MAC Lipstick in Costa Chic

MAC Lipstick

Costa Chic

£14.00

I recently visited Bicester Outlet village in Oxfordshire with the bestie and they had a Cosmetics Company Outlet store...heaven!

I behaved myself though, I was initially walking around with six things in my hands but only left with two.

The collection of MAC products was quite impressive and I saw quite a few permanent products reduced, including this lipstick and an eyeshadow in Club which I was really tempted by as it's such an unusual colour.

There was also loads of Origins and Bobbi Brown products, I could have spent soooo much!

So I did pick up the above lipstick for only £9.00

Costa Chic has been on my MAC wish list for over a year now so when I saw it in the outlet for only £9.00 I knew I had to get it

I forgot to take a photo of the lipstick bullet but it's very true to how the colour swatches on both the hand and lips

It's such a summery shade but that hasn't been stopping me wearing it in the gloomy March days we're having

It's a frost finish, light coral colour and I find it really wearable for quite a bright colour

In the full face swatch I think it suits my colouring well which doesn't happen a lot with bright colours with me

The staying time is pretty decent too as is with most MAC lipsticks

It also has the trademark vanilla scent 

I haven't bought a MAC lipstick in so long, probably 18 months... I just can't justify £14.oo on a lipstick knowing that high street lipsticks are pretty much the same quality

But it's nice to treat myself to a nice high end lipstick once in a while

Any recommendations for other MAC lipsticks?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit Lip Glosses Part 2

So this is part two of the previous Benefit Lip Gloss post

Showcasing the other three lip glosses in the new line

As before these three have been released to compliment the corresponding box of powders to their namesakes



Hoola~Shimmering Gold Nude
This is the perfect nude gloss
It has slight shimmer running through it which is really flattering on the lips
I've been enjoying wearing this for a toned down but polished look

Sugarbomb~Shimmering Pinky Nude
This has pride of place on my desk at work and for good reason!
It's a gorgeous pinky nude which seems to flatter most skin colours
I love this as a natural but pretty pink and it works really well for a work makeup look

Bella Bamba~Sheer Bright watermelon
Similar to the Coralista shade Bella Bamba has a jelly like feel to it
A bit more pink toned than Coralista though
A flatering watermelon pink which will be brilliant when the sun decides to come out for Spring! Here's hoping...

Have you tried any of the Benefit glosses?

Love
Belle
xoxo

Rimmel Apocalips 'Luna' and 'Apocalipta'

Luna 

Apocalipta (Excuse the awkward face!)

Apocalips Lip Lacquer

Rimmel

£5.99  

I'm sure you've all seen the new Apocalips all over the blogging world
I gave in to the hype and have to say I really like them
I bought the bright pink Apocalipta first and found it really flattering on my skin tone
Very bright and in your face so I keep it for nights out, not quite embracing the bright lips for daytime yet
My only problem with Apocalipta is the way it fades, it leaves a very prominent line around the lips and doesn't look very flattering. Al though it lasts a good two hours before this happens
You also need to apply in a mirror to avoid looking like a clown!
However Luna is on the complete opposite end of the colour scale
An orange toned nude which gives just enough colour to the lips to stand out but not as in your face as Apocalipta so a good wearable everyday shade
As you can see from the above pictures it gives a polished look and makes my face look more pulled together
I like the formulation of the products, like a liquid lipstick similar to the Collection 2000 Lip Cremes but glossy
The packaging is also lovely, for a drug store make up brand I think it looks quite high end and I like the angled black lid.

Overall I really like the Apocalips and will definitely be looking at picking up a few other colours

Any recommendations?

Love
Belle
xoxo

Benefit World Famous Neutrals 'Most Glamorous Nudes Ever'

Benefit

Most Glamorous Nudes Ever

Neutral Eyeshadow Kit

£23.50

At the weekend I had a makeover at my local Benefit counter and the MUA used one of the new neutral eyeshadow palettes on me

I was drawn to the Worlds Most Glamorous palette as the coral toned 'It's Complicated' is identical to one of my favourite Urban Decay shadows from the Alice in Wonderland palette and I've nearly run out so need a dupe

I had promised myself I wouldn't purchase anything as I always end up walking away with some sort of goodies but I had £40 of Advantage card points which I was saving up for a perfume I didn't really need so I figured I'd buy another eyeshadow palette I don't really need... makes sense yes?

I love a neutral eyeshadow, as do the majority of beauty bloggers!

And after seeing the three of these palettes doing the rounds on many blogs I knew I had to try them out

In the kit you get two of the creaseless cream shadows in My Two Cents and Birthday Suit

I've always liked the Benefit cream shadows and wanted to pick up Birthday Suit for so long so I'm happy that it's included in this kit, it's a lovely taupey brown which would be perfect for an everyday wash of colour

Whereas My Two Cents is a more coppery golden colour which would be more akin to an evening look or for a base for darker colours

The Longwear Powder shadows are really soft and blendable, they aren't hugely pigmented but they can be built up to achieve a strong eye look

Again perfect for everyday eye looks and I know I'll be getting a lot of use out of these shades for work everyday

Call My Buff is a pale shell colour which is perfect for a highlight or base shade

Kiss Me I'm Tipsy is a gorgeous, rich brown which is lovely in the crease and can be built up for a dramatic smokey eye

It's Complicated is my favourite colour in the kit, a golden peach which catches the light beautifully. I'm so happy this is being released as a single shadow as I know I'll finish it off in the palette!

And Gilt-y Pleasure is a nice golden shade which compliments all the other colours and would work really well with just the cream colour My Two Cents in a simple golden eye look

Have you tried any of the new Benefit Eyeshadow boxes?

Love

Belle

xoxo

FOTD #2

I am currently suffering from what can only be described as the plague..well the flu

I feel like utter rubbish and typical it's over my 5 days off from work

I ventured out for a lovely meal last night with some friends and family but about half way through the night I just came over all sick, apparently I looked super pasty too

After a rough nights sleep last night today the boy and I have had a lazy day, consisting of a little shopping and baking

So my poorly FOTD above is literally a mask to cover how rubbish I'm feeling

I had a make over at Benefit yesterday and received a seven day sample of the Hello Flawless Foundation, I already have this but the shade I have is for when I'm tanned so right now it makes me look like an oompa loompa, good look right?!

The shade I'm wearing here is Ivory and it's perfect for me, I'll definitely be buying the full size once I get paid along with the new hydrating concealer of course.

I added in a bit of Sun Beam highlighter to the foundation to give my skin a bit of a glow too.

My skin is so terrible at the moment so sleeks concealer palette was put to the test today, and it held up pretty damn well with the help of the setting powder.

Using my Boots Advantage card points I treated myself to one of the 'World Famous Neutrals' Palette (post to follow) and wore the more daytime appropriate shades today, along with my all time favourite high street mascara, the Maxfactor 2000 Calorie mascara, it makes my eyelashes so long and volumised I love it

I'm now going to go and feel sorry for myself with a cup of tea and slice of cake

Hope your all well

Love

Belle

xoxo

Dainty Doll Fragrance Direct Haul

I'm guessing that Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts make up brand has gone into liquidation (or whatever the term is..) as the whole range has been popping up on various discount sites and in the clearance section on ASOS.

The range was created with those of fair skin in mind, so perfect for me and my ghostliness.

As you've probably guessed from my previous posts I am a sucker for cheek products, in specific blushers.

Both the cream blushers and powder blushers were reduced to £1.99 from £13.50 so it would have been rude not to purchase at such a bargain! 

Just checking Fragrance Direct and the majority of the products are still in stock.

I think working it out I spent just £20 (inc. P&P) on over £100 worth of make up!

Being the packaging fiend that I am I really like the sleekness of the Dainty Doll products

The simple black and gold compacts appeal to my needs

They are also really sturdy and fasten securely so would be no problem chucked into a make up bag on the go 

Top row are the cream blushers and the bottom row are powder

One thing I will say is that the swatches on the website are shocking as always with Fragrance Direct

I never go by what the colours show they are in the majority completely wrong

When I received my parcel I don't think there were any colours I was disappointed with

The cream blushers are a gorgeous consistency and blend into the skin effortlessly

Million  Dollar Babes looks to be the perfect pale girls contouring shade, but I haven't mastered contouring yet this could be the product that helps me.

All the blushers are really well pigmented, even the palest Hippy Shake which would probably be more of a matte highlight shade as it is so pale

You are my Sunshine is a gorgeous coral colour, a dupe for Sleek's Rose Gold and Nars Orgasm blushers

The name and colour of this blusher are most definitely my favourites out of the bunch

My Nanny used to sing 'You are my Sunshin' to me every night when I was with her so naturally I'm drawn to it..

I also picked up two of the concealer pens again reduced down to £1.99

The green coloured is meant to counteract redness and as I have very blotchy and red skin I thought this could work and so far I've seen quite a difference in the tone of my skin when used under foundation

The formulation is very creamy and blendable, it sinks into the skin well and brightens the skin

I would definitely recommend picking up some Dainty Doll products whilst they are still around, especially at the reduced prices

Love

Belle

xoxo

Bloglovin

I've now set up a Bloglovin account as google reader is closing down 1st July

Follow me over there :) 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Love

Belle

xoxo

Nail Polish Storage

(Sorry about the poor photo quality the lighting's terrible in the flat!)

A little while ago I was moaning to my lovely fiance that I didn't have any storage for my nail polish collection, they were just chucked in a bag which I had to rummage in to find anything I fancied, I couldn't see all my polishes to decide what I wanted to wear and this resulted in always wearing the same polishes and neglecting the rest of my collection.

He took pity on me and built this little shelving unit (I say little it's about a metre sqaure!)

I love it!

I can now see all my bottles of joy lined up in brand order

And I now use all of my neglected polishes on a regular basis too

Unfortunately the way I had them stored before had led to leaks and smashes so a few of my bottles are covered in nail varnish, and it takes forever to get off the bottles

I use the shelves to store my hand and foot creams too...I have quite a few s&g heel genius lined up on the bottom! It always seems to be included in their gift sets and I never get through them...

How do you store your nail polish collection?

Love

Belle

xoxo



MUA Undress Me Too Palette



MUA Eyeshadow Palette
£4.00
Superdrug

As you've probably guessed from previous posts I'm a neutral eyeshadow fiend!
I wear eyeshadow everyday and like to have options, either that or I'm a shopaholic
The MUA Undress Me Too palette is their answer to the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette only much more affordable
I have the Urban Decay palette and can say that all the shades in the MUA one are exact dupes for each UD shadow
For a £4 palette the quality of the shadows are amazing
Soft, buttery and blendable
Minimal fall out but there is some, like the UD shadows
The matte shades are the weakest in the palette but I think that's a formulation issue as MUA seem to have shimmer shadows down to an art, they just need to work on the matte ones a little more
I find these palettes perfect to chuck in my traveling make up bag as I don't feel too worried if they get broken as it's so cheap to replace whereas with the UD palettes I'd be pretty annoyed at having to shell out another £30+
The stand out shades for me are Wink, Tranquil and Exposed...there's something about them I really like and find them flattering on my skin tone
I would definitely recommend picking this up if you see it in your local superdrug

Love
Belle
xoxo

Enrapture Jumbo Waver Hair Styler

Enrapture Jumbo Waver

£30.00

Tesco

I've seen the Enrapture range popping up on various blogs for so long now

My hair is naturally in between wavy and straight and looks pretty naff when left to it's own devices so I normally straighten it as the easy option

In the past I've used numerous different curling tongs but they always take up to 45mins to achieve a curly bonce, burn my hands/head/body, make me look like a poodle or the curls just don't last

So yeah I've never had much luck in achieving the curly hair of my dreams

Nowadays I don't so much covet curly hair but more the beachy, natural waves

I'd tried achieving this with my GHD's  but it just doesn't work and I end up straightening the half arsed waves 

The jumbo waver looked like the perfect option but for £60 it's a little steep for something that may not work for me

But my Mum has about £80 of boots advantage points which I persuaded her to let me use to purchase it

The day before I was going to pop down to my local Boots to get my hands on my new toy I was in Tesco looking for the L'Oreal top coat and I saw the electrical beauty all half price and nestled in the shelves was the whole enrapture range

The Jumbo Waver and Totem Styler are both just £30.00 at the moment and the Heated Rollers are £39.50 considering they are still full price for £60/£80 in Boots I consider that to be a bargain! 

And I love what they do to my hair

The waves are natural and last all day

It's easy to use but kind of hard to get used to as it is rather large so if your clumsy like me it's a little cumbersome to start with

The first time I styled my hair it took about 30mins and today only took me 25mins so I'm getting quicker whilst getting used to it

I whole heartedly recommend picking up some of these if your after the perfect, natural looking wavy hair

Have you used any of the Enrapture range?

Love 

Belle

xoxo

FOTD #1

This is my first 'FOTD' (face of the day) here on my blog so be nice ;)

This is how I did make up to go to our chosen wedding venue and book our wedding date

Exciting! We now have a date, 16th April 2015.

I know it's two years away but I'm so excited

Anyway, I kept my makeup quite natural but wanted to cover my terrible skin

I wish I knew what's been causing it, looking back at pictures from November 2011 and my skin is so clear I could skip wearing foundation but right now I would never dream of doing that, I can't figure out what's changed so drastically, thought bad skin disappears when you get older...

I've been relying on an old favourite for full coverage and that's MAC Studio Sculpt

It can feel quite heavy on the skin but you don't need a thick layer to cover well

I'm also wearing the Rimmel Apocalips in Luna which I haven't photographed in the products picture.

Love

Belle

xoxo

L'Oreal Confetti Nail Polish

Glitter Top Coat

Confetti

L'Oreal

£4.99

Nail varnish is quite possibly my biggest beauty downfall

I love it, it's my favourite product to buy and you'll never find me with no colour on my nails

When I saw Confetti popping up on numerous blogs I knew I had to have it, to me it's a cheaper version of the speckled nail polishes Illamasqua have released (which I'm desperate to get my hands on!)

I hunted high and low for a bottle all around my local town and gave up only to find it doing the weekly shop in Tesco, straight in the trolley

The polish itself is a clear base with teeny tiny silver micro glitter which is hardly noticeable on the nails, the star of the show is the different sized black and white matt glitter which gives the effect of speckled nails.

I think this top coat works best on top of pale colours and also brights

In the above swatches I have put it on top of various Barry M Gelly shades.

Lychee, the nude, works really well and I actually have it on my nails now

I don't think you get the full effect of it on darker polishes as the black glitter is lost

Have you tried this polish?

Or the Illamasqua speckled polishes?

Love

Belle

xoxo