with my University graduation and spending the summer in Florida, LA & NY so what better way to plan for the future than with a massive saving pledge. I’ve seen a few others doing this, Sandra over at The Black Pearl Blog has started a 100 day spending ban challenge with a few other lovely bloggers, although I’m doing something a little different! Having been a member of Facebook group Never Too Much Sparkle for a while, a few of us last week decided to undertake Operation: Save All The Money, each setting ourselves guidelines in order to save more money over the coming months. My goal is to save for my trip to Florida, and ultimately my future. Here’s my goals!

In a hope to save for my summer in the USA I am banning myself on buying makeup, clothes, skincare and body care until the Easter holidays (March 15th - April 8th). This does not include moisturiser as I am nearly out of that, shampoo/conditioner (only buy another when pervious is finished), toothpaste (and the like), deodorant and basically daily hygiene stuff.
From Easter I will replenish my foundation/powers ect for the Florida trip but NO blush, lippys, eyeliners or eyeshadows. I will also have money aside for preparing for my trip by getting summer clothes, swimwear ect.I aim to save money every month putting £200ish into my savings account with a goal to save £1000 by late May.
By March I will have paid off all my USA internal flights and accommodation for when I travel (international flights have already been paid for).

• USA Internal Flights & Accommodation Paid
• No Makeup Bought
• No Bodycare Bought
• No Skincare Bought (exceptions not included)
• No Disneystore Purchases Made

I’m going to stick to a budget of £30 a week for food & daily living, rent and bills to be paid separately. Change from this will be put into a “Piggy Bank”.

I’m really looking forward to doing this with all the lovely ladies taking part, it’s so much more motivation to stick to my goals. We are also going to be running weekly/monthly “shopping the stash” and “makeup mixup” challenges to help us discover hidden gems within our own makeup collections. Wish me, the rest of O:SATM and anyone else undertaking a No-Buy luck!

What are your plans for 2013? Going on a No-Buy/Low-Buy?

xox