Topshop order

Oops, so the other night I made a cheeky Topshop order. It was raining outside, and the dresses were so pretty and made me long for summer, so this is what happened:

1. Blue floral dress by Anne Greenabelle -£48.00

I just adore this dress, and anything by Anne Greenabelle. I bought a dress similar to this in the January sale (but it's strapless and pink) also by Anne G (too long to type!) and I loved it. The material is organic cotton, and really soft. Will definitely be wearing this lots during the summer. Price is a bit steep, but...y'know.

2. Mint cut out dress by love- £38.00

Beautiful colour. Beautiful design. Let's hope it's as beautiful in the flesh!

3. Oriental print dress by Rare- on sale- Was £45.00 now £20.00

4. Grey brogues (apparently, but they look more nude to me!) My 'summer' shoes.

Looking forward to these arriving :) xx

Topshop makeup collection

It seems that over the recent months I have amassed rather a fair bit of Topshop makeup. From my first product (a lipstick in 'Mink') I have been a convert. I love the simple, but cute, packaging, the variety of colours and finish of the lipstick and nail polish range and the pricing is pretty good for the quality too. Good-o.

So I thought I'd give a rundown of my collection.

 So pretty and colourful :)

Lips

The colours match up to the labels above, just to make life easier :) .

All Topshop Lipsticks: very moisturising, last for about 2/3 hours (on me, someone who drinks a lot- sometimes just water!-and has a tendency to pick her lips. Might last longer on those that do not have this habit!) and are reasonably pigmented. 

Ok, let's go colour by colour (and please excuse my shocked/ghost pose in the following photos!)

Oh La La

This is a beautiful orangey colour, perfect for spring/summer. It reminds me a bit of Mac's 'Vegas Volt' though a toned down version, although it is buildable and could provide a 'shock' of pinky orange if desired.
I don't wear this colour often enough, but I will do once the sun starts coming out. I can imagine wearing this with a little floral playsuit, cocktail in hand...(come on summer!)

Innocent 

 My lip looks weird here, ha. Now I've drawn attention to it, great!

Innocent is a lovely, inoffensive pinky shade that I think would suit most skin tones and go with most outfits. It is a colour that could easily be worn to work/school everyday and is just lovely really.

Mink 

 As I said before, Mink was the first lipstick I purchased from Topshop. I don't think it's available in store now *checks website*- well I couldn't find it there...so, hmm. Probably not available anymore, sorry! This one I loved for a bit, then went off of it, and now I kinda like it again. I like 'rediscovering' things like this!

It is a plummy pink colour, with a hint of brown. This colour goes really well with greys, and lighter neutrals, methinks. Will definitely be wearing this more often now I have fallen in like with it again.

Nevada 

 Now this nude shade is a colour that I have mixed feelings about. I'm not really sure that nudes suit me; they blend in with my skin tone, which leaves me looking like I have no lips and a little corpse like if I'm honest! some nudes have a hint of pink, which makes them less like this, but I'm not sure this one does. What do you think? Does this nude shade suit me? I think it looks better from a distance. I don't know I guess I'll give it a try a few more times and then decide. Oh, and a lot of people say that this is a dupe for Creme de Nude by Mac, but under half the price, so yes, if you like your nudes, then this may be the one for you!

I've waffled on about the lipsticks, so I'll try to keep the rest of this short:

Eyes 

Crayon and Kohl Liner

 Crayon in Whisper- I have raved about this crayon before, and will rave about it again! It's such a beautiful shimmery gold colour, as you can see from the swatch (though this really doesn't do it justice). I use it as an eyeshadow, and it lasts all day, in fact, it gives Maybelline Colour Tattoos a run for their money in terms of how long  it lasts.

Kohl in Petrol- (swatched above) - this is a green/blue colour, one that I don't wear enough (but will now!) The TS kohl pencils are really pigmented and nice to use. On me, the colour lasts all day and doesn't smudge. Can't ask for more than that really!

Nail Polishes

 Pretty colours!

L-R- Marine Biologist, Glimmer, Bee's Knees, Peaches and Cream, Without a Clue

I really love the consistency and finish of all of the Topshop colours I have bought, and they last for 4/5 days without chipping on me. I use 2 coats to get an opaque finish (1 with Marine Bio) but some say that with lighter colours you may need 3 coats to achieve an even and opaque coverage.

At the moment I'm having a bit of a love affair with the chromey bronze colour glimmer, even though it is the least Springy colour there. The weather outside may just have something to do with it!

Ok, I'm going to leave it there now. I also have a blush, liner and a few other lip products that I haven't mentioned here, but I'll leave that for another day.

What is your favourite Topshop makeup item? Recommend any lipsticks? Would you like to see more 'collection' posts? xx

OOTD and and today's make up

Ew, what disgusting weather we have been having. Weather really affects my mood, and I'm not liking it, so sort it out England! I want to go on a walk! I know we're lucky to have fairly mild weather (no monsoons or major floods etc) but you know...I'm British, I moan about the weather. It's what we do.

*my beloved cat print dress from H&M
*Mustard Topshop Cardi

Simple.

I've put on quite a bit of makeup too, featuring some new products and some old favourites.

L-R:

Face
*Mac blusher in 'Pinch Me'
*Mac mineralise skin finish powder
*Murad Skin Perfecting Primer
*Gosh eyebrow gel
*Natural Collections concealer in 'fair'
*Illuminating concealor (er, need to learn how to use this)

Eyes
Maybelline Colour Tattoo in 'On and On Bronze' (a new favourite, stored upside down to keep in the moisture!)
*Avon Supershock gel eyeliner in 'Blackberry'
*Nars eyeshadow duo in 'Isolde'

Lips
*Carmex (to soothe my dry lips)
*Rimmel lipstick in 'Vintage Pink'

This is a lot more than I usually wear, on a day that I will probably not even be leaving the house, haha. Typical!

Th real star of the show at the moment though is my Avon Supershock Gel liner. 

 

*

It is one of my staples, and even though I have lots of liner, it is the one I reach for everyday. So here's a little mini-review of my favourite eyeliner. 

Packaging

I know Avon has a bit of a bad press, being associated with older people, as an outdated make up brand etc, but they really do have some gems. This is definitely one of them. In my opinion the packaging is pretty simple and sleek, being black with silver writing with a useful tip which reveals the colour of the product. The eyeliner pencil itself is quite soft and I haven't tried sharpening it yet, but I imagine it would be a bit awkward. Or at least not as simple to sharpen as your average eyeliner penicl, which is the only hypothetical downside for me. 

Colour

It is a beautiful deep brown colour. I find that dark brown liner flatters my pale complexion and blue eyes- black can look a little too heavy/goth sometimes. I do, however, like eyeliner to be visible and 'heavy' and it definitely still gives this look as it is very pigmented. Here it is on my lower lash line:

*random aside* apparently you can tell how a person is feeling from their eyes...how I do not know. I read this information in a very scientific magazine going by the name of Cosmopolitan. Ahem. Can you tell that I am feeling frustrated from my eye?! Well I am! (damn weather and hormones. Maybe I should just exercise or something. Excuse my crazy, people).

Wear

It lasts really well. Most days I put it on before work at 6ish and it is still visible when I get home at 7ish. Granted it is not as dark as when first applied, but it still gives a good look and hangs on it there. My make up wipe testifies to this fact! 

So all in all I love this product. I have it in a lighter shade, but on a day to day basis I  prefer a darker colour on the waterline. It was really cheap too. I think I'd give this product a 9/10 (only down is the sharpening issue). 

Have you tried Avon products before? What do you think of them? 

Have a good weekend people. I think I am going to exercise off some of this undirected frustration at the gym now! (with a sneaky stop off at Superdrug on the way). xx

OOTD- Clashy clashy? Pink and Red

 So, the Topshop speckled jumper makes an appearance again. As I've probably said before, this is one of my most favourite style of jumpers- so cosy and baggy and thin- and I have one in speckled grey too. Definitely worth the £26. The red skirt is from Zara. I got it in the sale for about £12. I hardly ever wear it though, oops. Need to make more of an effort to wear more of my wardrobe, difficult when I have speckled jumpers hanging around!

I thought up this outfit when I was drifting into sleep last night, haha. That always happens. The colours may clash a bit but I quite like it.

The photos in this post are now large instead of medium, because a few people have said that they would like my photos to be bigger, so here you go! I don't usually like to post big photos simply because it makes my flaws more obvious, but I am going to do something very daring now and show you a big old picture of my face. Wearing my new favourite blusher, 'Pinch Me' by Mac. 

 So here is the blush. I had to use this VERY lightly, as it is very pigmented and looks quite obvious on my pale skin. What do you think of the effect? Too dark? I've got a bit of a thing for blushers at the moment.

Only 1 more day until the weekend! Happy Friday people.

Nars Sheer Glow

So a few weeks ago, on a whim, I visited the Nars website (damn firefox history for suggesting it every time I press the letter 'N') and purchased Nars Sheer Glow. I know people have raved about this product for a long time, but I thought I'd put my two cents worth in.

Yeah, I bought a few other things too, but we'll go there another day. A Nars collection post maybe? It's certainly building up!

I'm going to do this in a bullet point style, cos I'm in a bullet point sort of mood.

-Bottle
I'll get the negatives out of the way first. Let me make it clear that I LOVE this product so far, and think that it comes close to being my 'perfect' foundation. However, I am not as enamoured with  the bottle. The glass packaging and style is fine, I like that, it's just the top. It doesn't have a pump or squeezy but, so you just have to pour it out onto your hand (or wherever else you would like to pour it!) This means that it is very difficult getting out the right amount and I end up wasting it, which is a pain. I prefer pumps or squeezy tubes. Guess I could transfer it or buy a pump, but I'm a bit too lazy for that.

-Shade
As you can see from the photo, I went for the lightest shade, Siberia. I almost went for another shade with pink rather than yellow undertones, but I'm glad I didn't as this shade is perfect for me (as predicted by a few lovely ladies on twitter-thanks!) It is just such a beautiful shade and gives me a nice dewy finish. Before this I was using Mac's studio sculpt in NC15. I have always thought that NC15 was the best shade for me, but in reality even that comes up a bit too dark.

-Finish
Dewy and light. Medium coverage I would say, certainly on me. Compared to Mac studio sculpt it gave a much lighter coverage and less 'cakey' finish. I love studio sculpt, but it was always obvious that I was wearing foundation. It also accentuated any  dry areas, which I have in abundance no matter how much I think I have moisturised every crevice on my face! Sheer glow does not stick to these areas, though I did notice dry areas on my forehead at times. I simply wiped it off with a wipe, started again and it was fine.

With this foundation it isn't obvious that I am wearing foundation and just leaves me with a nice, bright finish. So yay for that.

-Price
At almost £30 a pop, it doesn't come cheap. I do think that it is worth it, but I will see how long it lasts before I decide to repurchase. If it lasts for a month and a half (specific I know!) I will probably repurchase. I do want to experiment a bit with foundation though, so I might try something else after. Got any recommendations?

I have been rubbish at blogging at the moment, work has been soooo busy this week (and it's only Wednesday!) But I do appreciate your comments very much and will get back to responding soon! 

Mini Topshop Haul

So, I was supposed to be on a sort of spending ban. Well, oops. I went into Topshop yesterday when I was waiting to meet some friends (I have a 'problem' where I am excessively early to any kind of meet up, where as my friends are mostly late. This sometimes leads to shoppping).

I ended up buying the pink version of my grey speckled jumper, which I have worn in many a blog post, and indeed in real life. I went over to the petite section and picked up what I thought was a size 10 (I like them oversized) but, duh, I was looking at a label on a different jumper (they were jumbled!) and I actually picked up a size 6. It fits pretty well and is still oversized, so I'm pretty happy with it :) I know I will get a lot of use out of it too, unlike many other items in my wardrobe, poor things, longing for the day when they will see the sunlight.

Here it is on. There aren't many good photos because I'm having an ugly day!

I also got two lip products: firstly a lip pencil thingy in coy.

Now, I think people raved about this product a while ago (so I'm late for some things, hah). Here's what I think:

Packaging
I am a big fan of all Topshop makeup packaging. I know some thinks it gets too dirty or is too plain, but I think it's perfectly simple and girly and it doesn't get any more dirty than my Nars or Mac packaging. I also like the fact that it is a pencil style lipstick, which means it is easy to apply for people with quite thin lips like myself.

Shade
Now, hmm. I liked the shade on my hand in the shop. I still like the shade on my hand. I'm not quite sure I like it on my lips though. Hmm. It's a peachy coraly colour, which I love, but I'm not sure it suits my pale skin. That isn't what irks me most though, it's the formula. It's very matte and so drying and will show up any imperfections/loose skin on the lips. Make sure you exfoliate and moisturise the lips first if you have dry lips too!

Overall I will definitely wear it over the summer, just need to make sure my lips are in tip top treatmemt before I do!

The second lip product was a lip stain (or lip marker as Topshop call them) in Berry. I think lip stains are my favourite lip products of all, and definitely those I reach for on a day to day basis. They hide dry lips (or moisturise them?) and last a whole lot longer than lipsticks do, which great on work days where I don't have the time to reapply.

I am in love with this colour. It's a deep red raspberry colour, which looks gorgeous on (I will definitely be wearing it in other blog posts! Sorry for the lack of photo here). It just makes me feel confident and sexy (ish) which a good lipstick should do! The formula is nice and silkly and it lasts for a good 4/5 hours on me.

The final make up product I got was one of their cream blushes in Flush. I seem to be on a bit of a blush binge at the moment. This shade is actually a lot pinker than it appears in the photo. I tried a few on my hand and liked this one best, but I confess, I have yet to try it out (I only bought it yesterday!) I also like the little instruction on the back of the blush 'dot on cheeks and blend'. Trying to reach out to people who'd be completely at a loss as to what to do with cream blush?

This is how it looks on my hand...can you see it? I feel that my camera (or, er, my photography skills) never manage to capture blush properly.

Have you tried any Topshop blushes? Would be interested to hear what you think, maybe I will even expand my collection ;) 

Anyway, this is a long ass post. Byesy bye for now. I'm off for a run, then must work I guess...
Hope you're all enjoying the weekend.

Good luck to those who are running the marathon! I'll be watching I'm sure

What's in my swimming bag...

I have lots of producs to review (have been shopping..whoop, so expect a few mini hauls too) but first I am going to go for a swim. I've been meaning to exercise during the week, but after an ok exercise class on Monday, called 'Bums, Tums and Thighs' (get embarrassed having to say the name of the class when I sign in because I'm such a prude, it appears, ha) I haven't really had the energy to after work. Boo. How do you do it?!

Anyway, thought I would do a little 'what's in my swimming bag' post. Well, swimming wash bag anyway.

 L to R:

-Simple moisturising lotion (don't know about you, but after swimming, the skin on my face is painfully tight, feels like I'm wearing a mask!)

-Bio Oil- Good stuff, really moisturising for my dry skin

-Hair/Body nectar (Glossybox)

-Gentle Face Wash (GB also)

-Vaseline active fresh roll on

I have found that Glossybox products are really useful for taking to the gym/swim, especially those I wouldn't really use at home otherwise e.g. the hair/body nectar. However, when I tried this out on my hair after swimming last week, I was really surprised; it lathered up really well in the (measly sprinkle of a) shower, and left my hair feeling silky smooth. Even my bf commented on it. So well done Glossybox! GB wash products are usually pretty small, so the perfect size for wash bags. So if there are any Glossybox products that you are less keen to try/can't compete with the other products in your bathroom, try using them in your exercise wash bag. 


Now, I just hope the pool isn't too busy. I get terrible swim rage when people get in my way/I get in the way of other people. Human traffic!

*Old photos* (and swimming cossie has died). Want to be a bit closer to this for summer!

Have a great weekend people xx

Loreal Colour Appeal- Metal Plum

When I was in Superdrug the other day, I was of course drawn in by the 3 for 2 offers (keep typing 3 for 3 by accident, great offer that would be!)

I initally intended to just pick up the Loreal Caresse in Lilac (I got the last one luckily...more on that another day) but I decided to go with the 'offer' and purchase a few eyeshadows too. I have a few of the colour infallible range, which I adore and was going to get a few more, but I was tempted by the beautiful metallic colours calling from Loreal's other eyeshadow range, Colour Appeal.

The colour that caught my eye was Metal Plum 

It's a beautiful...well, metallic plum colour as the name suggests. It has undertones of brown and is shimmery, which you can sort of see in this photo. It is also extremely pigmented, so you don't need much to get a good coverage.

I haven't heard much about these before, maybe because they are really old...or just not new. Either way, I'm impressed and definitley want to try out more of this range.

In other news, my Nars package arrived and I am uber excited about it-yay :) I swatched Nars Sheer Glow (Siberia) on my hand and it seems the perfect shade/consistency. I'll be blogging about it when I have properly tested it out.

Also, I'm going to see Titanic in 3D (which I keep stupidly calling Titanic 2!) tomorrow. Cannot wait :) 

Have you tried Loreal Colour Appeal before? If so, what do you think of it?

Brownie lips-MUA and Natural Collections

A while ago I fell in love with the Natural Collections lipstick in shade 'Fig Leaf'. To me, it looked like the perfect nudey brown colour with a hint of pink. However, I couldn't find it in the shops near me for a while, then the other day when I went in, there it was (in a 3 for 2 offer!) so I bought it.

However, and it pains me to say this, I wasn't so sure when I tried it on my lips at home.

 I don't know...it's ok. Quite neutral, not offensive, just not how I remembered it. Instead of letting it go to waste, I thought I'd mix things up a bit and mix it with my MUA lip gloss, which is a pretty similar colour.I never usually mix my colours, (though I need to start!) so this was a bit of an experiment I have to say, I think I'm quite happy with the results...not my usual look/colour, but not bad!

Looking at these photos, I think I like it both ways now! The lipstick by itself isn't as bad as I thought. Useful post here!

These items were really cheap- the MUA gloss (shade 3 by the way) was £1 and the Natural Collections lippy was £1.99.

The only negative thing I have to say about the lip gloss is that it tastes DISGUSTING. Obviously I don't eat it, but I can taste what's on my lips! It tastes synthetic and...I can't describe it, just gross. You get used to it though, so it's ok after a while, haha.

Do you often mix your lip shades? What's your favourite combination?