Oh No Look What Happened- NARS

NARS Lipgloss in Giza and Belize

NARS Blusher in Mata Hari

So the other day, I completely smashed one of my housemate's fancy wine glass. Just clipped it on the side of the drying rack and the damn thing cracked. I said I would replace it and it turned out that the wine glass really was a fancy one from House Of Fraser. I hated the thought of paying out for delivery as well just for one thing so to make it worth it, I decided to have a look through the NARS section... you know... to make it worth the delivery...

I've been curious about NARS for a while now and have always been super aware of their price tag. I really want to try Sheer Glow but having recently fallen in love in my new Benefit foundation, I didn't see any point in pursuing it. I toyed with getting the infamous Orgasm blush but I always thought it sound a bit overrated and why not go for something different.

And so this is what I ended up with. I've been getting a lot more into lipglosses recently and wanted to add to my collection. Giza is quite a warm peach and Belize a nice pinky neutral. Everyone knows that Turkish Delight is said to be Kim Kardashian's favourite but when I saw it in the flesh, so to speak, recently, I saw how pale baby pink it was and from past experience, I know those shades don't work well with my skin tone. I wore Belize out for a night out last night and absolutely love it, its a new favourite. Giza, I'm not so sure on yet and might have to wait until I've picked up a bit of a tan for it to work well.

As for Mata Hari, the first thing I thought when I saw it was holy crap that's bright. It's a fuschia blush with quite a blue undertone, I'd say. It is really well pigmented and nicely milled also so it's a fine powder when applied. But fear not! With a light hand with a blusher brush, this is perfectly work able with and gives a nice flush on the cheeks. Too heavy handed and you might end up looking like a china doll. I've been meaning to branch out a little with blushes- I pretty much only every use my Natural Collection Peach Melba so this is a nice change. I will let you know if it appears in any of my photos so you can see how it looks one. I'm too busy being a tramp and doing general house work before Barcelona to put make up today, sorry!

Tomorrow or, at the very latest Monday morning, 

I will have a post up on what I'm taking to Barcelona with me in my hand luggage. 

I have about half the photos taken but I'm a very last minute packer...

Hope you guys are having a good one!

xx

Product Review: Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation

As you saw in my last post, when I was in Bournemouth the other week,  we stopped off at the Benefit counter in Debenhams and I picked up the Hello Flawless foundation. I got perfectly matched the shade in Honey. As you can see, at first, it looks a bit dark but once it was blended out, it worked a dream. I've included some picture of me before (with all my glorious blemishes) and then after, with the foundation applied.Hello Flawless is an oil-free foundation which is an extra bonus and it has a very smooth texture and doesn't require any shaking before applying to make the sure the product is mixed. It's really good coverage for something that feels so sheer- not cakey at all and even after a whole day at uni, it was still sitting pretty. I'm going to compare it with my other favourite sheer foundation which is my good ole MAC Face and Body which, while being lovely and sheer, it did have a tendency to slide after a while, particularly in my oily T zone area for example. Overall, it really does make your skin look flawless and hydrated.

You couldn't talk about Benefit without mentioning the packaging. It's probably a lot simpler in design compared to other products but still looks very clean and cute. It is a pump bottle so you're able to use however much you need. It also came with a small sample of the Porefessional inside it which was a pleasant surprise.

In the UK, it retails at £24.50 which is around the same price range as most high end foundations such as Estée Lauder and MAC foundations but I'm so impressed that I would say that this Benefit product is worth the price tag.

I hope you guys are doing well

I have a completely free weekend for once and plan on enjoying it!

xx

Top 12 of 2012

So I thought today of all days would be the perfect time to share with you my Top 12 of 2012. It's a complete mix of things- beauty, clothes, music etc etc but these are really things that I could not have lived without throughout 2012.

In no particular order

L'Oreal Mythic Oil

I've had this for quite a while now actually but it's still something I couldn't live without. I use it religiously every time I wash my hair and it's great for curly hair like mine. It also helps keep it healthy and happy and I'm proud to say my hair is in great condition.

Real Techniques Eye Brushes

A fairly recent purchase and something I never quite got round to photographing for my blog. I love these brushes and they're great quality. Now I've started branching out a bit in regards to eye make up, I feel I can properly follow all those lovely tutorials you see on Youtube

MAC Fanfare Lipstick

I bought this a while ago and haven't stopped wearing  it since. It goes great with my skin tone and isn't too much of a bright pink so it can be worn day or night. A very flattering and versatile lipstick.

ASOS Leather Jacket

This jacket has done me proud. I basically live in it. 

It's warm, well made and a bargain at £100 for real leather

MAC Ricepaper Eyeshadow

My first MAC eyeshadow and the one that set me off on a quest to complete a 15x palette... I'm 2/3 of the way there now. A gorgeous pale gold that works great as a base and lightens up the eye area. 

Great if you're a glasses wearer like me

Body Shop Seaweed Range

Throughout this year, I've been working my way through quite a few new skin care brands and while usually initially impressed with them, so many of them ended up drying out my skin. Enter The Body Shop. A great range and perfect for combination/oily skin. This range has not dried me out, is gentle on the skin and gets stubborn eye makeup off

Converse

Again, quite a recent purchase but again something that I have lived in. Apart from when it's really raining, cuz they're not so great for that... Very comfortable and makes an outfit look instantly a combination of casual and cool

Urban Outfitters Graphic Tee's

I've always loved UO t-shirts. They're great for when I need to chuck something on for uni with a pair of jeans but at their full price, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. But when they're in the sale and/or there are student discounts going around, I jump at the chance.

Ben Howard

2012 was the year I discovered and fell in love with Ben Howard and his music. I first came across him when he did an eerily good rendition of Call Me Maybe. Since then, I've hunted down as much of his music as I can but my favourite would still have to be Keep Your Head Up

Vera Wang Princess Night Perfume

My boyfriend bought me this perfume after months of hinting on his way back from a holiday in the summer. It's a very sweet fragrance- perhaps not to everyone's liking- but I love it and recommend everyone to go give it a whiff if they have the chance

Swimming

Bit off an odd one but 2012 was the year I started to swim. I've never been a particularly good swimmer having nearly drowned when I was very young. I started going with my sister in the summer and have kept it up since. It's great exercise, has really helped my asthma and my confidence in the water. I've also taught myself how to do the strokes properly and I plan to keep improving

Origins Night-a-Mins

Jusssst sneaking in to 2012, is this moisturiser. I know I've only had it a week but it's left such an impression on me, I had to include it. It's helped reduce the appearance of blemishes as they fade and has left my skin feeling much healthier and softer in the mornings

And those are my top 12 of 2012!

Let me know if you have anything similar on your blogs- I love seeing what products people have really enjoyed this year. 2012 has been a great year for my blogs- it's grown so much (thank you Twitter...) and I'd like to take the chance to say hello to all my new followers this year and thank you for joining my blog!

I hope you all have a great NYE and I'll see you all in 2013

Onwards and upwards!

xx

Holy Moly Moustache

Hi guys!

This is just a really quick post today about something quite personal to me but I'm sure is an issue for quite a number of girls. I'm talking about the moustache. Not on guys. On girls. Now obviously it's not thick hair like guys, much much finer but it was still be quite noticeable.

Now this is something I have had to deal with since middle school. I know it was then because certain boys loved to point out its appearance... But there's nothing I can do about it. I do have dark colouring and it does show up in the winter months when I'm not as tanned. But the thing is is that it is really really common so don't stress about it.

I did use to use this to lighten my hair so it wasn't as noticeable. But the one thing I really really hated about this product was the smell! It was supposed to be rose scented but it just smells artificial and of chemicals, so when this is jamming under your nose for 10 minutes, it's not that pleasant. I stopped using this because, after so many years of use, I felt it stopped working as well. I don't know whether the formula was weakened or whether I had just become too used to it.

Nowadays, I use this one which is much better and is an actual hair remover , rather than lightener. And, thank you thank you, it is not heavily scented- in fact is quite neutral. This goes one for a mere 3 minutes but please please be careful with it because any longer and it can really react to your skin. I have had slightly irritated skin for a day or two because I accidently left it on for one or two minutes longer than I should have.

Then you just gently wash it off. I find the best way is to wet a cotton pad and gently go in circle to make sure you get the hair at the roots. And voila! 

It does not grow back bristly- it's the same fine hair that was there before and I like the fact it take a good few weeks before there's any noticeable hair coming back in.

It's only £5 and I highly recommend it!

I hope that this has been useful to anyone with the same problem

Let me know if you have any questions!

xx