Nars Brow Perfector

Nars Brow Perfector in Caucase £16.50 - link

Finding a good brow product is like finding treasure, excluding anything from Anastasia Beverly Hills because that's all gold, but unfortunately I don't think this anything worth writing home about.

In texture this is both dry and slightly waxy and super stiff. It does warm up as you use it and become a little easier to navigate but I'm not convinced the inconvenience is worth £16. Because of the texture the pigment is severely lacking which could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. It's good that you will never over do it and end up with power brows (unless that's what you want in which case this is most definitely not for you) but also the whole process takes ages made worse by how you absolutely have to use small strokes with this product. I really wouldn't recommend anyone with sparse brows use this, it would be pretty much useless to you.

The shade is very ashy which I actually love about this pencil. Loads and loads of brow products are very warm in tone so I really appreciate the shade of this although I do wish I would of chose the black shade (which isn't actually black - it's dark brown) as I think that maybe would of suited my hair colour better and perhaps made me like this a little more.

This isn't a bad product, it just isn't what I want from a brow pencil at all. I think the texture is odd and the lack of pigment makes doing my eyebrows more of a chore than it already is. Sorry Nars!


Have you tried this? What do you normally use for your brows?

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Revlon Matte Balms

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balms £7.99 - link

L-R: 270 Fiery Flamboyante (Red) & 225 Sultry Sulfureuse (Pink)


I can't believe it's taken me so long to try these out. Every time I go to Boots all of the shades I want are sold out but not this time! The shades I picked up are Fiery which is a burgundy red with strong warm undertones and Sultry which is a deep pink and very Kylie Jenner-esque.

The finish of these is more satin than a velvet matte. The pink shade has a really soft shine to it but the red is has much more of an intense sheen and feels and looks more like a balm. Both are very comfortable to wear, really moisturising and the pencil format makes application a breeze although, I can see that backfiring as you use up the product and end up with a stump of lipstick. They last around 3 hours without any liner or blotting and don't dry out throughout wear but stay lovely and comfortable.

All in all I'm impressed with these. Because I am a little insane when a lipstick claims to be matte and isn't, I am a teeny tiny bit disappointed with Fiery being so shiny but for the sake of a moisturising matte lipstick, I'll let it off. I think these are a wonderful way to wear a bold lip for those of the faint of heart as the balm aspect of these lipsticks take the edge off or, if you just can't bear how uncomfortable most matte lipsticks are then these are going to be your new favourite thing. I can't wait to try more shades as, of course, I must own every red shade of lipstick that exists in the world so Striking is next on my list.


Have you tried these? Do you know of any other drugstore matte lipsticks?

P.S - sorry I haven't been posting as often - I'm prepping for an exciting christmas thing you'll see soon!

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Tips On Choosing Your Foundation Shade Online

The ease of buying a whole heap of make up in my pyjamas speaks to my soul and is more often than not what I do. Although, as with everything, shopping online has it's draw backs and one of which being picking foundations that match your skin tone. Heres a few tips I've discovered to picking your perfect shade.


Know Your Undertone

Let's talk about how to tell what undertone you have. There are 3 options, pink, yellow or neutral. The easiest way to tell is by looking at the veins on the underside of you wrist (it's best to do this in natural day light). If they're blue you have a warm or pink undertone, if they're green in colour then you are a cool or yellow undertone and if they look both green and blue you have a neutral undertone - pretty much equal balances of warm and cool/pink and yellow. Other ways to tell is when you get a tan warm undertones usually turn pink first, or red depending on the shade of your skin, in the sun and then tan later or are very prone to burning. Cool undertones tend to tan easily in the sun and rarely burn.

What to look for in a foundation shade name if you have warm tones: pink, salmon, blush, rose, warm and any abbreviation (e.g W). *Usually most shades titled 'fair' have pink undertones.

What to look for in a foundation shade if you have cool tones: yellow, golden, cool and any abbreviation (e.g C). *Usually shades titled 'sand' have yellow undertones.

*Of course the synonyms and descriptions above are not true for all foundations but I've found it to be the case for a lot of different shade names etc. 

Look Up Swatches

Once you know what undertone you have this is the best way to find your match. Whether it be the flat image swatches on the website or a quick google image search of the foundation of your choice followed by the word swatches. Most of the time you can tell what shades are warm, cool and neutral from a swatch but if you can't decide then have a look at the brand's website and check if they have a description of each shade of the foundation you want. They don't always tell you the degree of pink and yellow for every shade but they will most likely tell you if they are warm in tone or cool.


Foundation Match Websites
findation - matchmymakeup - foundation matrix

All 3 are great if you're looking for a specific foundation match or just want to check your shade in a lot of foundations. They work by you inputting your current foundation shades and then they'll calculate what shades you are in other foundation. Findation is a little outdated and doesn't have newer releases like the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation, Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation etc but still has a lot of choices. Matchmymakeup is the best one in my opinon, it has pretty much every foundation and you can choose a specific foundation, select a whole bunch or look at them all. It also tells you the closest match if they don't have the exact shade in the foundation you want and they tell how it's different which is super helpful. The foundation matrix is probably the most accurate but has a pretty awful system in terms of looking for specific products.


And there you have it - my tips for picking your shade online.
Do you normally shop for make up online or do you prefer going to a store?

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Nail Favourites #4

Models Own Utopia £5 - Topshop Exhibit  £5 - Essie Chinchilly £7.99 - Essie Lilacism £7.99

Can you tell I'm in a nude mood? I always find that I make my way through my collection and without fail end up back at the neutral shades. They're easy to wear, go with everything and suit any season or situation. Got a job interview? Party? Staying in your pyjamas all day? Neutrals are the way to go.

Utopia by Model's Own, which I don't think they make anymore but I found it on a random website, is my all time favourite. It's a beautiful grey nude with a hint of pink. The formula of Model's Own polishes is wonderful and even a shade as light as this one only needs one coat.

As always there are some Essie appearances in this round of nail favourites. They make up half of my collection so it's no surprise you'll see one in pretty much every installment. Chinchilly, I believe, has already made it's way into one of these posts but I'm loving it all over again. It's a taupe/grey shade and one that I come back to all the time. Lilacism is (can you guess?) a lilac shade. It's a pretty pastel colour that may be more suited to Spring but I think looks great any time of year. I currently have it on my toes.

And finally a Topshop nail varnish in Exhibit. It's a deep red wine colour and a good old, stereotypical Autumn/Winter shade. I don't know what the difference in formulas is between this packaging and the original packaging but the formula with this black lid is incredible. It applies beautifully, is super glossy and lasts ages without chipping. If you're in a store (I couldn't find it anywhere online) and you see one of these nail polishes with this lid, buy it immeadiately.

What colour makes up most of your nail varnish collection? What's your favourite Essie shade?

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Beauty Wishlist

born this way foundation £29 - link // hourglass opaque rouge liquid lipstick £23 - link

laura mercier pressed setting powder £25 - link // diptyque eau duelle eau de parfum £90 - link

estee lauder pure color blush £27 - link // chanel le volume de chanel £25 - link

I've heard so much about the Born This Way foundation. I'm almost a little skeptical to try it because so many people love it (I'm aware that makes absolutely no sense). I've been told that it does wonders for oily skin and that means that it's at least made it's way on to a wishlist. Fingers crossed this lives up to the hype when I get around to buying it.

The hourglass liquid lipsticks aren't something I've heard a lot about across the beauty blogger world. The colour 'Icon' looks beautiful and I did one of those little involuntary squeaks as I was trawling through swatches of it online. I need this in my life ASAP.

Pressed powders and me have a love hate relationship. It feels like I've been looking for my holy grail for an eternity. I'm definitely going to pick up this one from Laura Mercier or the translucent version. From reviews it seems to have a natural matte finish which is my favourite and incredibly difficult to find. It sounds like a winner and any excuse to have a SpaceNK splurge is fine with me!

I've never tried anything from Diptyque much to my disappointment. This fragrance has notes of vanilla that immediately interested me but it also has a warm, slightly spicy infusion which is seems perfect for this season. At £90 I don't think I could justify buying it for myself, however if a little birdie happens to be reading this I wouldn't be opposed to unwrapping this on Christmas morning (subtle hints are not my forte if you can't tell).

If you have an Estee Lauder blush please, please let me know what shade and what you think of it. I am so unbelievably torn on which one to get. At the moment it's a tie between Sensuous Rose and Peach Passion. Both look incredibly beautiful and I can't choose to save my life. HELP!

And finally, the Le Volume De Chanel mascara. I've had about 5 samples of this and have fallen in love with it every time. It's such a great mascara and I think it's finally time to commit £25 to the full size. The volume and length this mascara creates is amazing - keep your eyes peeled for a review.

What beauty products have you been lusting after recently?

P.S. if any of the products on your wishlist are available from Debenhams there's currently a 10% off sale on all (I think) beauty items, you're welcome!

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Topshop 5 Years of Beauty Lipstick - Rio Rio

Topshop 5 Years of Beauty Collection Lipstick in Rio Rio £8 - link

Another day, another red lipstick. Considering this lipstick was part of Topshop's original collection 5 years ago I'm surprised I've never got round to getting it until now. I am glad though that I held out and bought it in this adorable rose gold packaging - I know the release of the 5 years of beauty collection was a while ago now but hey ho!

Rio Rio is a vivid orange red with obvious warm undertones and a satin finish. It's beautifully creamy to apply but moves easily and starts to separate and fade fairly quickly, particularly in the center of the lips. It doesn't dry out throughout wear so it doesn't last that long at 3 hours maximum before it's completely gone. It doesn't stain the lips.

I'm still adjusting to brighter reds and I think I'll always be a burgundy gal at heart but for now I'm happy to add a few to my collection.

Do you like bright reds? What's your favourite shade of red?

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Blogging Props

Taking photos of products brings me inexplicable joy - that may well be one of the saddest things I've ever said but it's the truth. I love arranging make up to create a beautiful photograph but sometimes the picture just turns out boring and empty. Editing obviously brings life to pictures but it's always helpful to start with something good and make it better rather than something a bit crap and end up with something less crap, know what I mean? To make my pictures more interesting and add different colours and textures I use 'props'. Over the past 2 years I've created a little blogger corner in my bedroom full of stuff that I use in my pictures and I thought I'd share some of those bits with you. I highly doubt any of them are unique and original ideas but at least it's handy to have a list of them all in one place!

• wooden (chopping) board - for flat lays to add texture & dimension.
• prints - as a background to add colour.
• rings - to fill out empty spaces in flat lays.
• flowers/plants - to add colour & texture. Almost all flowers and plants photograph really well so they're definitely an easy prop to have.
• notebooks/books -  to add height when taking 'landscape' photos, great for backgrounds too.
• packaging or other products - to fill out empty spaces in photos. Taking a picture of a lipstick? Use other lipsticks to fill out the space.
• patterned bowls/plates - again good for flat lays as a background or for adding height and colour, I'm sure you've seen everyone and their mother use that marble tray from H&M in their pictures recently. 
• candles - cute candle holders make great backgrounds as do lit candles, especially for A/W posts.
• magazines - again good for backgrounds. I particularly love stacked Vogue's in the background of some of my pictures.
• wallpaper - buying a single sheet of wallpaper, especially a wooden effect, makes for a gorgeous background. You can also use contact paper that works exactly the same - and you can get marble look ones too.

To be honest most decor items work well as props in a photograph, you can pretty much use anything you have to make a picture more interesting. The only tip I have is don't over do it. Too much can take away from what you're actually photographing so just make sure the product stays the focus. 

I hope this was helpful and if you think I've left anything out, or you use something that I haven't included then leave a comment and let me know.

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OGX Coconut Milk Shampoo & Conditioner

OGX nourishing coconut milk shampoo - link & conditioner - link £6.99 each

In all honesty hair care doesn't interest me at all. I'm never on the hunt for the best oil, leave in conditioner or even shampoo and conditioner as I just don't really care enough to dig around in Boots or scour the internet in search of the holy grail in hair. Most of the time I live off of recommendations of friends or bloggers which is exactly what brought me here.

Originally I read about the 'argan oil of morocco' range but after that warmed up all of the ashy blonde tones in my hair (I was not impressed - at all) I gave up and went back to my trusty Lee Stafford stuff. Then a few weeks ago I spotted these like a glowing beacon. If you don't know, and I'm not sure how you would because I don't think I've ever mentioned it - I'm rambling - I digress, I'm a huge fan of anything that smells like coconut. I absolutely can't stand the taste of it but the smell, oh holy mother of mary. If everything in my life could smell like coconut I would be one happy chappy but for now, my shampoo & conditioner will have to do. As much as the smell of coconut is delicious it isn't groundbreaking or original but the products themselves are pretty great.

My hair feels moisturised and hydrated without feeling heavy with product. Breakage in my hair is improving as is the appearance of my split ends and that's just in a month of washing my hair twice a week - I am seriously impressed with these. I'm not gonna lie, 90% of the reason I love these is the scent but that 10% is all because of how much better my hair feels and looks since using them.

Do you care about hair care?  Have you tried anything from OGX?

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Top 5 Autumn Lipsticks

 From L-R: wicked - 107 - diva - studded kiss - whirl

Oh Autumn. I love everything about it but most of all, the dark lipsticks. As much I try to get on board with Summer corals and peachy pinks, I'm a berry and dark nude lover and I'm not sorry about it. I had a few choices to pick from in my collection but narrowed it down to one's that I can't stop wearing now and those that have been with me for a fair few Autumn's.

Topshop Wicked £8 - Deep berry shade with blue undertones. I bought this around 4 years ago and I've worn it every Autumn/Winter since. I also haven't found a berry shade I love as much as this one. It's a satin matte finish, lasts 4 hours and is beautiful. As I'm writing this it's out of stock online via the link I've provided but it pops back in stock sometimes and I know that the Oxford St store has it if you want to get it too.

Rimmel 107 £5.49 - Dark red with cool undertones. A beauty blogger classic. I don't need to talk about this as I'm sure you know enough about it to write a novel. It's a matte finish, pretty drying and uncomfortable, lasts the best part of 5 hours and is a bloody bargain for £5.49.

MAC Diva £15.50 - Burgundy red with warm undertones. You can't beat a burgundy lip in A/W in my opinion. It's creamy to apply but dries throughout the day, lasts a good 6 hours and stains the lips. This one I'm sure is in most of your MAC collections and if it isn't then I'd definitely recommend picking it up or popping it on your Christmas list.

MAC Studded Kiss £15.50 - I hate to say that 2 lipsticks are the same but this is pretty much identical to Diva. It does have slightly more brown undertones running through it and a warmer hue but let's face it - they're the same. I bought both because I'm an irrational addict although it is just as beautiful as Diva nonetheless. I wouldn't recommend having both unless of course, you're an irrational addict too.

MAC Whirl £15.50 - And this brings us to the end of this lipstick Whirl-wind (I'd be lying if I said I wasn't proud of that pun). Whirl is a dark, muted rosy brown with warm undertones and a classic uncomfortable MAC matte finish. It's opaque, lasts 6 hours and is one of very few nudes in my collection. I much prefer the darker nudes floating around at the moment compared to the concealer lips fad back in 2007 - I've been scared of nudes ever since, until now. I find the darker variations much easier to wear and a lot more flattering. I think this lipstick is perfect for this time of year and a great alternative to the burgundy and berry shades if they're not your thing.

What's your favourite Autumn lipstick? Do you have any of these in your collection?

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Fashion Wishlist 001

skirt - jeans - top - dress - scarf - jacket - jumper - shirt

I've just done a huge clear out of my wardrobe, made loads of room, everything feels so much tidier and to celebrate - I'm buying more clothes. Backwards logic is the story of my life so I'm not going to try and justify it, neither am I going to apologise for the lack of colour in this wishlist because it's Autumn and finally I'm allowed to wear black 90% of the time and no one ask me if someone's died.

Not being a huge fan of the whole 70's thing that's happening in the fashion world at the moment, there isn't a great deal that appeals to me. Having said that I've still managed to buy almost an entire new wardrobe and despite this being a wishlist, more than half of it is already sitting on my bedroom floor.

Out of all of these pieces the stand out for me is definitely the dress. It's a beautiful a line shape and I love the detailing on the hem. I think a pleather dress is quite an acquired taste, but I love it. Having completely planned Christmas already, yes I'm one of those people - don't judge me, my brain is already on New Years. I've spotted a Whistles dress that I'm seriously contemplating dishing out £200 for but this one from Topshop is a great contender.

What colours do you wear most in A/W? Are you already planning your outfit for New Year's Eve?

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