Sunday 30 January 2011

Outfits and purchases....

I haven't posted an outfit for a while now so I made the effort to actually take some shots
I've not had the motivation to make much of an effort with my clothes for a while but have started again
So expect more shots of my ensembles soon!

 This was just a comfy outfit for work the other day
I look like a scruff bag but no one really sees me
Blue top: Topshop
Nude wavy tunic: Topshop
Teal Cardi: Forever 21
Black Jeans: Torrid
I wore this with my Uggs for ultimate comfiness

I have recently come to the conclusion that since leaving the cinema and working with Mum my weight has creeped back up again
This is most probably due to the fact I sit on my arse all day in front of a computer eating biscuits and drinking tea
I need to remedy this ASAP!
I've almost put the 2 stone I worked so hard to lose back on, seriously a couple of pounds now
Sucks!

 Flowery dress for a day at the gym and shopping with the bestest
Love this dress for something casual I can just chuck on
After seeing these photos I did put a plain black vest on underneath as it's a bit sheer on the old boobage!
Floral Dress: Topshop
Rust Cardi: New Look
Black Leggings: New Look
And of course worn with the trusty brogues
I'm looking for a better quality pair but can't justify the £70 I've seen some for
Shame I didn't hunt some down in the sales!
 Today I went for a nice long walk with Mum and the pup
Dress: Forever 21
Cardigan: Topshop
Leggings: New Look
Worn with grey suede boots
 Onto the purchases....
I had a pair of shorts and shirt to take back to New Look so treated myself to three new sheer shirts (loving these right now!) 
As I paid I was expecting to have to pay around £20 extra for the extra shirt but it came up as £4.49...the cashier had screwed up the student discount. Made my day
 I love all the peter pan collars around at the moment but I struggle with high neck cuts due to an 'ample' bosom... this shirt was a happy medium and I love the collar
It is a bit on the short side but with a top underneath it was fine
I wore this last night for the bf's sisters engagement party. I felt good but was also aware of the tummy :( still I shall beat it so to speak!! 
I think this was only £15.99 so not too expensive for a lovely shirt
 I had been eying this shirt up for ages, well before Christmas
I was specifically on the look out for this as I think it can be dressed up or down 
Very happy about finding it, and it was in the tall section so not too short
 This one came up extremely short but the print is gorgeous so I'll keep trying to style it right

I may have popped into boots and made two sneaky purchases...whoopsy!
The bestie needed something for her sisters birthday and I got completely distracted
I love love love the Benefit blushers, Coralista is a firm favourite (even got Kat hooked) but the price is a bit steep
But yesterday I just thought f*ck it I felt pretty crap and wanted to smile about something
Enter....
 Dallas £24
'An outdoor glow for an indoors gal'
I have super pale skin and never seem to manage to get my own healthy glow without becoming a lobster, so fingers crossed this will work for me
 Swatch without flash


 How could not get myself Bella Bamba after all the hype on blogger about it
Bella Bamba £24
This is a lovely colour
Gives a gorgeous flush of colour and 'extra dimensionality'
I wore this last night and really liked it
Definitely recommend it
 Dallas (top)
Bella Bamba (bottom) 

All in all a pretty good weekend
I had an awesome week too
Friday I did a photoshoot and am loving my project idea right now
Might post a few of the photos soon
Seeing friends a lot more which is awesome
And helping Mum out as much as possible
Things are starting to look up 

Hope everyone is amazing :)
Love Belle
xxxx

Thursday 27 January 2011

Review: Lush Lemony Flutter

A couple of weeks ago I decided to buy a few bits from Lush
Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter being one of them
I don't particularly pay much attention to my hands but after my bestie telling me that your hands show your age as you get to the point when it matters I thought I'd better start being nice to them...

I really love the packaging Lush products come in
The black pots are so recognisable and stand out on my 'dressing table'
One day I'll own a white wooden dresser....
The butter is a thick consistency and yellow in colour
It smells like lemons, which I personally adore
Anything citrusy and I'm on it! 


What Lush say:We made Lemony Flutter to soften your cuticles; it's our thickest cream out there. It's so good at softening your cuticles and nourishing your nails that LUSH customers have been using it to soften and nourish lots of other body parts like their feet, elbows and knees

What I say: I've really enjoyed using this. I slather it on most nights (when I remember) before I go to bed as I do find it can be a bit greasy on my hands and this can be an issue during the day, I put this down to the thickness of the cream. I love the smell and texture :) 
As well as using this as a hand cream I do pop a bit on my elbows and knees as mine tend to get quite dry, especially elbows, and it moisturises a treat. Overall I've really enjoyed Lemony Flutter and will definitely repurchase when I run out.

Does anyone know if this is included in the 5 black pots scheme thingy Lush do?

Well there was my first in depth review, hope it wasn't too craptastic!

Much Loves
Belle
xxx

MAC and Elf 'haulage'

So the student loan cam through the other day and I treated myself
Only a little bit of course :)

Elf:
 Eyeshadow Primer, Blusher and Bronzer duo, Single Eyeshadow in Raspberry Truffle, two Mineral Lipsticks in Rosy Tan and Party Pink, Mineral Blusher, Gel Eyeliner, two Nail Polishes in Cranberry and Smokey Brown, Make up mist and set and the Eyeshadow Blending brush
Between £1.50 and £3.50
 Mineral Blush in Rose
 Amazing pigmentation, this was just one swipe
I haven't used this properly yet as I've been enjoying my new MAC blush far too much! 
I shall make a mental to use it tomorrow :)
 Kate Garey Make-up bag
£14.99
Not sure if you might have noticed but I have a thing for pandas...I love them!
When I saw this I fell in love with it and knew I had to have it
 It's so soft and squidgy 
And the interior is a gorgeous floral fabric, nom!
 Back to the make-up...
Elf Mineral lipsticks in Rosy tan (left) and Party Pink (right)
 Again really pigmented and both look lovely on lips
I'm slowly building up a decent lipstick collection
Didn't realise how many I had accumalated
 Single Eyeshadow in Raspberry Truffle
I'm trying to get more colour and smokey eyeshadows into my collection
I'm far too much of a neutrals girl
 I can't wait to create a smokey eye with this at the weekend!
It's so soft and full of colour
 Blusher and Bronzer duo
This reminded me of some Nars products
I thought for £3.50 who could resist!
 The bronzers quite dark for me but with a light hand I could get this to work
Obviously I'll have to wait for the summer though
The blush is lovely too, hopefully I can get out of my Orgasm/Coralista rut

MAC
 Blusher in Well Dressed, Studio Sculpt Concealer in NW15, Eyeshadow Refill in Cork, Lipglass in Nymphette and Lipstick in Creme'd Nude
Pretty rubbish swatches there, sorry about that!!

I love Elf for affordable make up binges, as I'm sure we all do. I even managed to convert my bestie, hopefully I can persuade her to let me have a go with her goodies too :)
But I also love MAC for their selection and have a wishlist longer than my arm, in my dreams!! 

My new make-up drawers are already close to capacity, might have to have a cull at some point but I love every piece of make up in them.... need more drawers.

Love
Belle
xxx

Sunday 23 January 2011

Weekend Project

After pondering on buying some drawers to organise my make-up form WH Smith I asked what Gavin thought...
He said it was £20 I didn't need to spend so I just re-organised some of my make-up so I could access my favourite bits easier whilst being kind of down hearted
So I popped round to see my Mum and she produced these
My Aunt bought these for me as a Christmas present years ago and had painted them in blue and purple
Mum had dug them out thought I could bring them back to their former glory as I'd put glitter paint and other stuff on them
And so my weekend project was born....
 Before Pictures

 I had to sand them down and paint two coats of undercoat before I could get creative
I rummaged around and found some left over paint form the bedroom
So the main body is 'Almost Oyster', the outside of the drawers are 'Dusted Fondant' (I hadn't done that bit yet here) and the inside of the drawers are 'Duck Egg' 
 The finish article
I love them
And even more because I put all the work into restoring them
I'd never used an electric sander and was shocked that Gavin let me use his!
 So my Saturday night was spent home alone with a sander, paint brushes, paint, trashy TV and plenty of wine
Actually quite lovely
 The bottom left drawer has all my loose eyeshadows and mini mascaras in, the right hand drawer is odds and ends
 The middle left drawer is all my lipsticks/glosses and the right drawer is some of my face make-up
 And the top left drawer is home to all my blushes and the right is the rest of my face make-up
 With all this organisation on the top of my chest of drawers my top drawer is so much easier to manoeuvre. My hair dryer is no longer jammed in and I know exactly what's in each bag
I keep my eyeshadow palettes on top of the drawers with my two favourite perfumes
I love how organised and accessible all my make-up is now and know I'm going to be able to experiment so much more! Organisation is love for me :) 

So I've had a productive weekend
Hope everyone's well

Love 
Belle 
xxx

Wednesday 19 January 2011

Word on the street you got something to show me...

Hello Ladies
I've been a bit naughty in my 'down in the dumps' state
A small Lush order made it's way to me late last week
Soon to be joined by an ELF and MAC party
I'm really quite excited to try all my new goodies
And will be sure to pop reviews up as soon as I get a chance
Hopefully things will get better as my bank balance can't handle the spending!

 The Ex-Factor
£1.99
I haven't had a chance to use this yet as I don't have a bath at home
Trip to Mum's is on the cards
It looks so cute though, I love gingerbread men

Magic Mushroom
£2.30
Again I need a bath for this one
Smells gorgeous and hope it makes my feel nice and soft

 It's Raining Men
£14.25 for a large bottle
I love the Honey I washed The Kids soap, the smell is divine!
So obviously I couldn't resist this beaut
It feels lovely and moisturising but I haven't used it in the shower yet as I'm ploughing my way through my stash of Snow Fairy at the gym and have reserved this and Glogg for my home showers
Not to sound dirty but I haven't showered at home for nearly a week....it's good though it means I've been to the gym everyday :)
American Cream Hair Conditioner
£12.99 for 500g
I've been using the Aussie 3minute miracle conditioner for a while and fancied a change
When I do get to shower at home I like to use an intense conditioner and hope to indulge in this and maybe a bit of the Aussie if my hair is particularly rubbishy

I do intend to do proper reviews of all of these as and when I use them
A brief selection preview of what's to come from the postman:
Mac Well Dressed Blush
Mac Nymphette Lipglass
Elf Cream Eyeliner
Elf Blusher and Bronzer duo

I'm also considering getting these drawers and matching boxes to make a start in organising my make up collection which is ever expanding. If I order today it could be my weekend's mission to organise it all...


Take Care lovelies
Love
Belle
xxx

Tuesday 18 January 2011

Diet Coke and Nails Inc.

I got my hands on all the nails inc. polishes now :)
I've only tried Caramel and Heather Grey and so far love them 
Even more so because their free :D
 Caramel
 I love the camel colour trend at the moment and this polish fits perfectly with it
This might be my favourite

 Heather Grey
 I also love purples and the way this one has a hint of grey is lovely
But still caramel is my fav so far 

(L-R) Heathers Grey, Denim, Caramel, Plum
I know everyone's seen these before but I wanted to add my two cents in
Got a few more products to review soon 

Love 
Belle
xxx