March Favourites

Excuse my excessive mentioning of my dry skin and inability to find the camera!

Orangey nails

So I have been feeling the love for orange at the moment. Orange lipstick, orange dresses, but mostly orange nails. For a girl who usually wears black, this is pretty big.

I have 2 shades of orange (/coral) nail polish in my collection at the moment.

One is my VERY orangey orange (orange is such a weird word when you say it over and over, isn't it?) polish called 'Tangerine Dream' by Rimmel.

As you can see, it is really rather orange- and this is after only one coat. It lasts pretty well- most nail polishes, even OPI and higher end brands, seem to last about 3/4 days on me. If anyone knows how to make it last longer, let me know!

I've been using a clear nail polish as a base (rather than a specified 'base coat') as I want to avoid nasty nail stainage- it seems to be working at the moment.

The second shade is 'Coral Romance' again by Rimmel. This colour has red undertones, and I think I prefer this one. I would love a pair of shoes in this shade. Or a skirt.

Anyway, back to the nail polish. I put two coats on this time to achieve this finish. It has lasted pretty well so far and it makes me feel all happy and summery when I look down at my nails. Can't ask for more than that.

Now I'm off to watch Waterloo Road :) xx

PS Thanks for all your lovely comments on my last post. You (along with my nails) make me smile.

OOTD and Camden Jaunt

Sun! I'm so happy to see a bit of sun. It really affects my mood (but unfortunately makes me want to avoid work, ah well, swings and roundabouts).

Today the bf and I went on a little walk to Camden Town.

Here is what I wore

I love this floral dress from Topshop. It was around £40 before christimas, but I got it in the sale for around £25-pretty bargainous I think! It's a strapless dress with a little heart shape hole in the back. This is also the first time that I have got my (pasty white) legs out this year. And my perilously high wedges. I had a fair few wobblefalls on the walk there.

I also wore my Topshop super round glasses that I spoke about in yesterday's Youtube video. Whaddya think? Quite like them myself actually :) Think they would look good with a beanie hat and jeans. Or a long white floaty dress and floral headband. Not sure the bf is too keen, but there we go.

Camden itself was buzzing, which gave it a lovely holiday feel (even if it was crazybusy in the market!) It was actually lovely to see people milling about and generally having a nice time.


I did something mean in Starbucks, and am feeling a bit bad about it. My bf was sitting down at a table outside whilst I went to buy some drinks. As it was busy, someone came to sit down in the chair next to us and tried to share our tiny table. When I came back, I let them keep the chair, but moved the table closer to us. I hate sitting too close to other people in restaurants/coffee shops and we had the table first! Bit selfish I know :( Whoops. Not frequenting church anymore, this is my alternative to confession ;) Do you forgive me?

We also went to Cybercandy, the fantastic sweets shop that sells confectionery from all over ze globe. Like Hershey's kisses and Mountain Dew (sadly they didn't have any diet Mountain Dew, otherwise I would have loaded up!) We spotted a beer that had a woman that looked like me on the bottle, though you can really see here. The girl looks a bit quizzical/stupid and the drink is called So-duh (as in duh, you fool and soda drink-clever, huh?)

I also bought two gorgeous dresses from a stall in Camden market. This is a nice orangey dress with a little cat print on it. Will go nicely with my coraley orange Topshop lipstick in 'Charmed' methinks.

The cat print up close.

The second is a muddy green colour with ladies and gentlemen with umbrellas printed on it! Different, but a little bit cute.

So all in all a lovely day! I should be getting on with a bit of work (not faiiiiiiiir) and then tonight we're meeting some friends and going to a lovely little veggie restaurant called 'The Gate' in Hammersmith.

Hope you're all enjoying the sun :) xx

Mini Beauty Haul

Beauty Swap Anyone?

Just a quick little note- I've been reading about beauty swaps- where people, usually from different countries, set an amount to spend and then buy each other beauty products that the other probably wouldn't have access to. Eg. Covergirl or Sephora in America.

Sooo, I would really love to try new (to me) products from overseas. Would anybody be interested in doing a beauty swap with me? I would get to know you a bit first (if I don't already) to get a feel for what you like etc. Anyway, let me know :)

In other news, I have quite a few new makeup bits that I would like to share with you, so I will be doing my second ever youtube video tomorrow! I actually really enjoyed waffling away to the camera last time, and I love watching youtube videos. It makes me feel as though I 'know' the person more. Starting to sound sad aren't I?

Anyway, I'll leave you with that. And here's a little photo to brighten up the post. Hope you enjoy your Friday night. I'm about to have some wine and settle on the settee :) xx

NOTD- Lunar Haze

I'm loving lipsticks and nail polishes at the moment, anything with a bit of colour. I recently took my nail polish off and just thought they looked so naked-alien even.

So I covered them up with this gorgeous colour, a recent Natural Collections purchase:

It's a gorgeous irridescent lilac colour with nude undertones, depending on the light. And it makes me happy when I look down at my nails (don't judge me).

I used two coats to get this coverage. I've had it on for a day, and so far it has stayed put. My last Natural Collections colour (black cherry) didn't have much staying power, which I wasn't impressed with. I pretty much had to top it up everyday. This one seems to be holding up better so far, so yay. And for under £2 it's pretty bargainous.

 Whilst I was in Superdrug yesterday (looking for the Revlon Lip Butters...when are they going to be released in the UK?! Or have I missed that?) a few girls were looking at me and whispering. I immediately assumed something negative, like my lipstick was wonky or my hair wrong or something (thanks mind) but no, one of them came up to me and told me that she liked my nail polish :)

Do you have any Natural Collections nail polish and would you recommend any of them? At under £2 a pop, I wouldn't mind expanding my collection. xx

Bobbi Brown

So my usual Friday shop happened on Thursday last week. And I have realised that my weekly shop has become a bit of a habit and I have been spending rather a lot of money. Eek! I have been getting some pretty things though (there goes the shopaholic in me).

So this time I thought I try the Bobbi Brown range. I was drawn in by the Pot Rouges, which can be used on cheeks and lips, even though I'm not really a blusher kinda gal. I tried a few colours, but fell in love with the shade 'powder pink'.

Interestingly, when I asked the MUA for the product, she said that they only had the old packaging, but that I was effectively getting 'twice the amount of product'. So the new packaging is designed to draw people in (ooh, newnew) but reduce the amount of product you get whilst keeping the price the same. Really?! If so, not impressed.

As you can see, I also bought one of their cream eyeshadows. They had some amazing shades (I really liked the sandy, copper colours) but eventually I settled for the shade 'Orchid'. It's a beautiful lilac grey shimmery colour, unlike anything else I own.

Here's a swatch (I had to use the inside of my hand as I have writing all over the top of it! Bad habit...)

I love it!

Ooh, and here's the pot rouge on my lips

Not sure if you can really see it properly here. It's subtle, but a gorgeous dusty pink colour.

Here it is on the cheeks...

Again, not a great photo to show off the product, oops. I had to rub it in quite a bit because it was initially quite dark, which I think looked a bit weird against my pale skin. It has still given me more colour, but I think I won't rub it in as much, be daring!

I can see myself using these products on an everyday basis.

Have you tried any Bobbi Brown products? What are your faves?

Get to know me tag

So I have been tagged by the lovely www.juffielovesstyles.blogspot.co.uk

Here goes...

11 'random' facts about me
1. I love cats and really really really want one, but can't because I live in a rented property at the moment (first time buyer in London woes).  I used to have a cat called Puss Puss (she named herself. When I was 5 years old we adopted a stray kitten and I called out several names...the likes of socks, cuddles, pepper. She didn't respond. Then I tried Puss Puss and she looked straight around. Knows what she's called, my kitty). Anyway, she was really perceptive; she always knew when I was upset and comforted me. She used to follow me half way to school and meet me on the way home. She even followed us into church once! It was very funny seeing a cat walking along the aisle.

2. I also love pigeons. I know they have a lot of bad press, but I am strangely fond of pigeons. Firstly, they are everywhere in London and I find their ubiquity comforting- they are reliable, always there. I know I'm at home when I see a pigeon! They're also quite clever. In the war they used to carry messages and know their way back home by following motorways and rivers- anything large that goes in a straight line. Internal satnav. This sounds weird (as if it's not weird enough) but they seem so casual. So 'yeah, I'm here, how ya doin?' For example, in the London Zoo aviary, a few piegeons have managed to get inside. And they roam around the zoo too. I've seen a pigeon walk off a tube train! I just love watching the little creatures. And come on, any animal that has adapted to survive on cigarette butts and dirty nappies has got to get the thumbs up from me. 

3. I'm quite a sociable person generally, but sometimes I love nothing more than going home early, getting into my PJs and having a sex and the cityathon on the lappytop.

4. I fake celebrity spot. Much to the annoyance of my bf and friends, I fake celebrity spot, especially when we go on walks to Hampstead Heath/Regent's Park/Camden at the weekend. So anyone with a ginger bob is Mary Portas. An old man with grey hair is Alan Sugar. You get the picture. Occasionally we see the 'real deal', much our surprise. Last week (week before? Lose sense of time) we saw the comedian Ricky Gervais, and I once saw David Schwimmer and David Walliams in The Wolsely restaurant in Piccadilly. In fact, I was sitting opposite them. Didn't know where to look!

5. I do love a bit of trashy tv. The Apprentice, Help my House is Falling Down, Supersize vs Superskinny- I love it. I even enjoy crappy documentaries with sensational titles like 'Half Ton Mum' and things like that.

As I've waffled a fair bit already (and well done if you've read this) I'll move on to the question part.

1. What is your pet hate? 

Erm...being given my receipt and change at the same time. I like my receipt in the bag thank you.

2. Days out to the beach or to see a movie? 

I don't do either much! I enjoy watching films, but I tend to fall asleep during them, especially as if I go, I go on a Friday night. Usually I'm feeling drained and the warm, dark movie theatre lulls me into a deep, expensive sleep. So after that waffle, I'd say beach.

3. Heels or flats? 

I love the way heels look (and the sound they make on the pavement!) but I do so much walking and am on my feet all day, so flats. They can still look pretty cute too.

4. What are your fears? 

Ooh, I have a lot. It used to be failing my exams (anything less than and A= not good enough) but now I guess it's failing at work. I tend to relate my self worth to how well I'm doing academically, which is not always a good thing. There is more to a girl than her work!

5. Favourite animal? 

As I said before, love cats!

6. What is your favourite food? 

Probably sushi.

7. Skinny jeans or leggings? 

I don't tend to wear either (skirt/dress girl all the way) but I would love to be able to wear skinny jeans. When my legs are that bit thinner.

8. Movie that makes you cry and why. 

Loads! I'm getting weepy in my old age. I'll tell you about the first film that made me cry. I was about 8 when I watched the film The Elephant Man, about a man who was disfigured and treated like a circus freak in the Victorian times. In the film, if he laid down he would die. In his bedroom was a painting of a person lying down. One day he copied it, laid down and died. I now know it was just used for plot development, but as an 8 year old I thought why the hell would you put such a painting in his bedroom?! Stupid people! I cried, but wanted to hide it from my parents so locked myself in the bathroom to cry in peace. Haha!

9. Bright lipstick or natural? 

Both, but I prefer neutral colours that I can wear on an everyday basis.

10. What is your favourite place to shop online? 

Hate to be cliched, but it's got to be Topshop. I know I'll always find something that I like there.

Phew! What a long waffly post. Well done if you got this far. People like you make me happy, cos I like an audience for my wafflys now and again :)

And just to continue the 'get to know me me me' theme, here's a (old) photo (that I actually like) for ya: 

 Back in the olden days when I was at uni...ahhh, miss those days.

Oh, and I'm rubbish at tagging, so I tag everyone who wants to do this to answer the same questions I did. Let me know if you do, I like reading these sort of things, partly cos I'm nosy :)

First Youtube Video-GlossyBox Best and Worst

OOTD- My Lovely Snuggly River Island Cardi

Now, I know it is approaching Spring (well, some days anyway) and I should be buying/wearing brighter lighter clothes, but there is something I cannot let go of, even during the summer- my love of cardigans. They go with everything and have the added bonus of keeping you warm and covering up the 'ole arms. Perfect.

So when I saw this cardi in River Island yesterday I fell in love with it and finally bought it. I need to curb my spending soon, but I justified this purchase because it goes with everything, is snug, I'll get a lot of use out of it because I can wear it to work too...yada yada. Convinced yet?

Anyway, here it is:

What do you think?

Here I've worn it with my trusty Topshop speckled tea dress which was definitely worth buying for me, I feel so comfortable in it. It has already become one of my go to dresses (as I am a go-to dress kinda gal).

The only problem with it is that it was a tad expensive (well, more than I would usually pay for a cardigan) at £38. Apart from that, it's all good! xx

Nars Goodies...

When I posted about my first Nars product on here a few weeks ago, somebody commented saying that it wouldn't be my last; that now I'd tried it, I'd want more.

Well I have to say, she was most definitely right! After trying Nars Isolde eyeshadow duo (and loving it...gold, coppery shimmery shades,mmm) I wanted to try some more products.

Here's my loot:

One of the things I love/hate about Nars is the copious outer packaging. Underneath the black boxes each product contains another little ridged box protecting it. When things are packaged like this, I feel the need to keep it like this, to 'protect' the object or...I don't know, I'm just a bit anal about it. That means that I usually end up with clumpy boxes in my make up bag, and I have to go through a complex (for the morning!) process when putting on each item of make up.

Do you get like that with packaging, or is it just me?

*Eyeshadow single in 'Ashes to ashes'.

After being really impressed with Isolde, I wanted to try another shadow. I chose this shimmery violet colour with brown undertones and have fallen in love with it. The size of the product was smaller than I expected, but there you go.

Here's a swatch, but the lighting in my room isn't great at the moment, so I don't know how well it's come out..sorry!

I also purchased a gorgeous lipstick in the shade 'Shanghai Express'. It's a more daring, 'grown up' colour than those I usually go for, but I love it so far, and I like going outside my comfort zone once in a while.

I really like Nars packaging too, it looks really sleek and compact, although it does get a bit grubby. Oh, and another tiny little gripe- the lid on this lipstick doesn't click when you close it. I like a good click on a lipstick. It makes me feel that it is properly close and protected...another anal thing clearly!

Here's a little swatch:

I also got a free blush in the famous 'orgasm'. Haven't tried it yet, but it looks lovely and shimmery-and it was free! Can't go wrong there.

And finally, I got another 'different' shade, a lipgloss in 'Nana'. It's a dark purpley shade, and I'm really drawn to it. It does make me look a bit 'goth', especially as I'm so pale, but a little bit of goth is all right with me!

With flash and...

without flash and looking a bit drunk (promise I'm not, it's just been a busy day!)

What do you think of the colour? Would you try anything like this?

Nails of the Day-Coral Flair

I've been wearing a different colour nail polish almost every other day, so when I took off my polish and kept it off for an hour or two, my nails looked and felt naked!

After wearing Natural Collections 'Black Cherry' (a gorgeous deep plummy colour that doesn't last too long unfortunately) I decided to go for a brighter colour. Also hoping to hurry on spring in my own little way ;)

I went for an Accesorize polish in 'Coral Flair'.

Firstly, I've been loving coral colours recently and have been toying with the idea of buying Mac's Vegas Volt. Have any of you tried this? Is it wearable? Anyway, just really love the colour, though it doesn't look as vibrant as it is in real life in the photo.

I bought this polish a while ago when there was a 3 for 2 offer in Superdrug, and they were well worth it. I only had to put one layer on to get this level of coverage and, if my other Accesorize polish is anything to go by, it will last for 4-5 days without getting chipped too, which is pretty good if you ask me!

My Company magazine also arrived in the post, so I had a good read of that in the bath. This has long been one of my favourite magazines; it has a perfect mix of fashion and interesting stories and just seems to champion a more 'everyday cool girl' style than unattainable designer, stick thin model (hello Vogue). It provides inspiration for how to style high street clothing and shows affordable products. My kind of mag really.

I wanted to get Cosmopolitan this month because they were giving away free Clinique products, but the only copy left in Sainsbury's today was sans free gift. There was a big hole in the plastic, so someone had clearly stolen it! Rubbish. 

What's your favourite magazine?

OOTD-A Colourburst

Happy Monday! (yeah, sure, you say. Not really a fan either, but I try to make an effort!) 

Here I'm wearing another of my Topshop cardis, a blue Forever 21 dress, Forever 21 tights (you can kinda see them) and some Primark boots. A very colourful outfit for me; you can usually find me in the 'dark wash only' aisle in the shopping centre, if that exists ;) What I'm saying is, I like the darker, muted tones in life, but recently I've been experimenting with a bit of colour and have to say, I quite like it! 

With it, I also wore my new 2True eyeshadow from Superdrug:

Can you see it here? It's a lovely coppery colour with pinky undertones. And eugh, I need to sort my eyebrows out, they're a mess!

Saturday Stroll and OOTD

Guess what? I bumped into Ricky Gervais on the way to Regent's Park! Ha, I'm stupidly excited by things like that. I usually do what I call 'fake celebrity spotting' when I'm out and about (e.g. say that a tall, thin woman with bright ginger hair is Mary Portas) so the b/f didn't know whether to believe me when I first pointed it out. But it was real this time.

O.k, moving away from sounding like a saddo...here's what I wore on our little trip to Regent's Park.

My trusty Topshop speckled tea dress with an also trusty green cardi from Primark (I have these in 3 or 4 colours).

I also teamed it with my leather jacket. I love that it was warm enough to wear a little jacket...bring on Spring (and the Easter hols).

Some Friday Retail Therapy

 *warning- this post will probably be a bit photo heavy as words aren't too forthcoming-the result of a crazybusy week at work and 3 hours sleep*

After a very busy, very tiring week, I feel I deserve a bit of retail therapy (though I did make 2 sneaky-and not cheap-online purchases...oops).

I went straight to Westfield after work, had a lovely Starbucks (coffee frap light if you're asking) and then perused the shops with my heavy, heavy bag. By the end of the shop I had a very sore, red shoulder, but also some lovely little purchases.

As usual, I headed to Topshop. I know it's not original, but I can always find something I like there.

I found the most amazing dress:

It has an zebra like monocrome print and is just so comfortable. Another go to dress methinks, just like the flippy dresses and speckled tea dresses-well done Topshop! Here I'm wearing it with my trusty Primark wine coloured cardi.

I also got this bubblegum jumper. Again, it's quite similar to something I already own, the speckled grey jumper (and this is the point that I would insert a link to said jumper if I were more computer savvy/awake). Anayway, I love the colour, even though I do feel a bit Barbie in it. It's also super cosy, meaning that I would feel comfortable throwing it on over anything. Definitely a worthwhile purchase at £20.

I also bought a ring...my ring collection has now increased to a total of...2! Haha. I struggle to find rings that I like. I want a good stone ring, but most of the stones that I've seen in Primark (ok so I haven't looked too far) are tooooo big.

It's a feather wraparound style. I'm not usually attracted to 'gold' (though this is a bit more bronzey?).

Here's the second ring in my 'collection':

I got this one from Boots, for £5. Me likey. The only problem is that when I wear rings I tend to play with them ALL THE TIME. I spin them around, move them from finger to finger, then take them off, put them down and leave them somewhere. Not good, especially when you only own one other ring!

I also got lots of make up products, but this post is getting a bit long, so I might do a separate post for my
MUA haul. Here's a sneak preview:

Yeah, told you I have a lipstick problem.

And here are some more! I stumbled across a range called 2true in Superdrug, and they had a 3 for £5 thing on, so I decided to buy a few things. Namely, I wanted to be a bit more experimental with my lipstick colours (rather than 9999 shades of pink) so I bought a rich plummy colour, which I am in love with:

Posing in my Primark man shirt (for bed may I add-which I am pretty much ready for!)

I also got another reddy colour (reddy? Plummy? Great descriptive language).

Finally I tested the most pigmeneted eyeshadow I have ever tried, but it wasn't aligned to the actual product. The colours were only slightly different so I hope I picked up the right one! I'm loving neutral browns/gold on my eyes at the moment.

Not as pigmented as in the shop (so maybe not the right one) but this was the result after one light swatch. Pretty happy with this, considering the price (2 lipsticks and 1 eyeshadow duo for £5).

And finally, just because I bought it and photographed it, my skincare products (3 for 2 in Boots).

Some handy wipes to take off my makeup when I am feeling lazy and some St.Ives gentle exfoliator for my horribly dry skin.

So a pretty successful evening of shopping all in all!

Hope you're having a happy weekend :)