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.

SEPTEMBER GLOSSYBOX

This week has been long and stressful and I've been feeling totally "meh" but I got home from work, ready to chill for the weekend and saw that this months Glossybox has arrived and got incredibly excited.
It's only through writing this post that I've realised I skipped blogging about last months box. I can't exactly remember why but I know it didn't exactly blow me away. To be honest, everything except the eyelash curlers (which are really great!) are still in the box. Oops...

But take a look at September's offering!

The September Glossybox is "The London Edition" with London Fashion Week having kicked off today (come back next week for my round up on that!) and this box is so far up my street, it's ridiculous. To start with, the actual box itself... I am still a sucker for anything with the Union flag on it. I feel that trend may have been and gone but I love it. I really like the Glossyboxes that are different from the usual pink ones, because I like storing things in them and it's nice having different ones for different things.

And the contents..!

You pay £10 plus postage for these boxes and with what is in mine this month, I have got a super bargain.
First up is the Eyelure Pre-glued Lashes. I'm not a false eyelash wearer. My lashes are fairly long and curled naturally so I don't feel I need them. I have tried them once before and had a super fail. I'm looking forward to trying these though and seeing how I get on with pre-glued ones. And Eyelure are known for being giants in the false eyelashes world so high hopes for them.
Next up is a Classic Shine Gloss Serum from Toni & Guy. Another giant in their field of work and I've never tried any of their products so again, looking forward to trying this.
The eyeliner is from a brand I've never heard of... Be A Bombshell Cosmetics. I'm guessing it's American as the leaflet that gives the product descriptions says the eyeliner retails at $14! It's one of the felt tip pen type eyeliners in the shade Onyx. I am never a fan of these eyeliner types. I find they're never black enough and they just don't last. But I tested this on my hand and I was quite impressed so I'm excited to give it a whirl tomorrow. There will no doubt be a review in the future.
The item I'm most excited about being in the box is the blusher from HD Brows. Now, I know about HD Brows, though never having tried them, but I was actually aware they had a wider make up range. The shade of the blusher is "Blusher 2" and is a lovely burnt rose colour. It's a full sized product and costs £17.95 so I'm really chuffed with that and hopefully it lives up to expectation.
Finally, a perfume sample. I got a perfume sample in the last box but it was just in one of the teeny tubes. This is one that's in those mini bottles. It's called Untold by Elizabeth Arden and it's actually a very pretty scent. I'm rubbish at describing perfume smells but this isn't something I would usually go for, but I am pleasantly surprised. My mum really likes it too though so I may find that it might end up going missing...


Have you had anything different in your Glossybox this month?