Brighter is Better!

I've been steadily creeping closer to this point with my hair for the last 8 months. And yesterday I finally took the plunge and attempted to go 'blonde'. My colour before could have, possibly, been called blonde, but it could just have easily fallen into the 'light brown' category and I decided that at least once in my life I wanted to be blonde!

And I'm loving it so far, because I've gradually lightened by hair (deciding to go a little lighter every few months) it's not a huge change, but it still feels quite weird to look in the mirror and see such light hair! Especially considering my natural colour is a very, very dark brown!

I've kept my 'roots' as dark as I felt I could so regrowth shouldn't be a complete pain. But my biggest hurdle is definitely my eyebrows as they're naturally so dark - luckily bold brows are very in so I think I can just about get away with them!

The day after dying it I popped on some make up to go out and I wound up putting on Revlon Just Bitten Lipstick and I just loved how the bright colour worked with my lighter hair. The lighter I've gone the more I've had to change up my lipstick with bold lips becoming increasily popular! 

The rest of my make up was pretty simple, Nars Kalahari duo (the lightest swept all over), a mix of Lioeli BB Cream and Mac Strobe Cream (trying to use up the strobe cream) and my beloved Lancome Oche Doree. I applied Oche Doree slightly differently today, focusing on the edges of my face and not bringing it so far onto the apples and I think I quite like it!

It seems weird to be going for such bright colours when we're in autumn but the weather here has been so beautiful that it still feels like summer - and I'm all for clinging to summer for as long as possible!

Bold Brows

Brows. Two little strips of hair that randomly sit on your face and make the world of difference.

To be honest, I do nothing to mine. Truly nothing, and I can get away with the laziness (for the most part) as they're pretty decent. But I've recently been testing out filling them in a little and I can't believe what I difference it actually makes!

Today I filled them in a fair bit more than normal, so it's quite bold but… I like it.

Everything else was kept nice and simple as I felt the brows deserved to be the centre of attention. Whenever I want everything else to be neautal it's always to Mac Ladyblush that I look, I'm wearing it on my cheeks and on my lips (wearing the same colour on your cheeks and lips always makes my face look so put together and I've been doing it most days)

I just pinned my fringe to the side as I couldn't be bothered attempting to tame it - plus I often think doing a simple little twist somehow makes it look like you put some effort into it instead of pinning it straight back… although that might just be me!

Bold Brows definitely aren't something I'm going to be doing everyday, or even every week, but it's something I think I might whip out now and again. Next time I'm pairing it with a strong cat eye so some real bold shapes!

let me know if you fill in your brows on a regular basis? I feel like everyone who blogs seems to,  hopefully I'm not the only one that usually skips this step!

Do Tell

Since this is my last few weeks of winter for a while (yay) I've fully embraced the darker palette winter offers - including this beauty of lipstick from Benefit

What I've been loving is that if I liberally apply it (as above) I get a great darker colour that's still very wearable but adds a little extra something! It's been great for days I can't be bothered to do anything fancy with my eyes, simple eye+beautiful lipstick is always a winter in my book.

But I can just pat some on the centre and blend it out to get a much more 'natural' look for days I'm just not feeling up to braving it. 

And I couldn't resist this oh-so-cringey photo showing off the lipstick and my current favourite nail polish - OPI Navy. It's so gorgeous on, it's very nearly black but it's got just enough blue for it not to look too gothic when I'm pale skinned. Also, I thought this photo showed my eye make up quire well too. So just ignore the cringey-ness of the photo and focus on the good bits!

Touch of Winter Colour

It's officially winter down under but I'm attempting to bury my head in the sand about the cold mornings as I only have a month left down here before I hit the sunny West Coast of the USA!

Although I still have a while left in the gloomy weather my mind is well and truly in summer mode, and that's definitely reflected in my refusal to commit to my winter staples.

I'm persisting with my tinted moisturiser and light shimmer colours. Today I decided to whip out revlon tutti fruiti lip butter for just a touch of colour as this never fails to 'lift' my face as it's just such a warm colour!

Eyes were light, shimmery and probably look the same as a hundred other photos as it's really my 'go-to' look. Urban Decay Sin in the middle and a couple of the lighter shades from ChiChi Glamourous Nudes Palette - which I've used a lot more than I thought!

I should mention, I've been trying out Laura Mercier's Primer as I've heard lots of good things, but I after a month of trailing with different products I'm not 100% sure it's breaking me out. And not just little breakouts, oh no. Every. Single. Time I use this I get a massive 'under the skin' spot (sorry for TMI) which for me is just crazy! 

I'm not sure why as the ingredients all sound quite promising, but something in it just makes me skin go crazy! I'm also not convinced it really made a difference in making my make up last longer either

A Great Kisser

Gotta love Soap and Glory's product names..

I don't like lip balms, generally speaking. So I really don't know what made me buy a £5 lip balm when there was no tester. I do agree with Soap and Glory about their testers getting ugly after they've been used but not really having any idea of the formula or the colour is pretty rubbish. 

Anyway, the tester issue aside, I bought this blind and you know what? I love it.
It's not too heavy on the lips, it smells divine, it tastes quite nice, it adds a pretty sheen that isn't too glossy, it's not sticky or greasy. The one downside, there's always one, is the lack of colour pay off, perhaps it's because it's such a light colour but it goes on pretty much completely sheer. Honestly though the formula and smell more than makes up for lack of pigmentation. 

Overall, it's a glorified lip balm and it's not really worth £5. That doesn't mean I regret buying, not for a second - I'd repurchase for the smell alone (even though it doesn't linger very long) and even though it doesn't hugely moisturise my lips it's the only lip balm I've ever tried that I do actually find myself reaching for day after day. Did I mention it smells divine?!

Hope this has been helpful!! x

Lipcote

I bought this from urban Outfitters and I wasn’t expecting much as it was in the sale for only £2 (normally around £4) but I thought I’d give it a go as the promise of my lipstick lasting longer sold me!
To use you need to apply your lipstick as normal, blot then apply a coat over your lips. It does say on the box it should tingle a little when you apply it which had me a little worried- I really don’t like tingling lip products wimp..
But the tingling faded almost instantly leaving my lips with a weird texture, not quite matte but not quite glossy! This did have an annoying side effect of making the glitter in the lipstick stand out. But despite the glitter lipcote really did add a lot of longevity to my lip colour!
I’m not sure I’ll repurchase as you don’t need much so I imagine this little bottle will last me quite a while! I do like how you can transform all your lipsticks into long lasting stains with just one product and I’m definitely glad I picked it up!
Have any of you tried this before?
Hope this has been helpful!! x
P.S I used L'Oreal Plum Passion Lipstick

First Date

I recently made an E.L.F purchase when they were offering 50% off(good deal right?) and I picked up one of their lip stains as recently I am really loving stains and I wanted to give a cheaper version a go.
This is normally £3.50 from the studio line available online here E.L.F(eyes, lips face) is predominantly an online brand however it has recently become available in Sephoras in the U.S
I got mine in First date as the hot coral/pink with golden reflexes shown online looked gorgeous and it’s pretty true to colour in real life only the golden shimmer is much more muted and is only noticeable in certain lights.
(L-R Bare lips, just the stain and the stain with the clear gloss on top)
(I think I’ll get the most wear out of the stain and just use the gloss every so often)
You get two products for the price of one with this, a stain and a gloss. The stain looks beautiful on its own if you want a matte finish, and I much more day-time friendly look. And the gloss is actually surprisingly nice! It’s not remotely sticky and lasts really nicely.
The stain wore pretty well, there was some patchiness however it wasn’t horrendous and I did test this out quite thoroughly (going out for a meal and then drinks with friends)The formula isn’t drying either which is a problem I find in most stains like this.

Overall I don’t think I’ll get any other shades as this one suits my needs perfectly however I would recommend this if you’re looking for a long lasting colour on a budget – I do genuinely like this product and would probably pay a lot more than £3.50!

Have any of you tried E.L.F’s lip stains? What were your thoughts?
Hope this has been helpful!! x

Runway Pink

I don’t usually do reviews on just one lipstick but I think this one deserves a special mention as at only £3.50 it’s already one of my favourites and I’ve not even had it a full week yet!
Runway Pink is from the mineral line at E.LF meaning it’s a bit more expensive than their normal £1.50 price tag but you get a sleek matte black case and a gorgeous product!

This isn’t a colour I would usually go for (I tend to stick to mauves and colours resembling my natural lip colour – in other words I play it very safe) but Sara from SWalkerMakeUp recently mentioned it on her 11 most used tag and I’m always swayed to try products whenthey have been highly recomended!

I was making an elf order anyway (they had free shipping) and I popped this little beauty into my basket (still not expecting anything amazing) but when it arrived I understand why it’s so popular!
It’s a creamy, almost matte finish which instantly makes it more wearable as it’s not an in-your-face pink with lots of gloss. I wasn’t sure it’d work with my pale skin (although I have been fake tanning a bit this past month) but it looks gorgeous and I’ve already found myself reaching for it most mornings!

This is definitely going to be one of those products I repeatedly repurchase and I’d recommend trying this out or if a creamy neutral pink isn’t for you (I think this would suit everyone though) check out their other mineral lipsticks as I’ve heard good things about all of them!

Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x

P.S I've finally finished my exams!!

Lip Art?

I love experimenting with editorial looks and I’ve done a ton of nail art posts and eye make up looks which are pretty un-wearable if really pretty. However I’ve never branched into lip art, but I have admired several looks for ages so I decided to finally give it a go!
This is what I came up with – what do you think?

This was my first attempt and working on my lips was defiantly different but I really enjoyed it, do you fancy seeing any more things like this?

Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x

Night Out Essential!

I got this a few weeks ago in the AVON sale
(I’m pretty sure it’s still available on their website though).
I tried it last night and I just had to blog about it – it’s the perfect night out necessity!!
This product has three beautiful quality lip products in this one little tube so you can just pop it in your clutch and you’re sorted for all your touch ups.
(left-Right: LipLiner on it's own, Lipstick on top and all three together!)
This would also be great if you want to take your daytime make up into the night quickly as the lip liner is great for during the day and then you can just apply the lipstick and gloss to instantly make your lips into a statement!

The three products you get are:
All are surprisingly good quality and are designed to be long lasting both together and on their own!

I picked this up in the shade ‘berry’ because I thought this would be the perfect substitute for a red lip which I always think is impossible to really maintain but there are enough shades that you’re bound to find something to suit you!
(This is what the colour looks like in slightly harsher light)
Aside from how perfect this is to throw into your back and have everything you need all three products love lovely on there own!

Have any of you tried this product yet?
Hope you’ve found this useful!! x