March Favourites

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re all enjoying the weekend and the warmer weather! All this sunshine has put me in a really summery mood and I’ve become one of those Brits that throws on a pair of shorts and flip flops at the first sign of a bit of sun!

Today’s post is about a few new products that I have been enjoying using recently. As you can see from the pic I have a bit of a thing for MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes at the moment and I’ve pretty much tripled the size of my collection in a month! The next one I have my eye on is Lightscapade and I’d be really interested to hear your thoughts if you’ve tried it.

Debenhams have been doing a 10% discount offer lately on their website so I used the opportunity to buy a few bits (as you do!) and picked up the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle, which I’ve had my eye on for a while. This is a beautiful ‘gilded peach bronze’ colour according to MAC and has a good amount of shimmer to it without being overpowering. I have been using this product more sparingly during the day to avoid looking too ‘sparkly’ at work, but can’t wait to try it for a night out!

I also managed to pick up Mineralize Skinfinish in the shade ‘Stereo Rose’ from the MAC website as part of their limited edition Fantasy of Flowers collection. I had read about this first on Lily Pebbles’ blog and having seen a few photos I knew that I had to try it for myself. This has become my go-to blusher of late as it is a perfect rosy-pink colour with just a hint of shimmer. It is buildable and just generally very pretty!

I also bought the Extra Dimension Skinfinish in ‘Fairly Precious’ which is more sparkly than the other two I would say and perfect for creating a fresh, dewy look. I love the light pink colour of this and would also wear it as an eyeshadow, although I would say that it is slightly less versatile than Soft and Gentle as the pink tone can’t be used all over.

Also on my favourites list is a MAC lipstick in the shade Hue. I picked this up in a blog sale a few weeks ago (I think I mentioned this on my blog already) and I’ve basically worn it nearly every day since. It is the easiest colour to wear- a lovely pinky nude that is not too pink nor too brown for my skin tone, and the formula is lovely and creamy and seems to last quite well despite being a ‘glaze’ rather than my usual favourite ‘cremesheen’.

A friend of mine at Revlon recently gave me a little goody bag and in it was this fab brow pencil and gel called ‘brow fantasy’. Unfortunately it is a little light for my natural colouring (I was given the shade Dark Blonde) so I have to use a touch of powder as well to darken my brows up, but I love the idea of this product and the gel works really well to tame any unruly hairs!

For contouring I really love this bronzer by theBalm in Bahama Mama. I read sooo many good reviews of this before purchasing and I can’t disagree with any of them- the colour looks scary in the pan but is more grey-toned than a lot of bronzers so leaves a natural shadow appearance when contouring rather than an orange stripe down your face! A light hand is all that’s needed with this but I really like it and the packing is really cute too.

Finally I picked up this bargain highlighter by Along Came Betty in Tesco for £2 and I really like it! I apply it under or over foundation depending on how strong I want the highlight to be, and it works really well. The colour is a subtle champagne gold (not dissimilar to Benefit’s Watts Up!) and if you wanted to give a stick highlighter a try without spending a fortune then I would definitely recommend it.

That’s it for my favourites this month- as you can see it has been quite highlight-heavy! I’d love to hear what you’ve been loving recently so feel free to leave me a comment below.

Rosie x

500 Follower Giveaway!!

Hi Everyone,

Today I'm delighted to announce that I am doing another giveaway! This one is to celebrate reaching 500 followers, which is truly an amazing milestone in my eyes. I am so grateful for every reader and every comment on my blog and so this is just my little way of saying 'thank you'!

The prize is a MAC lipstick of your choice, so long as it is from the permanent collection. I know that this is not the most imaginative prize going but I have seen it on other blogs in the past and I just think you can't go wrong with a good lippy! All I ask is that you make sure that you are following my blog on Bloglovin and that you leave me a comment below to let me know what shade of lipstick you would like. Good luck everyone! Now onto the boring stuff...

Rules:

• This is a UK only giveaway I'm afraid. I apologise to any international readers that may be disappointed, I would love to do an international giveaway soon.
• I will check all entries so please make sure that you follow my blog and leave me a comment!
• I will post the winner on my blog and on Twitter, and will basically try my best to contact you in any way I can! If I don't hear anything back within 3 days then I will select an alternative winner.
• The giveaway is via Rafflecopter and winners are chosen entirely at random.
• The prize is bought with my own money and I will post it to you via First Class. I will get proof of postage but cannot be held responsible for items getting lost.
• The giveaway will close on 7th March 2014.

Thank you to everyone who enters, you have all been so encouraging since I started blogging and I hope you enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy writing them!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note the image used is not my own.

Rosie x

FOTD - Bronze Smokey Eye

Hi Everyone,

Today's FOTD post features one of my favourite looks- the bronze smokey eye. I must admit that I am not the most adventurous with my eye make-up on a day to day basis but I am getting better after following some absolutely amazing MUAs on Instagram. This one is pretty quick and easy and is just about subtle enough for everyday wear, although I did use false eyelashes today which definitely is not something I have time for every day!

Prep:

Ultima II Procollagen Extrema Day Lotion (I love this moisturiser and it is sparkly too!)

Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer

Face:

MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NW20

Benefit Erase Paste in Medium

Clinique Even Better Concealer in Chamois

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium

Brows:

GOSH Eye Brow Kit (colours light and medium)

Cheeks:

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer (to contour)

Estee Lauder Ideal Light Brush-On Illuminator in Light (to highlight)

M&S Limited Collection Highlighter Drum

MAC Powder Blush in Melba

Eyes:

No.7 Stay Perfect Amazing Eyes Pencil in Black

Estee Lauder Doublewear Stay-in-Place Gel Eyeliner in Stay Onyx

Eylure Naturalites Natural Volume False Lashes

From the Urban Decay NAKED palette: 

-Shade 'Naked' on lid

-Shade 'Virgin' on browbone

-Shade 'Creep' along lower lash line

-Shades 'Darkhorse' and 'Smog' along upper lash line

-Shade 'Half Baked' on lid

Estee Lauder Doublewear Zero Smudge Lengthening Mascara in Black

Lips:

YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in Nude Beige

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis a Levres in No.19

Phew, that was a lot of products! I hope you enjoyed my face of the day and I'd love to know what your favourite make-up looks are.. Maybe I'll try them next time!

Rosie x

Valentine's Look!

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, we have been right in the midst of all the recent flooding and spent most of the week staying in a hotel!

Today I thought I'd share my (slightly belated) Valentine's look. I really wanted to stick to natural-looking, glowy make-up this Valentine's Day as we spent it at home enjoying a home cooked meal (yum!). For the base I used MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NW20 which I mixed with a little MAC Strobe Cream to give a slight glow. I used my normal concealers (Benefit Erase Paste in Medium and Clinique Even Better Concealer in Chamois) and dabbed a bit of Estee Lauder Ideal Light Brush-on Illuminator across my under-eye area and down my nose.

For my brows I used a MAC eyeshadow in Brun. I set the look using MAC Skinfinish Natural powder in Medium, before doing a slight contour using my Chocolate Soleil bronzer by Too Faced. I added some subtle sparkle to my cheeks using M&S's Limited Collection Highlighter, and used a small amount of Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in shade 02 on my cheeks to add a light flush.

Now, onto the eyes! The eyeshadows I used were all from the Urban Decay NAKED or NAKED 3 palettes. For the base I used the shade 'Virgin', and then dabbed the shade 'Half Baked' all over my lid (both from the NAKED palette). Under my eyes and in the outer corners I used 'Darkside' from the NAKED 3 palette, and in my crease I blended in 'Smog' from NAKED. I lined my waterline with a white liner from Revlon, and in the outer corners used my No7 Stay Perfect Shade and Define in Gunmetal Grey. Finally, I finished the look with a bit of Benefit They're Real! mascara and a slick of MAC lipstick in Hue (recently purchased in a blog sale for a bargainous £6!).

That's it folks! I hope you like my Valentine's look and please send me your links if you have done your own!

Rosie x

What I Got for Christmas...

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all having a wonderful start to 2014! Christmas seems to be well and truly over now; the tree is down, selection boxes have been eaten and my Christmas playlist has been abandoned. I really enjoyed Christmas in 2013 and was lucky enough to receive some lovely presents, a few of which I thought I'd share with you in today's post. I'm doing this purely because I've read quite a few of these posts and found them really sweet and interesting, and so I hope you enjoy reading mine!

Handbag: I was truly spoilt by my boy this time around, and he bought me this AMAZING bag from Michael Kors. If any of you have read some of my previous Lust List posts then you will know that I am partial to a designer handbag, and Michael Kors is one of my all-time favourite brands. This bag is so buttery soft and has both a long and a short strap which makes it easy to carry around. I am so in love with it that I'm a bit scared to use it in case I get it dirty! It is absolutely beautiful and the colour is perfect for everyday- I was seriously impressed with his choice!

DKNY Makeup Bag: This bag is perfectly handbag-sized and will definitely come in handy. I always seem to be short of makeup bags so this was a really useful present for me and I love the cute DKNY pattern. 

Makeup Brush Set: This 11 piece brush set is from Fakeface and the brushes are lovely and soft. I love the angled blush brush and the precision eyeshadow brushes, plus they come in this really handy zip case. They are not quite on a par with my beloved Real Techniques brushes but who doesn't love a new set of makeup brushes, plus I love the packaging!

Makeup: I was given a lovely Estee Lauder set which includes a gel eyeliner, mascara and eyeshadow trio. I love Estee Lauder makeup and the packaging always feels very luxurious. I have only tried the eyeliner so far but it glides on so smoothly and really lasts all day so I'm very pleased with it. I also received some vouchers for Christmas so bought a few other bits and pieces including Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation, MAC eyeshadow in Brun, Clinique concealer in Chamois and YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick in Nude Beige. These were all treat puchases, especially the lipstick as I've had my eye on it for ages! I am really happy with everything I bought and I'm sure I will be reviewing these products soon.

Watch: This wasn't actually a Christmas present but I treated myself to this gorgeous Michael Kors watch in the January sales (yes, I'm obsessed I know!). I'd wanted one for a really long time and this one was just so beautiful that I couldn't resist. I love it so far and have been wearing it every day- it is such a statement piece but seems to go with everything and comes in this swanky Michael Kors box, yay!

There are a couple of other bits and pieces but as this is already quite a long post I won't bore you with them. All in all I was a very lucky lady and I cannot wait to test drive some of my new products! I am also one of the unfortunate January-birthday-people (the most depressing month to have a birthday ever), so hopefully I might have some new and shiny bits and pieces to show you after the 11th!

What did you all get for Christmas? If you've done a post on this I'd love to read it (and perhaps you can give me some birthday present inspiration!).

Rosie x

Face Of The Day

Hello lovelies!

Today I am doing a quick Face of The Day post to showcase some of the fab new products that I have picked up recently. I have always been a fan of the full coverage foundation, but in this look I am trying something a bit different and using a BB cream instead. I did not expect to like this look as much as I do, but the BB cream I used gives a lovely illuminating glow and is perfect for everyday. I hope you enjoy!

Face:

Revlon Photoready Skinlights Face Illuminator in Pink Light (under BB Cream)

Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer in 001

Revlon Photoready BB Cream Skin Perfector in 020 Light Medium (applied with fingers, not a brush)

Clinique Even Better Concealer in Chamois (used as highlighter on nose, cheekbones, chin and forehead)

MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural in Medium

Brows:

MAC Eyeshadow in Brun, applied with Bare Minerals Brow Brush

Cheeks:

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer to contour

No.7 Instant Radiance Highlighter to accentuate the highlighted areas

MAC Blush in Melba

Eyes:

No.7 Stay Perfect Amazing Eyes Pencil in Black (on upper and lower waterline and smudged slightly under eyes)

Benefit They're Real! Mascara

Lips:

Natural Collection Lip Lines (this is an old one and I can't find the shade I'm afraid!)

Korres Lip Butter in Jasmine

Overall I love this dewy, fresh faced look and it was so easy to create that I will definitely be doing it again! The Photoready range from Revlon is a firm favourite of mine at the moment and looks so flawless in photographs- I am planning a post on my favourite products from the range which will hopefully be available soon.

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone and of course feel free to leave me a comment!

Rosie x

This Month's Empties

Hi Everyone,

Firstly I need to apologise as I have been a very bad blogger this week. I have been so busy with work that I just couldn't bring myself to organise a new blog post, so I'm sorry for the radio silence since last weekend. On another note, I've now reached 250 followers which I'm absolutely over the moon about! Hello and thank you to all of my followers (new and old)- I promise to try and post more regularly from now on!

Today's post is one of those 'empties' post where I let you know the products that I love sooo much that I've used every last drop/squeeze/spray. I seem to have finished everything around the same time this month which is strange but also a bit annoying for my wallet! The products in this post are a few of my absolute faves that I will definitely be repurchasing.

The first product is the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Penetrating Oil for hair. Firstly, to state the obvious; the one in this photo is clearly not empty. I did finish this product but must have thrown the packaging away as I can't find it anywhere, and this has become such an essential to my hair routine that I repurchased immediately. I have had to put the newer one in this photo, but let's just pretend that it's empty! This oil is very thick and more serum-like than many Moroccan/Argan Oil products that I've tried, and I love to slather it onto the ends of my wet hair for a lovely soft, glossy feel. It is quite reasonably priced at £6.99 and a little goes a long way. As someone that regularly suffers from dry, split ends from endless hair colouring this product has done a lot to make my hair a lot smoother, glossier and more healthy-looking.

My second empty is the Garnier 2-in-1 Make-Up Remover Purifying Gel. I have mentioned this product before and it is a favourite of mine for effectively removing make-up in one simple step. It is essentially a face wash that is able to remove even stubborn waterproof mascara, and I love using this product when I'm feeling lazy as it feels like I have removed my make-up without spending too much time on it. I usually follow with either Bioderma Micellar Solution or Clearasil Rapid Action Pads to make sure my skin is squeaky clean.

I also finished my Witch Anti-Blemish Skin Clearing Primer this month. This had become such a make-up staple for me since I first discovered it a few months ago as it contains ingredients to prevent spots whilst still keeping make-up in place all day. In its place I have been using the Roche Posay Effaclar Duo which I find also works well as a base under make-up, but I will definitely be re-purchasing Witch's very reasonably priced primer.

The V05 Smoothly Does It Tame & Shine Spray has been a favourite of mine for a while. It is my secret weapon when blow-drying as I find it leaves my hair super shiny and soft with minimal frizz. I usually spray this on dry hair just before straightening, and it even contains ingredients to protect hair against high temperatures from hair straighteners. I would be lost without this product (not to mention frizzy!) so I will be repurchasing very soon.

Clarins' Eau des Jardins perfume is my all time favourite scent and the one that I tend to use for everyday. It has a very fruity, floral scent, which sort of reminds me of grapefruit, and I have yet to find a scent which tops it. I have used this one down to the very last drop, but I already have a new one on the go which lives in my handbag for emergency spritzes.

MAC's Strobe Cream is a product that I have had for AGES- so long that I think they've actually changed the packaging now- and I've finally finished it. I really loved this product at first but then seemed to forget about it and it lived, unloved, in a drawer somewhere. I rediscovered it again recently and have been getting a lot of use out of it again. I like to use this product under foundation as a subtle highlighter, or mixed into blushes to give a subtle glow. Now that I have finished it I am going to try a new highlighter for comparison purposes, but I am sure I will be repurchasing this again at some point.

Finally, the lipstick that I am obsessed with- Topshop's Lip Crayon in Wave Goodbye. I won't go on about this too much as you can read my rave reviews of this in previous posts, but I would give this lipstick the rare label of My Favourite Lipstick Ever. I can't remember ever using a lipstick right down to the very bottom before, but I have already bought two more of these to see me through the winter. This lipstick is a pinky nude shade and very glossy. The packaging is a little messy but I'm willing to overlook that because I just love this product so much! It is back on the shelves after a brief spell of being unavailable, so I would recommend giving it a go if you haven't already.

Phew, this ended up being quite a long post! I hope you enjoyed reading about my September empties and as always please feel free to leave me a comment below on any of the products mentioned or with any recommendations for me!

Rosie x

If I had £100...

Hi Everyone,

I know that £100 to spend on makeup may not even seem like much of an extravagance for some, but I have been saving solidly towards my upcoming holiday to Australia over the past few months and £100 seems like quite a luxury to me! With that in mind, I have decided to do a post of what makeup products I would buy IF I had 100 quid going spare. This was quite a tough task actually- £100 won't necessarily get you as much as you think it will, and a couple of these are treats that I have had on my lust list for quite a while!

1) MAC Eyeshadow in Cranberry (£12.50, so £87.50 left!)

I have been wanting a pink toned eyeshadow for ages and I absolutely love the colour of this one. I first saw this on Milly's blog at Pearls and Poodles and it just looks so amazing on her, so this would definitely be one of my first purchases!

2) Mineralize Skinfinish Powder in Adored (£22.00 - still £65.50 to spend)

Another MAC product, I have seen these Skinfinishes on SO many different blogs now and they always look so gorgeous. I really want to try the Adored shade, which is described as 'Coral with light pearl beige'. These products seem to work really well as either a blush or a highlighter so I feel that they are worth the slightly high price tag for their multi-tasking abilities!

3) Zuri Skin Chapter Nine Skin Renew Night Serum (£2.99 on Fragrance Direct, leaving me with £62.51)



To make sure that I got my money's worth I'd also need to stock up on a few less expensive products, and I have had my eye on this serum for a while. I have never tried any Zuri products before but I really love the packaging, and the product itself is described as a 'Concentrated brightening serum'. It is supposed to even skin tone and encourage uniform skin pigmentation, both of which I could really do with, and the fact that it is only £2.99 is definitely a plus.

4) Urban Decay Naked Flushed Palette (£20.00, still £42.51 to go!)

I'd love to try this palette, especially after I was left so unimpressed by the Revlon Sculpting Palette (review here). I am so keen to find a blush, highlighter and bronzing palette that I really like as I think it would be a fantastic handbag staple and I have high hopes of this being the one that ticks all the boxes for me. I love Urban Decay products and think the packaging is so beautiful in its simplicity! One thing I really like about this product in particular is that they seem to have got the proportions just right and made the bronzer much bigger than the blush or the highlighter. I really want to try the Benefit Watts Up! highlighter as well but didn't want to put ANOTHER highlighting product on my £100 wishlist as 3 seems a little excessive!

5) Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (£34.50- only £8.01 left!)

I would need to have at least ONE extravagant purchase on my list, and I think this would have to be it. I have heard such good things about this foundation and the swatches I've seen just look absolutely beautiful on the skin- this is a definite wish list fave for me. I am a bit of a foundation obsessive anyway and I'm constantly on the look out for the next product that is going to change my life forever! This product feels quite luxurious and I've heard that it is a bit of a celebrity favourite as well, which makes it well worth £34.50 in my book!

6) Topshop Sheer Lipstick in Swirl (£8.00 exactly, leaving me with just 1p change from my £100 budget)

I love a lipbalm and I love a lipbalm even more when it has a splash of colour! My final £8 would be spent on one of Topshop's newest makeup offerings- this gorgeous, coral coloured, sheer, balmy lipstick. The colour of these is quite subtle which suits me perfectly for daily use. I like the sleek, silver packaging and I have yet to find a topshop lipstick that I don't like, so all in all I think that this would be a great final purchase without blowing my £100 budget!

So, there you have it- if I was given £100 tomorrow these are the products I would be nipping out to buy. If you fancy doing the same challenge then by all means feel free, just be sure to let me know so I can have a look on your blogs!

Rosie x

Please note these are not my images I'm afraid!



Lipstick Lovin'

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all had a splendid weekend- I know I did! On Saturday I treated myself to a cheeky manicure in the morning before having loads of friends over in the afternoon for a bit of a BBQ. The weather was a bit hit and miss but my lovely boyfriend put a gazebo up in our back garden to make sure it didn't rain on our parade. We had LOADS of food and it was really good to catch up with all of our nearest and dearest.

I just wanted to put a quick post in to tell you about my new MAC lipstick in Creme Cup. I mentioned in my blog last week that I bought this when I was out with my friend and I am in love with it already! I know it is not exactly a new shade, but for anyone that is looking for a nice, natural pink lip then this is fast becoming one of my favourites.

I am a bit lipstick-obsessed at the minute, and here is why. Last year I discovered one of my favourite lipstick shades OF ALL TIME- the Topshop Lip Crayon in colour Wave Goodbye. Sadly, Topshop are no longer producing this gorgeous shade and my original purchase is now very much on it's last legs....

RIP to Wave Goodbye... Boo hoo!

See what I mean?! I am completed heartbroken as it was such a gorgeous, natural pinky shade with a really nice, glossy finish. So now with what's left of my lovely Wave Goodbye lip crayon I am trying to find a suitable matching alternative.

So, Creme Cup came along. This is one of MAC's 'Cremesheen' lipsticks so is nice and glossy which I think I prefer in a lipstick rather than being overly matte. The colour is quite similar to my beloved Wave Goodbye, although I would say it is a slightly paler shade of pink- definitely more of a nude shade ('your lips but better!' kind of colour, as people say). I have been wearing it a lot over the past few days and I really do love it as an everyday lipstick, and I find that the creamy finish leaves my lips feeling really nice and soft. I have also had numerous compliments at work about it! Although I love it in its own right I'm afraid it hasn't quite lived up to my favourite Wave Goodbye crayon however, so as Roy Walker would say, 'It's good, but it's not the one...'.

MAC lipstick in Creme Cup

Ho hum, my quest to find the perfect replacement for Wave Goodbye continues, and I would love to hear your suggestions! I would definitely recommend Creme Cup and its already becoming a make-up bag regular for me, although unfortunately it just hasn't quite hit the mark to become my go-to perfect lipstick.

Also well worth a mention is another of my favourite shades at the moment- the Too Faced La Creme lipstick in 'Naked Dolly'. These lipsticks do not come cheap at £16 a pop, but Naked Dolly is well and truly one of my favourite nude lip shades for everyday, and the creamy texture makes it a real treat to wear!

Right, that's all from me today, but I would love to hear about your favourite natural lip colours and whether you have any suggestions of a good alternative to Wave Goodbye?! Have you tried any of the Too Faced lipsticks??

Rosie x