REFLECTION: 2013

Hello all! I hope you will all bringing in the New Year in the way you want tonight. We're just having a chilled night in.

At the start of the year, I posted THIS blog talking about New Years Resolutions and things I wanted to do this year. I'm not usually one for the whole Resolutions thing but there was a few things I wanted to do so I did it.
My main two things for this year where to become a blood donor and join the bone marrow donor list. I went for my first blood donation at the start of January but as I had been unwell, I wasn't allowed to donate so I went back in March and successfully gave my first pint. I was buzzing! It was nowhere near as bad as expecting and I felt great afterwards. I went to do my 2nd donation a few months later and afterwards I was a bit ill and the same thing happened the 3rd time and unfortunately I've been told I can't give blood anymore, or at least for a few years. BUT, I managed to give as many pints of blood this year as a female can and I did join the bone marrow donor list so I have done some good and I'm proud that I managed to do it.

The other main thing I wanted to do this year was to basically sort my life out. I wanted to get myself a more stable job and at the end of May I left behind the world of retail after 4 and a half years and got myself a full time office job. I do a lot of admin, marketing and sales work now and it still feels a bit weird not being in a shop (especially at Christmas! I've never had time off at Christmas!) and I miss the girls I used to work with so much but I am enjoying my new job. Before, my hours would fluctuate so much and some weeks I would be doing nearly 40 hours and some I'd only do 20 but now I have a solid work schedule that doesn't change and it's helping me get a more settled routine.

The other two resolutions mentioned on the post were to try be healthier and stress less... I think we all knew they were unachievable pipe dreams! I did try eat healthy for a good month but now that I am in the office, I'm not surround by fast food shops and I only work round the corner from home so I go home to eat so I guess I have become a teeeeeeny bit healthier. As for stress, that is something that is apparently never leaving my life. The joys of being an adult.
One thing I did want to do that I didn't have on that post was to drive on the motorway. I've been driving 2 and a half years and still haven't done it. I don't know why but now I'm probably too scared to do it but 2014, I will do it!

So, what will 2014 see for me?

Other than driving on the motorway, I'm going to start doing some serious saving so that maybe this time next year I'll be in a position to move out of my parents house and fend for myself. I'm very much at that stage where I know I want to move out but I don't have the funds to allow me to do it.
Then there's Laddered Tights. I know that I've not been the world's greatest blogger and I have neglected this site a little, especially in the last few months, but I'm going to make a conscious effort with it next year. I said how I've got more in to a settled routine now with work so I'm going to plan more and hopefully get a decent schedule going because when I do post things on here, I do get really into it and I really enjoy it but finding time and not wanting to be as "samey" as everyone else has proved difficult this year. But I do hope you'll bear with me and stick around!

I have quite a busy January coming up (which is definitely not norm!) so it may take a while for this "schedule" to action. I've a few shows/gigs booked and I'm also heading to Russia for a week on the 19th! (I know, I know. I am mental. I am aware of this.)

I really wish you all the best for 2014. Thanks for leaving such kind comments this year.

And if you missed it, I posted a 2013 Favourites the other day. Click HERE to read that. And remember to hit the follow on Bloglovin' button in the right hand sidebar, or leave your email to subscribe to my posts.

xxxx

2013 FAVOURITES

I mentioned in the previous post how I wouldn't be posting Monthly Favourites anymore, more just little reviews of new products I've been using, but I thought a nice way to round off the year would be to share my best of the best across the board.

First up, beauty!

Clarins Cleansing Milk | Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash | The Body Shop Tea Tree Toner | Bourjois 1 Second Nail Varnish Remover | MAC Mineralised Skin Finish Natural | Rimmel Nail Rescue | Benefit Pore-fessional

NEW IN: REVIEWS #1

I didn't do a Favourites post in November and I don't have one planned for December. And the last few I did weren't that great, to be honest. It's mainly that I've just not been trying new products lately and the ones that I have bought haven't blown me away.
I have bought a few new bits over the last couple of months however that I haven't mentioned on here so far so I've decided that every so often I'll do Mini Reviews to show you new things I've been using and my thoughts on them.

So for the first installment...

#TBSXMASBONANZA MEET UP

Last week the lovely Rachelle organised a little Christmas Blogger event at The Body Shop in Preston. We got an exclusive 40% discount off anything we bought, signed up for a Loyalty Card for free and we could choose our own samples. As well as munching on yummy cupcakes, drinking mulled punch and having a good old natter with some lovely bloggers. It was so nice to see a load of the #nwbloggers and meet some new people too.
And I certainly didn't hold back when it came to throwing new products in my basket!

Just going to apologise now for shoddy iPhone photos. I'm such a fail when it comes to remembering I own a camera and actually using it.

HAIRSPIRATION: BRAIDS

Over the last two years I have stopped attacking my hair with straighteners (bar my fringe), I haven't used a hair dryer or dyed my hair and now my hair is in such a better condition and has finally got to a length that I want it.

I've recently found myself constantly putting little braids in my hair. Sometimes purposely. Other times, through boredom and I don't even realise I'm doing it. I've also cracked the fishtail plait! But as my hair is still in the process of growing out layers, they don't always look that great.

So yeah, I've found myself getting a little braid obsessed and so here is a bit of "hairspiration" for you for some cute and simple hairstyles.

OOTD: MORE FLUFFY THINGS

Smock dress; Topshop | Cardigan; New Look | Nails; "Punk Rock" Kate Moss x Rimmel

I have wanted one of the fluffy cardigans that are doing the rounds for a while now and this morning when I went to get dressed I realised I don't own a black cardigan..! How did that happen? I popped in to New Look when I nipped into town and saw this. It's incredibly similar to the Primark ones that are like a tenner but there's no Primark in town and I just instantly fell in love with how soft and cosy this is so I skipped over to the till with it and I don't think I'll be taking it off for a while.

I probably should have took photos minus the cardigan so you could see the dress but I am a total fail. I'm really into smock dresses at the moment and I was in the Trafford Centre on Wednesday night and spied this one on a mannequin. I found it on the rails and didn't even think twice about it. Complete impulse buy but I love it. It's quite thick jersey material and really over-sized so works perfectly for the time of year and team with the cardigan. Here's the link to it to see it better.

And on my face today...

Benefit Pore-fessional Primer

No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation "Calico"

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer "Ivory"

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer "Fair"

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder "Transparent"

Benefit Browzings "Dark"

ELF Eyelid Primer

MUA Undress Me Too Palette "Naked" & "Lavish"

Rimmel Glam Eyes Eyeliner

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

NYX Blush "Taupe"

Sleek Blush By 3 'Sweet Cheeks' Palette "Dolly Mix"

MAC "Rebel" Lipstick

REVIEW: QUINODERM ANTIBACTERIAL FACEWASH

I mentioned in my October favourites about my discovery of the Quinoderm cream that had come to save the day in terms of fighting my spots.

The face wash* is designed to be a soap replacement which, through lots of scientific stuff (see here), gets rid of excess grease and oil as well as combating the acne. I've been using this for a few weeks now. The first time I used it my skin felt quite dry, just as when I first used the cream, but I kept with it using it morning and night and my skin really feels so clean afterwards.
It's a bit stranger that it doesn't lather up at all, which is due to how it's designed to work, but it has calmed down the areas I get spots and my skin also doesn't seem as red.

You can get Quinoderm products just over the counter at the pharmacy and they are so cheap! If you're really struggling with finding products to help your skin, definitely give these a go.


*Quinoderm kindly sent me this facewash to review but all opinions are my own.

BATTLE OF THE EYE LINER

If you've read my blog for some time you will know how much I am on the constant search for THE eyeliner. I want the most perfect liquid liner and I've have used so many brands and types and I'm always left deflated and unimpressed.
For me, I don't feel like me without a black stroke on my lash line. I mean, I don't exactly make this battle easy for myself with my criteria; I want it solid black with one stroke, I want it to last all day, I don't want it transferring up my brow bone, a good applicator making easy use and the ability to create a decent wing. So yeah, not picky really...

I've been planning this post for about 2 or so months after I was having a tidy and realised just how many liners I owned. So, I've been re-trying and testing them all to see if maybe I do already own the perfect liner...

I will start with the absolute worst ones that I own. First of all the complete worst of the worst... The Dainty Doll Mascara/Eyeliner duo. I got this off Fragrance Direct for about £2 and I am so glad I only paid that and not the original retail price of the brand. The mascara is okay, nothing dramatic but I didn't buy it for that. The liner wand/brush is brilliant. It is just what I want but the actual liquid is not very pigmented and it seemed a bit watery. It definitely didn't last all day either. So very impressed.
On to Boujois' Effacable Erasable 16 Hour Liner. I bought this a few months back as I really like one of their other liners (see further down..!) however this one was so disappointing. I think it was one of the new releases from this year but I found the consistency really gloopy and that seemed to make it take ages to dry resulting in me getting eyeliner all over my eyelid and brown bone. Not ideal. It was way too gloopy to create a wing too. The eraser that is on the other end is rubbish too! You have to press really hard and that's not a great feature for the eyes.

I forgot to include the L'oreal Blockbuster pen in these photos but my opinion on it is similar to these too. Felt tip liners are just something I cannot get used to and everyone else seems to love them. I really don't think they make things easy and I don't find them to be very pigmented at all. The Soap & Glory Supercat liner has been so raved about but I can't get used to it. It takes so long to get a good solid black line and it doesn't seem to last all that long.
The Be A Bombshell pen is definitely the best of the felt tip liners I've used. It is relatively pigmented and did last a decent amount of time but the wing/flick ability isn't all that great.
I imagine felt tip liners aren't going to be that good for those with oily eyelids either.

I've put Sleek's Dip-It and Revlon's ColorStay together as they have very similar applicators and I really like them. The actual applicator is quite short and ~sharp which I believe makes it so much easier to get a straight line and a good wing. I've only had the Revlon one for a couple of weeks but I've been reaching for it most days and I prefer the formula to Sleek's but they are incredibly similar and I would recommend them however, there's just something that means it's not THE one.
(Told you I'm fussy...)

On to the home straight and still not entirely sure if I like any of them to commit myself to it...

The Rimmel Glam Eyes liner is another I've not had for very long but I do like it. It does a pretty decent job on all the basis and is a good price but nothing about it is very WOW to me. It does seem to leave a bit of transfer on the brow bone.
The Seventeen Tattoo Me liner is a very strange invention. I did a full review here. The consistency is very thick and it's near impossible to create a wing with it. If you try, it's probably going to go wrong and this stuff can only be removed with oil based remover. If you're just after a lash line stroke, then this stuff is great. It's solid black and does last bloody ages! But it takes a while to get used to it.
In terms of gel eyeliner the Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner is the only one I've tried (though there doesn't appear to be many of them on the high street?) and I do really like it. It does last and wings can be created very easily. I don't like the brush it comes with and I have found it a bit tricky to find a good brush to use with it which makes my application of it not look brilliant. Also, sometimes I do get the brow bone transfer but it only seems to have after I've left the house and then I only notice after a few hours. Fail.

Finally (and as previously mentioned) the Bourjois Liner Clubbing liner. I've been using this liner the longest and I've left it til the end which is probably testament to just stick with your original choices as they're probably the best. This gets tickets across the board. Some days I do get frustrated with the applicator because I can't get a good flick but on the whole it's pigmented, lasts well, doesn't transfer, dries quickly and I can get a flick from it so..!

Maybe I have found THE ONE after all.

Which liners do you use? Found the perfect one?

OOTD: IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE!

Ooh well an outfit post isn't something that's very prevalent on Laddered Tights. However, I really loved my outfit today and managed to grab a bit of daylight during my lunch hour.

Jumper; F&F @ Tesco | Skirt; Local shop | Boots; New Look

I have seen fluffy jumpers EVERYWHERE this winter and I was dying to get my hands on the softest I could find. Tesco came up trumps with this one. I think it was only about £16 too! They also had a pale pink one but I chose this and I bloody love it! It is so cosy and warm and goes with everything.
Today I wore it with my leather look skater skirt (there's an only slightly better photo of me wearign it in the sidebar) which I bought about a year ago and have hardly ever worn it. I feel like it's too dressy for the day time but I put it on with the jumper today and loved it. Then teamed up with the New Look cut out boots, that I'm absolutely obsessed with and wearing to death.
Also, if you haven't tried the Primark Super Cosy tights then you absolutely must! They have a fleece lining (I know, right!) and they have been life savers since the temperatures have dropped recently.

And a quick "what's on my face?"...

Benefit Pore-fessional Primer
No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation "Calico"
Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer "Ivory"
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer "Fair"
MAC Mineralised Skin Finish "Light"
Benefit Brow-zings "Dark"
Maybelline Colour Tattoo "On and On Bronze"
Revlon Colour Stay Liquid Liner
Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara
HD Brows Blusher "Blusher 2"
NYX Blusher "Taupe" (as slight contour)
Rimmel Lip Pencil "Black Tulip"
Rimmel x Kate Moss Matte Collection Lipstick "107"

FIREWORKS INSPIRED NAILS

It's bonfire night. A night when we celebrate Parliament not being blown up by sending explosives into the sky.
Right.
I'm not planning on going to any displays this year. It's cold and I can see the local park display from my house for free!

I did create a firework inspired nail art the other day though and it seemed apt to share. This is literally the easiest nail art ever. All you need in a black, gold and glitter nail varnish.

I always use Rimmel Nail Rescue as a base coat and if I'm having a no nail varnish day or two). It definitely has helped my nails grow and stay strong. It dries super quickly too.
I then used Rimmel's 60 Seconds polish in Black Out on all my nails. I did use two coats because some came up a bit streaky but you could probably get away with one coat. These polishes are great. The brush is a nice width and they do dry very fast.
Then on my thumbs, I used a nail art brush and Models Own Gold Rush to just draw a diagonal line from the bottom corner, to almost the opposite corner.
Using Models Own Hed Kandi Ibiza Mix, I, a bit messily, put it on to the top of each nail (except the thumb) in a sort of french manicure style. Then on the thumb, I didn't put the diagonal line all the way to the other corner so I could use the glitter to look like the firework explosion.
And I finished it off with Sally Hansen's Inst-dri top coat.

Not the greatest photos, I'm afraid!

Hope you like them and if you are going out tonight, please be safe :)

OCTOBER FAVOURITES

So this weekend I had every intention on taking a heap load of photos and scheduling some posts to go up over the next week or two but then in the very early hours of yesterday my body decided to fail and I've been in bed since. Yay me.
I woke up feeling a little better today so I took a few photos from the comfort of my bed and hopefully I will get the other posts sorted next weekend. Now that is goes dark so early, by the time I get home from work, there's no light and well, my photos aren't that great with light..!

Anyhow... on to yet another favourites post. This months is very short and sweet.

I'll start with the least glamorous product to ever feature in a beauty blog favourites post but it's my new true love... Quinoderm. Quinoderm is bought from the chemist, over the counter, and it only cost £2.79 for this tube. I'm sure you'll have guessed from skincare posts in the past that I have a constant battle with spots. I cannot get rid of them. My friend told me about this and I bought some and oh boy... literally instant results.
My spots are a million times better. I still have some and some days they come up bad but I whack some of this on and I see results within hours. If you're really having problems with spots, I would 100% recommend this but I will warn, this stuff STINGS. Not like a little sting. Like, it feels like your face is burning off. It takes a good few weeks of using it before that feeling goes away too. I don't have any problems now but they do say no pain, no gain! I also found my skins got a lot of dry patches using this so make sure you have a good exfoliator and moisturiser.

My favourite nail polishes this month are the new releases from Barry M - their matte range. I think there was about 5 shades in total but I picked up these two in Mocha and Crush. I thought they'd be the best autumn shades and I love matte nails and these are perfect. You can definitely get away with one coat and they dried quickly. I found they lasted a while too so all in all, a huge thumbs up from me.

And then lips and this baby is finally in my life. I mentioned MAC's Rebel in my previous post. Once upon a time (okay, about a year ago) I saw a BeautyCrush video and Sammii did a tutorial with the shade and I wanted it so badly. Then recently ViviannaDoesMakeup started talking about it and then I just happened to find myself in the Beauty Hall in Selfridges and then my debit card just popped itself in the machine. And then my love affair began.
I have already worn it to death. It can look a bit frightening on the bullet but one the lips its a lovely plum colour with a sort of fuchsia undertone to it - so it's not a full on purple on the lip. The finish is Satin so it can be put on quite a sheer application or built up and it has a nice glossy without being sticky finish. Beautiful!

What are your favourites this month?

AUTUMN ADDITIONS

We had a pretty decent summer over here in the UK this year. It was even too hot a lot of the time and when the weather is like that you just cannot be bothered putting effort into make up when it's going to melt straight off your face.
I think that's one reason I prefer autumn. I know that there is no fear of a runny face and having my eyeliner ending up on my chin! I also love that it means I can wear black nail varnish and dark lipstick without being thought of as some kind of vampire. And my milk bottle-esque skin doesn't stand out quite so much in the chilly months!

Now that it has started getting colder, I've added a few extra items into my make up collection and rediscovered my love for a couple of others that got a little bit shunned during the lazy summer days.

The Jergens Ultra Healing Moisturiser is for dry skin and is a sample tube that got sent with an online order I made months ago. I don't have dry skin so I just chucked it into a box in my room. I've recently started using some new cream to battle my spots (more on that in a few posts time!) but it did leave me with some dry patches which I didn't welcome all that kindly. I dug out this and it's really helped nourish and plump up the skin. The dry patches disappeared pretty quickly but I've continued to use this every few days just so the cold weather doesn't attack me too much.
I bought the MAC Sable eyeshadow a few months back too. It's a Frost formula and a lovely shimmery copper-brown colour. It didn't really work as a summer colour all that much though and I didn't end up wearing it that much. It's a lovely warm colour and I've managed to find a way of wearing it with a matte brown blended though the crease to soften it too.
Rose Gold Blush by Sleek is one of those crazily hyped products and with good reason. I'm sure this has featured in my favourites way back and I don't think this is particularly a Autumn/Winter shade as it's got a good bit of shimmer in it but I just prefer blush at this time of year to pop a little bit of colour in to the skin.
A product that is a very new edition is the Benefit Pore-fessional. Another very hyped product that I've wanted for a very long time. This isn't necessarily a product I've wanted because of the time of year - in fact it would have made more sense to have it in summer - but it's a new addition to my make up collection this season!
The Rimmel Apocolips in Eclipse featured in my favourites for last month. I love dark red and berry lips but I feel that it isn't always acceptable in summer when everyone expects everything to be all bright and pop-y! This shade is beautiful and I'm still absolutely loving it and wearing it to death.
Another new make up addition to my make up, and in particular lipstick, collection is MAC's Rebel. I bought this a week or so ago and I'm alternating everyday between this and the Apocolips. This lipstick is a satin finish so it can be quite sheer but very buildable and the colour... oh .my gosh! I've admired it on the lips of Sammi from Beauty Crush for way too long and then seeing Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup also saying she loves it made me sure that buying it was an A+ decision. It isn't as scary as it looks in the bullet and I'm 110% sure this will be on my October Favourites.
I haven't lined my waterline since I was about 15 when the only makeup I did wear was black kohl on my lower lid. I don't know why but I decided to buy the Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner. I've heard great things about the staying power of them and I've been wearing it quite softly under the eye and smoking it out and I've also been wearing it as a top liner too and it's done a decent job.
Lastly, a product from this months Glossybox, the MeMeMe Cherub Blush Cheek & Lip Tint. I haven't tried this on the lips as I never like these multi-use products on my lips but a few strokes of the red liquid on the cheek and quickly blended in leaves the perfect rosy glow for this time of year. I'm pretty sure MeMeMe is found in Superdrug so I don't imagine this to be very expensive and I would definitely recommend it.

There's a few bits I've incorporated into my everyday routine this season. What are your favourite products at the moment?

WISHLIST #7

I say this in almost every post but I try so hard to find motivation and inspiration to blog but I've just not been able to find any recently which has left the blog a little bit scattered. I'm trying really hard at the moment to put together some kind of schedule to try and get me in to a posting routine and I have a couple of blog post ideas lined up that I will hopefully put together before the end of the month.

But I thought I'd ease into things with a wishlist. I love reading these types of posts and I've been eyeing up a couple of things as I've been browsing recently.

Dress | Foundation | Jumper | Mittens | Backpack

This dress is actually sold out so seems a bit ridiculous to include it but I want it. I don't know if the smock style even suits me but I saw a girl in a Topshop concession in Selfridges wearing in and she looked amazing. I am determined to hunt it down. It is also available in a pink/purple which is nice but I love this so much.

I have been wanting to try Illamasqua's Skin Base foundation since seeing numerous Pixiwoo and Fleur de Force videos. Last week, whilst in Selfridges, my friend got colour matched with it and it looked incredible on her and now I really want it. I don't think anyone will ever find the perfect foundation but I think this may well be very close.

The next three items are for a related trip I am taking in the new year. In January I am off to Russia! I know. It will be cold. Very cold. But I am excited to buy lots of jumpers in preparation. I love this New Look one.

The mittens are from Topshop and I recently bought the hat that matches them so I may have to take another trip back to find these.

And I am really very happy I have found an excuse to buy a backpack! I think it will be the best way to carry around everything I will need to during the day and it will be perfect for hand luggage.

Also, I think it might be a little bit obvious that I am also one of those people loving the tartan that's around everywhere at the moment. I didn't think I would but I've seen so many different items that I have fallen in love with. 

What are you lusting after at the moment? And if you have tried the Illamasqua foundation, what do you think of it? 

REVIEW: ALEXA CHUNG "IT"

A slightly different type of review from the usual today, in the form of a book review. I am by no means a book worm. I wish I read more but I don't. But when I heard about Alexa penning her own book I was very excited and when it landed on the doorstep I started reading it straight away and powered straight through it.
The book is not an autobiography, as such, but more about Alexa's style evolution and inspiration mixed in with tips and tricks and her own drawings.

Not everyone is a fan but I have loved her ever since I first saw her back in the day on T4's Popworld. I adore her style so to have a book about how Alexa gets that style was very exciting for me.
It starts of when she was a child and her love for horse riding and the clothes she wore for that. She talks through an array of her style icons of whom she takes inspiration from when she gets dressed in a morning. They range from the obvious choices of Kate Moss and Anna Karina to the likes of Wednesday Addams (a fine choice) and even Jeremy Irons! (Seriously. You have to read this book if you're an Alexa fan and lover of fashion.)

Alexa gives advice throughout on dressing for "occasions" such as going to the gym and a festival as well as beauty tips and help for choosing what to wear in the morning. I have found myself post-it noting up
way too many pages that I'm more than sure I will be referring back to on a weekly basis going forward.

I really enjoyed this book and Alexa's writing style and I'd love to see her write again in the future.

There's a part in the book when Alexa talks about heartbreak and in it she shares some advice given to her from her mother. That "chapter" (I put in inverted commas as the books isn't split into chapter) ends like this and it actually made me tear up.

 I even tweeted about it and she replied to me! If you read this Alexa (HA), in a very fangirl way you made me very happy. Even though you deleted the tweet (because I assume of the typo).

Have you read IT? What did you think?

THE "NEVER FAILS" LIST

What is the "never fails" list? When I don't have time to think about what I want to put on my face I'll automatically grab these products. They are perfect for me and I know they will do the job exactly how I want them too. And I know they don't require too much effort to make them look decent! Also, when I can't decide what I want to use, these are the fail safe options.

First up - foundation! I use the No7 Beautifully Matte foundation in Calico (because "you look like a milk bottle" is too long to fit on the box). I got matched up when Boots launched the match service a year ago and I do not know how I coped without this stuff. I've never found a foundation that properly matches, that blends as well and lasts well before this. I have a couple of other foundations but I rarely go for them. I know I'm safe with this one and very little blending down the neck needs to be done to get it seamless.

Concealer was obviously going to be Collection's Lasting Perfection. I could not even count how many tubes of this stuff I've gone through over the past 4 or so years. I has great coverage for under eyes, blemishes and and red patches. Sometimes, I just cannot be bothered with foundation and just dot this all around my face and blend it together. It is fantastic!

This Kate Moss x Rimmel lipstick is insanely hyped up and with good reason. It's from the Matte collection that was released last year and is in the shade 107 which is a lovely deep berry colour. Perfect for the cold months! It's definitely my most used lipstick and it's nearly all gone - never had to repurchase a lipstick before! I have a lot of lipsticks and sometimes picking one when it's early in the morning is a very difficult decision so I always end up going for this one. It works with my skin tone, lasts a lifetime and even though it's matte it isn't drying in the slightest.

Another Rimmel products and this time blush. I got this in one of those Boots clearance's of discontinued lines - which is a bit gutting because it's my favourite blush. The colour that is the result of these 3 swirled together is perfect. I have an ever growing collection of blush but this is always the one I end up grabbing. The colour is pigmented enough to not be overpowering and gives the nicest look to the cheeks. I've sometimes seen these Rimmel 3-in-1 blushes in places like B&M Bargains so definitely keep you're eye open because I really love it. Mine is the shade Winter Glow.

The Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoos are another crazily hyped product and again wit very good reason. This is in the shade On And On Bronze and it the loveliest goldy-bronze colour. These are cream eyeshadows that don't budge and are perfect "lazy girl" make up products. You don't even need a brush to apply it. On a workday morning I don't give myself enough time for eyeshadow so this is perfect and I always end up grabbing it and just swiping it across the lid - done!

Final product is a nail varnish. This Barry M one is the shade Red Black, a supposed Chanel dupe of Rouge Noir. I forgot all about this until this week but looking at how much I have left in the bottle it's definitely my most used. I've had it on for 6 days and there's hardly any chipping and it's just the perfect colour.


What products never fail you?

SEPTEMBER FAVOURITES

This has got to be the smallest favourites post ever. I've not really tried anything new this month but the things I have tried, I have loved.

I bought the Maybelline Brow Drama Mascara without hearing anything about the launch or reading any reviews. In fact, the lady was only just putting it on the shelves for the first time when I bought it. From what I could see there was 3 colours. I got Dark Brown, the darkest, as my brows are really dark. The wand is like a mascara wand but it has a ball shape on the end to help sculpt and shape the brows. I've really been loving using this and I've hardly been using my Benefit Brow-zings this month. It doesn't really fill in the brows like I usually do but it adds just a tint of colour and keeps them in place all day and keeps everything very natural. It's really been great as part of my "lazy girl does make up" thing that has happened this month.

Now the Rimmel Apocolips are something everyone on the planet has surely heard about by now. They launched earlier in the year and I bought one back then and really liked it. Rimmel recently released new colours and I much prefer the new ones. I got the shade Eclipse which is a lovely deep purple/berry colour and a perfect shade for the season. I've much preferred this one to the first Apocolips I bought. I think because I now know how best to apply them - less is definitely more with these. Otherwise the lacquer gets everywhere and this stuff does not budge!

The last item was seen in my last haul post. I've been having major skin issues so I bought a few products from The Body Shop's Tea Tree range. As I just said, I've been majorly lazy this month with all things beauty and I've not even kept to a skin care routine *slaps hands* - I've just been using the 3 Tea Tree products I bought, mainly. With a scrub and extra cleanser when I could be bothered. I have enjoyed all the products I bought but the Skin Clearing Toner has definitely been my favourite. It has a layer of mattifying powder at the bottom, so you shake it up and just wipe all over the face. I have noticed my skin calm down a bit and it's so refreshing. I've been using it in the morning and at night. It gets away any overnight shine that may have happened and feels so nice. Only a fiver too so definitely worth trying.


And that's September favourites done! What have you been loving this month?

LONDON FASHION WEEK S/S 2014

So fashion week has been and gone once again and once again I was not there. I am determined to go one season, even if for just a day.
I have to say though, London Fashion Week SS14 just hasn't gripped me as much as usual. I usually drool over so many but when I was looking through the collections this year, I just wasn't feeling it.
Obviously, there are some that I've absolutely loved but even with collections I've liked, I've still not liked the entire thing. Which makes me sad? Did anyone else get the same vibe from this LFW?

Like I said, I did like a good handful of the shows so here they are...

J. JS Lee

Jasper Conran

PPQ

Mulberry

David Koma

Ashish

House of Holland

Burberry Prorsum

Temperley London

Totally drooling over this entire collection

Matthew Williamson

Michael van der Ham

Tom Ford

I think overall my favourite collection was definitely Temperley London. With Jasper Conran and Tom Ford being close runners up. The Tom Ford collection, along with the models, was just FIERCE.
I really like the makeup that's been on the majority of the catwalks. It's been very soft and simple and a lot have gone for a bold, bright lip or kept to the minimal theme with nudes.
The hair is just something I can't get my head around. So many of the shows had their models done with the slicked back/wet look hair, very reminiscent of 90's grunge and I do no like it. The greasy side fringe in the Mulberry show was awful! The full fringe seems to be vanishing for the upcoming season which sucks for me... heh! I don't think I'll be getting rid for some time though.

As for the upcoming season's colours... I was surprised at how much black and dark colours there were, although I very much like it. I'm glad monochrome is still going strong. There also seems to be a lot of blue hues and nude/camel colours flittering around.

Finally, I'm so happy about the collar being prominent in so many collections. Peter Pan collars and collared shirts were everywhere not too long ago. I feel they've died down a bit this year so far but some of these collections have featured some really pretty ones and I'm really excited to see it filtered down to the high street. Some great examples in the J. JS Lee and Jasper Conran shows and Simone Rocha did too!



So there's my London Fashion Week picks! Hoping February is more to my taste for AW14. I do usually prefer that season..!

RETAIL THERAPY

I've been feeling pretty stressed and rubbish this week. I injured my knee a few years ago and the last couple of days it flared up again and I've been in a bit of pain so I woke up today and decided to take myself to town before the huge rush of people got there in the afternoon. Of course, on my journey to town my body decided it was the perfect time to just get a cold. Thanks life. You are great. So then I knew I'd doubly have to treat myself in order to feel better. Obviously.

I have cut out the boring bits like tights and repurchases of lip balm, concealer and cleansing water and I'll just show you the exciting bits!
I made a bee line straight to Topshop once I got to town...

You may recognise these two items off the wishlist I posted a few days ago. I had every intention of getting the striped top but I wasn't overly bothered about finding the jumper and then I saw it on a display table and it felt so soft and lovely that I had to go try it on. And then I fell in love, the end.
I was worried I wouldn't like the top of because of the sleeves. I don't usually like the half sleeve but I felt really comfortable in this (and I felt very Alexa too!) so looking forward to styling this up.
I was very impressed with Topshop today. On my last few visits I haven't been blown away but I could have bought so many things today.

These boots were also mentioned on the wishlist I recently posted. I knew I needed these. I mean, my current black boots are letting rain in and that isn't cool! I was very upset that my size wasn't on the shelf and no matter how hard I tried, my foot was not going in the size 5. It was very reminiscent of the scene from Cinderella when the stepsisters try to make the glass slipper fit. I asked a lady in the shop and they had none in the back but then glistening away, I saw them on a display shelf in my size. Pretty sure hearts flew out of my eyes. With the way they come up the ankle, they make your legs look amazing too! And I think they're an absolute steal at £27.99

My skin has been getting me really bogged down recently, which in turn is probably not helping matters. Someone told me they have been using the tea tree range from The Body Shop and it has really helped so I toddled off there next. Rachel, who I met at the North West Blogger meet up, was working there and gave me some advice and twisted my arm by telling me there was 3 for 2 across the store. (Okay, so she didn't need to twist my arm that much. Or at all. I'm a sucker for offers!) I picked up a toner, face wash and night lotion all for £14. Excited to see if they help my skin.

I got this bag last week but I had to show it because I am so in love. I got it from Dorothy Perkins and it is beautiful. I've been after a smaller bag because usually I have ones that I can fit my entire life into and my back has decided that I must be punished for doing so. I got this when they were offering 25% off (and I still talk to the girls I used to work with there so she bought it for me to get extra discount, sshh!) but I would happily have paid full price for it. I think full price is £22.


New goodies definitely cheered me up some what but now I am ready to get into bed with tea and chocolate and I think it's going to have to be a DVD night.