Saturday 30 August 2014

Just Around The Corner..

First of all, yes it is August, and yes this is a post about autumn. Whether you like it or not, autumn is hiding just around the corner. For me, this is great. I'm really not much of a summer person at all, and spend most of my time in jeans and a t-shirt, with an emergency jumper rolled up in my bag. I think I had bare legs twice this year.. and even that was with a midi skirt.

Whilst summer may not be officially over, autumn began creeping it's way into my life last week, when I picked up a gorgeous soft plaid blanket scarf from Zara. The colours are beautiful, and couldn't be more autumnal if they tried. I've been swapping my tan flats for ankle boots, and excitedly eyeing up the thicker knitwear section of my wardrobe. 

It's almost time to dig out deep berry blushers and lip colours, and spritz on all of the fig perfume you can find. 
Bring on the darker mornings, falling leaves and hot chocolate!

Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear what you think down below! :)
Follow on Bloglovin

Thursday 28 August 2014

The Best of Both Worlds

Today's post is about the face cloth which now comes with the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm. (Read my thoughts on that HERE)
If you're anything like me, you struggle to wash your face without the help of a face cloth. When I find myself without one, I get water everywhere - and end up leaving cleanser on my face. Not ideal! 

Over the past year, my mum and I have gone a little overboard with flannels. Just the other day she called me into the bathroom, laughing. Our flannel basket was piled about a foot and a half high in a pyramid formation, with each flannel neatly rolled up. 
I personally like to use a fresh flannel each time I wash my face. Now do you see why we have so many?! 

Moving on from the flannels.. muslin cloths. 
I first tried a muslin cloth at the beginning of last year, when I first purchased Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish. A third one came my way with my first Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm. I loved the way they made the cleansing process seem a little more sophisticated, and feel more luxurious.. I always find my skin feels softer and looks brighter after cleansing with one.

Having said all that, and leading to the main point of this post - Emma Hardie's face cloth is my new favourite thing. The soft flannel side allows you to get enough water on your face, and the muslin side is perfect for gentle exfoliation and ensuring every drop of cleanser is removed. Whoever came up with this fantastic idea?  
Now I'm just wishing all of my face cloths were 2-in-1...

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Korres Mango Lip Butter

How long has this been on my 'to buy' list?  Too long. 
Korres is a brand that has always intrigued me, (yes that may be down to their packaging..) but I've never given any of their products a go, until now. It took me a while deciding which flavour/colour lip butter to go for, but in the end I settled for the Mango.

I love orange tinted lip products, as I think they help to brighten up my whole face. However, I'm not too keen on orange-toned lipsticks, as I find the effect is ruined when the colour is too strong.
This lip butter offers a very subtle tint, (the perfect amount of orange-ness, just enough to add that hint of orange to my natural lip colour) whilst being extremely nourishing, and smelling so fruity! Mango is one of my favourite scents, and this does not disappoint!

If I remember correctly, I have this Lip Butter mixed with Soap & Glory's Gloss Stick in Nudist on in my sidebar picture. 

I'm excited to give some of the other ones a whirl now that I know the formula is a win, have you ever tried any of these before? If so I'd love to know which ones you recommend! 

Sunday 24 August 2014

Note To Self.. No More Eyeshadow


For someone who wears eyeshadow once or twice a week (at the very most), I'm very aware that my little stash is a bit over the top. All of this for just two little eyelids? Yes, I know it's ridiculous. It's not even that there's so many, it's also the fact that many are SO similar. I have a problem.

Eyeshadows, whilst not my highest priority in the mornings, are one of my favourite things to buy. I get drawn in by all of the different colours, and the shimmers, the satins, the mattes.. Oh a light brown? Yes, I have about 5 already.. but this one is different, I swear! 
I wish I could use them on a daily basis, but I'm not the greatest at getting up on time, so find that I usually don't have time to pat on a pretty colour. ..And I'll always choose eyeliner over eyeshadow if I'm pushed for time.


My first venture into 'sensible and wearable' eyeshadows (goodbye 13 year-old me's blues, purples and shimmery whites..!) began with these little 'Color Tattoo' pots from Maybelline. With a promise of  24-hour-colour, these drew me in, and I used to use them a fair amount. The colours shown above are 35-On and On Bronze, 65-Pink Gold, and 40-Permanent Taupe. 
I spent a few weeks trying to track down Permanent Taupe to use through my eyebrows.. I'm not sure how that went in the end, as I can't remember ever trying it again! I'll have to give it another go on the brows soon, as I remember the colour doesn't quite suit my lids.
Pink Gold is one that I love to use as a base pinky-toned shades from Naked 3. This is such a beautiful shade, but you only need a tiny touch of this.. a little goes a long way.. (so don't cover your entire lid in pink!)
On and On Bronze is the first one I picked up. A beautiful colour which gives just the right amount of shimmer.

You've all seen these before, Naked 2&3. I feel like writing about Naked palettes is some sort of beauty blogging right of passage. I don't think I've ever mentioned these on my blog before, but I was lucky enough to receive both as a gift from Ben at the beginning of the year. Beautiful palettes, beautiful shades. The overwhelming temptation to try the original Naked is too much to bear! I'm thinking I might pop it on a christmas list or something.. I'd feel far  too guilty if I bought it myself.



Favourite shades from Naked 2:  Bootycall, Suspect, Verve and Pistol.
Favourite shades from Naked 3: Strange, Burnout, Liar and Mugshot.

Another thing to point out, the samples of eyeshadow primer that you get with these palettes are amazing. 
TOP TIP: Rather that ripping off the top of the sachet, or cutting the corner off, just pierce them with a pin and they won't dry out as fast! :) This goes for all sample-sized sachets. (Thank you to the lady at Kiehl's for telling me this!)


And finally, the Naked Basics palette, and two MAC shadows.
I snapped up the Naked Basics with a 20% voucher from Debenhams right as I started this blog. 'Naked 2' is my most used shade here. When I was fully blonde, I used this shade through my brows every day. Every single colour in this palette has it's use, and it's a fantastic one to take away with you on holiday, as it doesn't take up much room either!
The MAC shadows I only picked up a couple of months ago (if that). Spurred on by Rebecca's post HERE, I went on a quest to find Shroom, as another friend had also mentioned in the past, so I was keen to give it a go. A lady at MAC offered to put some on for me before I bought it, and then asked if there was anything else I'd like to try. At this point I mentioned Naked Lunch.. and well, the rest is history. 
Let me just say one thing. Being on an eyeshadow-spending-ban and having a half full MAC quad is hard...

Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear what you think down below! :)

Also I'd love to take the time to say a massive thank you to all 700 of you readers!! I didn't even notice that number creep up, it's such a joy seeing that so many of you enjoy what I do on here, so thank you!
Follow on Bloglovin

Friday 15 August 2014

Gingembre Rouge by Roger & Gallet

Today I'm sharing with you one of my favourite perfumes at the moment - this gorgeous fragrance from Roger & Gallet! 
'Gingembre Rouge'* is a new take on Roger & Gallet's 'Gingembre' released 11 years ago. 
A beautiful light Zanzibar-inspired fruity/citrus scent with a ginger kick to it, Gingembre Rouge is unlike anything I've ever sniffed in the past.

Tuesday 5 August 2014

Morning Skincare

My skincare routine seems to have finally 'settled'. Whilst I do still enjoy chopping and changing my products around to suit my skin at the time, I've stayed quite loyal to these five, and they're doing a pretty good job.

Saturday 2 August 2014

Haircare with John Frieda and Argania Hair Oil

I never really do much with my hair, but since switching up my routine (and actually noticing a difference), I thought I'd talk about what I'm using at the moment, as I'm really impressed!