Mini Mac Haul

So yes only two posts ago did I say I was saving money but here I am already with a mini haul for you all oops.  In my defence though I was sale shopping/browsing and I had a voucher for Debenhams and I thought this was the perfect opportunity for some pretty Mac purchases. So I didn't actually spend any money...well not in Mac anyway I did find a few bargains in theZara  and Topshop sale! 

So on my little spree I decided to pick up the mineralize skin finish in soft and gentle and angel lipstick which are two items that have been on my makeup wish list for a such long time, and seeing as they were both there in stock I just couldn’t resist.

Angel lipstick is a baby pink shade with a hint of silver shimmer. I am big lover of the pink/ nude lip and rarely step away from my signature lip look so this seemed like a good shade to add to my collection, you can never have too many pink lipsticks, right? I had also heard this lipstick is a favourite of Kim Kardashian and yes I know she has a very dramatic look but I adore her flawless make up. This lipstick is a frost formula and I have never actually owned a frost cause I am just not a fan of the shimmery look but when I tried this it was not as cool toned as I had expected , instead added a  subtle, pretty sheen to my lips. So I am looking forward to wearing this, I think this shade will go really well with a dramatic smoky eye.

Then I picked up the much hyped mineralize skin finish in soft and gentle, yet another product that has been on my wish list for so long and I am so excited to try this out properly.  This highlighting powder looks divine in the pan with its gilded peach bronze tone with a twist of champagne silver shimmer. I can’t wait to try this,  the only highlighter I have really got on with is the Sleek highlighter in the past, which is great for a natural day time sheen but I think the glitter particles in soft and gentle will add a bit of sparkle and glamour to an evening look.

I will do a full review on both products once I have tried them out properly. Have you tried either products? If so let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading Lovelies

L'Oreal light as water?

Now I always used to be a bit of a foundation snob, I admit I was under the belief that surely an expensive price tag would promise my face a luxurious feel and finish. However I have on a number of occasions been left disappointed with high end foundations and its always so much more disappointing when you have paid a lot of money for a product. So I decided to stop being such a high end snob and start branching out to the high street on my quest for the perfect foundation and I really have found some  treasures, if you’re a regular reader of my blog you will more than likely be aware of my love for Rimmel wake me up foundation which was one of my first high street foundations and have since become one if my favourites and ever since the high street brands have continued to impress me. However I must add I have not completely turned my back on high end foundations I still love Laura Mercierr silk crème and Chanel Vita Lumiere aqua, but me and my purse are enjoying a makeup collection with a mixture of high street and high end foundations to play around with. 

Which brings me on to today’s review; I am going to share my thoughts with you on L’Oreal’s Nude Magique Eau De Trent Foundation, which is a mouthful. This is L’Oreals newest addition to the collection and there has been a lot of hype around this ‘Lighter than water’ foundation. As you can imagine the formula of this foundation is very watery and light. I find this foundation is extremely easy to apply and blends like a dream, the packaging suggests finger application works best  but I don’t like to use my hands to apply make-up (it’s a germ thing) so I have found using my Real techniques  expert face brush works really well with this foundation.

Once applied this foundation leaves my skin with a lovely natural, dewy glow but still offers just the right amount of coverage to hide any imperfections and under eye circles, any bad spots of blemishes might need just a touch of concealer. However, for a waterybiased product this foundation actually offered a lot more coverage than I first anticipated, so I was pleasantly surprised!  The foundation leaves my skin feeling light and airy. I really feel like the formula allows my skin to breath, so I have loved it for a day time natural ‘no make-up look’.  The lasting power of the foundation is also better than expected and I find it lasts around 6 hours on my combination skin, touching up with powder once throughout the day. 

So far great, right? However I do have one small complaint and I am sure you have already guessed? The bottle! Yes the little glass bottle does look very cute and chic on my dresser but there is no pump so pouring can get messy and there is always some wasted product, which I really hate. So I wish this was in a tube or there was a pump to ensure I don’t waste any of this little beauty.

So overall other than the packaging I really have enjoyed using this ‘Lighter than air’ foundation and for the small price of £9.99 I would definitely repurchase in the future.

Have you tried L’Oreal’s Nude Magique Eau De Trent Foundation?  I would love to hear your thoughts?

Thanks for reading lovelies 

What's my face worth TAG

Hi everyone hope you all had a lovely weekend. Going to skip the rambling introduction and just jump straight in to this post.

I have seen this how much is your face worth tag on numerous blogs recently and thought it might be interesting to see just how much my face is worth. Saying that I also think it might make me want to cry a little bit. I am going to base this on my weekend day time look so not a full on night out look but a bit more then I would wear in the week to work. So eek here goes.....

1. First off I start with foundation, ( yes naughty blogger I am not using primer at the moment simply because I have ran out and my Christmas budget just won't allow it right now.) Laura Mercierr Silk Creme foundation at £33 (certainly one of my more expensive foundations but I do love it). 

2. Then I move onto my Mac light boost highlighter, which I use to highlight my under eye, nose, forehead and a little in my chin. This costs £17.

3. Next I use my collection concealer on any breakouts or blemishes. This is a bargain product at £3.99.

4. Then I move on to contouring and bronzing. Slightly excessive but I use two at the moment. I use Mac eyeshadow in charcoal brown which cost me £10 for the hollows of my cheeks and down my nose to create definition. Then I use Benefit Hoola for am also over bronzer to warm up my face this cost me £23.50

5. For blush I am currently using a Bourjouis  

Blush pot in Rose Gold which cost me £7.99. 

6. Then I use Rimmel stay matte powder to set my make up, this is another bargain buy at £3.99. 

7. Then my brows to define and fill in my brows I use my beloved Benefit Browzing 

which cost £23.50 I finish my brows with 

Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara which cost £5.99. 

8. Then for my eye shadow I currently loving using my Mac eye shadows. I am using brûlée for a base, naked lunch across the outer lid and satin taupe through the outer corners. They cost £10 each so that's an eye watering £30 on my eye shadow eek. 

9. Next l liner I am using a Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner, This costs £5.99Then I use Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Liner on my water line which cost £3.99. 

10. Then mascara again I use two L'Oreal telescopic in carbon black for £10.99 and the maybeline the falsies which cost £7.99. 

11. Then finally for lips I am using Mac lip stick in creme cup which cost £14 and NYX lipgloss in beige over the top which cost £6.00 

Phewwwww so my total is..drumroll please £207.92 Wow that a lot more then I expected, especially when that's a good mixture of high end and height street make up,  oops! The worst part is that my actual make up collection is probably 10 times the size if this...I really need to cut back on the spending. 

I TAG all my fellow bloggers to have a go at this post and see how much your face is worth! 

Thank for reading lovelies

Life lately.....

Life lately......

Well it’s been a while since I last blogged….10 weeks to be exact, how ridiculous is that! I hadn’t intended to leave it so long but recently life has just taken over and without delving too deep into my personal life (purely because I don’t want to bore you) but I lost a family member recently, which was as you can imagine a hard time for everyone and another family member has been very poorly. So obviously  my family has been my number one property…and unfortunately blogging has just had to take a back seat.

However, I say while touching wood that things seem to be back on track a little bit now and hopefully I can re-join the blogging world again as I have really missed writing my blog posts and can’t wait to get back into the swing of things. 

I do think though my blog might have to take a slight change in direction. In the beginning I planned my blog to be purely beauty and fashion based. However, at the moment I am trying very hard not to spend money on my beauty and fashion addictions, because I am getting married in July next year.  One thing I have learnt about weddings they are extremely expensive and my dream wedding is eating away at my savings at the moment. Don’t get me wrong I am still buying the essentials, I can’t go cold turkey completely from the makeup counter but I am trying to be much wiser with my spending habits because I obviously want my wedding to be everything I have always dreamed of.

So my blog will more than likely have a lot more lifestyle posts, including some wedding planning posts, maybe...but I won’t be giving too much of my actual wedding plans away till after the wedding as I would like my guests to have a surprise on the day rather than knowing everything about my wedding day before it even happens. There will still be beauty and fashion posts but I just won’t be purchasing as much so just going to have to be a bit more creative with my posts. 

So after that very long ramble, I thought I would end this blog post by sharing with you my new obsession….Pintrest, yes pinning and sharing photos has become incredibly addictive. I love searching for home ideas, style and beauty and inspiration, baking recipes, travel destinations and my favourite of the moment Christmas themed pictures. It’s given me loads of ideas for wrapping and decorating so I thought I would share with you some of my favourite festive pins and who knows it may inspire you too.

Thank you so much for reading I am so glad I am blogging again and hopefully I am back in the swing of writing and posting.

I love the vintage look wrapping paper this year

Champagne ice cubes for Christmas morning

Ideas for yummy Chrsitmas drinks

I love baking so really want to make some festive cakes and cookies, these cranberry cookies look so nice.

I have made rolo cookies and they are delicious especially when you get to the gooey rolo centre...yummy

Lovely idea for a DIY Christmas present for any chocoholic

These vanilla macaroons looks so festive

Another lovely DIY present idea...great for secret santa at work maybe?

Lovely idea for children on Christmas morning

Another great one for children, gingerbread playdough.

I love this garland

Really need to find myself a Christmas jumper like this.

L'Oreal telescopic mascara

Hello lovelies

I hope you have all had a great week and wrapping up warm after the drop in temperature. Dare I say I enjoy the autumn and winter weather, yes it’s cold but that’s what fires and thick knitted jumpers were made for?  My perfect evening  consists of get the fire going, putting on my thick pjs and  fluffy socks, wrapping  myself up in my blanket, lighting some candles and sipping on a hot chocolate while watching a film or getting lost in a book….sounds like heaven.  Also autumn also means I can start to get excited about Christmas, I absolutely love Christmas I really am like a big kid, I love putting my tree up and decorating my flat.

 

Anyway I feel like I am loosing track, focus Emma. When it comes to my lashes I have used one product religiously for the well over a year, if you are a regular reader of my blog you will know by now this is the bloggers favourite Maybelline the falsies. This is hands down the best mascara I have ever tried; it gives lots of volume and lengthens my lashes. I was not in the market for new mascara but there I was in Boots eyeing up some L’Oreal goodies and it was 3 for 2 and I already had two products so thought it would be a waste not to get my third free, that’s when L’Oreal Telescopic caught my eyes. I had heard some really good reviews about this mascara so thought it was worth a try.

My natural eye lashes are very blonde (practically invisible) but they are quite long and thick. So I went for the carbon black mascara because even though I am blonde I do like dark. I have given my falsies mascara a well-deserved holiday and used this for a few weeks and here are my thoughts so far. 

The Good

·         The wand. There has been quite mixed reviews about the unique comb shape of this wand, but personally I find it works really well on my lashes. The wand managed to separate my lashes well which therefore allows the mascara to lengthen my lashes really well, more so than any other mascara has done, so massive plus there for this product.

·         The formula doesn’t smudge or drop down off the lashes….no panda eyes, which is always a plus.

·         I find this mascara lasted all day and night without any reapplication needed.

·         The Carbon black shade, as the name is suggests is very very dark, which as I mentioned above I am a big fan of.

·         Going back to the wand I find because it’s a comb applicator that it applies to my bottom lashes really well and adds lots of length.

The Bad

·         The cost, as good as it is without my 3 for 2 deal this would have cost £10.99 which for a high street product I find quite steep, saying that I think high street mascaras in general are very overpriced.

·         Volume. Ok so it lengthens my lashes very well but I don’t think it adds much volume and too much of this mascara can leave you with spider leg looking lashes. Which leads me nicely on to my fabulous idea……?

Ok so as you can see there were some very good points to the telescopic mascara, but the lack of volume was an issue so that’s when it hit me. what if I mixed this mascara with my Falsies mascara? so  first I applied the L’Oreal mascara and then applied the Maybelline mascara over the top, and there you have it I am a genius (very modest) I have found my perfect mascara combination not only are my lashes extended but they have the volume from the falsies mascara too. 

 

Would love to hear your thoughts on either mascara if you have tried them, as I know there are lots of mixed reviews. I am still unable to reply to comments at the moment which is so annoying but I am trying very hard to figure out what the problem is and I will reply to every single comment on my blog when I do.

 

Thanks for reading lovelies.

 

Mac creme cup lipstick

Hello Lovelies

So yes I went shopping, yes I went to Mac and yes I bought a lipstick, because a girl can never have too many Mac lipsticks right?. As many of you will know I am a big fan of the pink lip be it pale pink, nude pink or bright pink I will wear it. Crème cup by Mac had been on my extremely long Mac wish list for a while. Yes I have a separate Mac wishlist then a general make up wish list, purely because the list was getting too long, so felt this was a clever way of cutting it slightly (although I haven’t cut it at all really, so rather pointless actually).

Anyway back to the crème cup, this lipstick is a Cremesheen formulation, which is my favourite because as the name suggests the texture of the lipstick is incredibly creamy and I find they glide on the lips like a dream. I find the Cremesheen lipsticks very hydrating and moisturising and they don’t dry up my lips like some Mac lipsticks are prone to do. This colour really stood out to me as it’s a really cute every day light nude pink shade with a pearl like finish. This shade is very wearable and find it works well for both day and evening wear. I think this lipstick is the perfect shade to compliment a dramatic smoky eye or winged out eye liner look. I can see this lipstick is going to be a favourite in Mac lipstick collection.

Have you tried Crème cup by Mac? What are your thoughts?

Thanks for reading xx

 

Vaseline Spray and Go in coco radiance

Hello beauts,

 

Ok so first thing first it’s been nearly a month since my last blog post, until then I had got into a really good system of posting once or twice a week  so I am sorry posts have not been as regular. The main reason for the lack of blogging is pure and simply because I have been so busy, my summer has been full of family visiting from abroad,family gatherings, (I had my sister over dor 6 weeks),weddings, one of which was one of my best friends and I was her bridesmaid, hen dos, motor bike racing (not me on the bike, my other half is a motor bike racer) study preperstion, birthdays,general socialising and working full time phewww, so generally life has taken over….and I am not going to lie I am exhausted after a summer where my dairy has been full to brim. I am not complaining at all because I have had a great summer with some amazing and special memories, but I am ready for a weekend where I do nothing other than sit in my onsie, watch Disney, blog and eat some chocolate.

Ok so long winded ramble over, today I thought I would share with you my thoughts on a recent purchase I made, the Vaseline Spray and Go body moisturiser in Coco radiant (£4.99 from Boots). Now I have heard lots of good things about this product but I hadn’t actually planned to purchase this moisturiser, but there I was waiting in line at boots waiting to pay for a rather large make up purchase and there it was on the shelf before you reach the check out, and well it just seemed to magically have jumped into my basket. Waiting in line is a dangerous position to be in, when your allowing yourself a little splurge.

The main reason this product caught my eye was the ‘Spray and go’ slogan, I won’t lie when it comes to moisturiser I am very impatient I am not one to sit around and wait for moisturiser to dry. I normally end getting irritated, putting my clothes on before the lotion has totally dried and end up with damp sticky clothes, never a good look! so this on the go product sounded like the perfect solution.

I have used this spray for the last two weeks and I am very impressed with this high street steal. This spray and go moisturiser is so easy to use, you spray, and rub in and about 2 minutes later you are ready to go. It applies very easily, not leaving any left over product residue, which I find some lotions and moisturisers do, and you don’t need much of the product at all to cover yourself. It leaves my skin feeling very soft and smooth, with a hint of a glow on the skin.  I adore the coco butter scent; it’s not overpowering but adds just a beautiful subtle chocolate aroma on the skin, leaving you smelling good enough to eat. The coco scent lasts really well, and as a self confessioned chocoholic this has quickly become on of my favourite smelling moisturisers in my beauty stash.  

So all in all I am very impressed with this lotion it’s affordable, easy to use, and smells incredible. So definitely one I would recommend for any fellow coco fans. Have you tried this product? What do you think of it? I love reading your comments so please comment below, however at the moment blogger won’t let me reply to any comments so I am not being ignorant just not sure what the problem is, if you can shed any light please let me know.

 

Thanks for reading lovelies, and hope you have a great week.

 

Wake me up, stay matte....worth the hype?

 

Hello ladies (and gentlemen) I hope your all having a lovely week and looking forward to the weekend, I feel like I haven’t really stopped the last month, my dairy has been packed full to the brim and I have struggled to sit down properly and have a minute….and now I do have a minute I am bored so decided to blog instead.

Today’s post is all about Rimmel’s Wake me up foundation and the Stay Matte powder also by Rimmel. Now I have spoken about these two products a number of times on my blog, but over the spring and summer months I have found myself reaching for these two products daily so I felt they deserved their own post to gush about my love for them.  

Now I know there is blog posts everywhere about these products so I am a little late jumping on the bandwagon but both these products have been in my makeup bag ever since I purchased them , so just proves in my opinion the hype is deserved, so here goes….

The Wake me up foundation is without a doubt my all-time favourite drug store foundation, yes this is a bold statement but I really have never used a drugstore foundation as much as I love this one. The foundation has the small price tag of £8.99, I normally stock up on these when they have a Rimmel 3 for 2 sale so I save myself some money…well saving money in the grand scheme make up purchasing that it.

The Wake me up foundation is a medium coverage foundation but gives the skin a dewy and radiant glow, so literally does ‘Wake up’ my skin, cheesy I know but it does. I find its perfect for a natural, glowing look but can then be built up for a full evening coverage that still has an illuminating finish . I use a combination of my real techniques stippling and buffing brush to apply this foundation, I find the buffing brush just blends everything together nicely. I would imagine this foundation could be a good one if you like to use your hands/ fingers to apply foundation as it’s not too thich, but I am just not a fan of the hand and foundation combination and much prefer using a brush…it’s a germ thing I have slight OCD about it, (I am constantly washing brushes due to my germ phobia, but that’s a whole separate post). The foundation also has added SPG 15 so great to wear when the sun is shining.

My skin type is combination so I get the lovely mixture of oily and dry areas on my skin, the oily areas particularly surface around the T zone and often find half way through the day/ night my T zone is start to oil up. That is where the Stay Matte powder comes in; this again is my favourite drugstore powder I have used. It only costs £3.99 so it’s a complete bargain. I buy this powder in the shade translucent so it doesn’t have any colour, but I like that as I don’t like the over powdered look, there are coloured shades available in this powder though if you like a bit more coverage. This powder is very light weight but still keeps my skin incredibly matte for the day ahead and keeps all the nasty oils at bay. No matter what foundation I am using whether it is high end of drugstore I always finish my skin with this powder and it really finishes my face. So are these products worth the hype?......well if you haven't guessed, Yes! 

So have you tried either the wake me foundation or stay matte powder? I would love to hear your thoughts.  If you haven’t tried them, I urge you to go to your nearest boots (other stores are available: P) and purchase this foundation and powder, go and give it a try, or if you have a questions please comment away.

 

Thanks for reading lovlies.

 

---

Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea

Good evening lovely readers, tonight I am taking a side step from my usual beauty and fashion rumblings and going to blog about the mad hatters afternoon tea at Sanderson hotel in London........ 

Me and my sister had planned a weekend to London to do some sightseeing and theatre trips, so I thought it was also a great excuse to go for a really special afternoon tea.  Those who know me well will know I am obsessed with Disney and Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourite fairy tales, I even hosted my very own mad hatter’s afternoon tea for my Birthday this year. So when I heard about a mad hatter’s themed afternoon tea at The Sanderson Hotel, I am sure you can imagine my excitement.  So I went ahead and booked it, I instantly received a confirmation email inviting me to ‘Tumble down the rabbit hole and enjoy the wonderful world of tea in the beautiful garden courtyard’, from that point onwards I was counting down the days.

I was so excited when we  finally did ‘Tumble down the rabbit hole’, our table set with unique crockery,  a charming musical jewellery box filled with lumps of sugar, an old fashioned leather bound book which had the afternoon menu placed inside and napkins with a riddle wrapped around them.

Then our lovely waitress (I can’t remember her name but she was great and very helpful) came over and brought us samples of the tea on offer, we had a good sniff and smell of the tea blends and aromas and decide on a pot of Strawberry and cream tea and mint chocolate chip, they were both very yummy, refreshing, sweet tasting teas.

Then our three tired cake tray was brought out, it was filled with a mixture of sweet and savory treats, which looked delightful and me my sister just sat, gazed and snapped away for a few minutes before we even tried anything. The bottom section was complete with an array of sandwiches, including smoked ham on tomato bread, cucumber and chive cream on spinach bread, smoked salmon and lemon butter on rye bread and finally egg mayonnaise on lemon bread, my favorite was definitely the smoked salmon. Then there was a selection of sweet and savory scones served with herb butter, fruit jam and clotted cream which were very tasty.  

Then we moved on to the drink me bottle, we advised by our waitress to drink this before starting on the cakes.  The drink me potion consisted of three layers, passion fruit jelly, coconut cream and banana puree, and although unlike Alice the little potion did not make me it taller  it was a real treat for the taste buds and great preparation for the sweet indulgence which was yet to come.

So we moved onto the cake tray where the fun really began, this was filled with three cakes, the first I tried was the Melting mango cheese cake with an outer layer of white chocolate, incredibly sweet and fruity but tasted like a dream. Then we tried the matcha green tea white chocolate mousse which was served in a edible chocolate tea cup complete with popping candy on the top, again this was very sweet and sickly but perfect for a chocolate lover like myself. Then finally we delved into the ‘tick tock’ Victoria sponge, which had been decorated to look like a little pocket clock, it almost looked too good to eat, but I still managed to munch my way through this lovely little cake which was definitely my favourite cake of the three.  Finally we hit the top layer and indulged over selves with the carrot meringue and strawberry and cream marshmallow mushrooms.

After all the eating and drinking me and Laura (my sister) left the Sanderson on a slight sugar high, full tummies and chatting all the way back to the hotel about what a fantastic time we had, and our favourite food and specifics from the afternoon tea.

As soon as we arrived at the beautiful outdoor Suka restaurant till the moment we left, I and Laura were wowed by our afternoon tea experience; they stuck to the Alice and wonderland theme perfectly with their enchanting and original touches, the attention to detail was immaculate and really made the day a stand out  part of our trip. So if you’re looking for a unique spin on traditional British afternoon tea I urge you to try the mad hatters afternoon tea, you won’t be disappointed.

Thanks for reading lovelies.