Hot'n Sweet

I hope everyone is having a lovely Sunday... even though it is pretty miserable outside today! I am just sorting out some bits ready to go back at uni tomorrow, although it is kind of the first day for me as I am doing my final year at a different uni to where I was last year so I’m going to be the new girl, kinda scary! Plus I am going into my 3^rd year which means dissertation, I hope I don’t find it as hard as I am thinking it will be... please someone tell me it’s not!? 

Without flash                                                                                                                       With flash

Anyway over the past week I have bought a few things from makeup to some new winter clothing, I will have to do a post to show you the bits I got. But this lipstick is one of the items which was a bargainous (yep just made that up) 99p!  I got it in Superdrug in their clearance section and most of it was from the GOSH range, I think it was all old lines so not sure if you can get it any more. This colour lipstick is called Hot’n Sweet (I love the name!), number 139 and it is from the Velvet Touch range. I wanted a nice red that was a bit darker for the winter months and this is such a nice lipstick. I had never tried anything from GOSH before but I am impressed. I thought it might be quite matte and dry but it’s actually quite moisturising and doesn’t dry out my lips, it also has a little shine to it. It is also very pigmented and you only really need one swipe to get a good colour. I think this is a nice colour to wear out for an evening and will definitely make use of it in the coming months! 

In these photos it does look a bit brighter because I had to have the flash on my camera but you get the idea... hopefully ha!

           

Have you tried any lipsticks or products from GOSH? Or did you pick up a bargain like me?

DIY Lip Scrub

There are certain things I think you shouldn’t need to spend lots of money on when it comes to beauty. As the colder months are approaching I think it’s important to take care of your lips from getting dry and chapped. My go to product is definitely Carmex, but it is also important to scrub your lips and remove dead skin cells as well. So I have made my own lip scrub and will show you how you can too with simple ingredients that most of you will already have!

What you will need:

Sugar (you can use brown or white)

Honey

Lime or lemon juice

You can also add food colouring or flavouring

A container to store it in

Method:

1.      Mix the sugar with a teaspoon of honey (this does depend on how much you want to make) and make sure it is a thick consistency.

2.      Then add a squeeze of lime juice and stir.

3.      You can then add the mixture into an airtight container to use again.

4.      Then to apply gently rub into your lips (but not too hard) and wipe away with warm water.

This will leave you with super soft lips and is great because it costs next to nothing!

I will say I did make mine a bit too runny and this can be messy to apply so just make sure you only add a small amount of honey and add a bit at a time. 

I will say I did make mine a bit too runny (this was the first time I made it) and this can be messy to apply so just make sure you only add a small amount of honey and add a bit at a time.

Have you made your own lip scrub before? Will you try this? Are there any other products you make yourself? 

A/W high street trends

Well the weather has certainly changed, today I am wearing a chunky knit cardi and watching the rain pour down outside - but I love it! My mind might change when I actually have to go outside and it's freezing cold, but I do like this time of year! And now I can’t stop looking at all the lovely winter clothes in the shops at the moment (and resisting buying anything until my loan comes through!) I have cheated slightly with my spending ban and I bought a couple of peplum tops and a bag (which I will use for uni) from Matalan... but there was 25% off so it was well worth it and only came to£30! The spending ban will naturally be thrown out the window when I get some money anyway, although I am going to try my best to only buy things I feel I can’t live without and essentials for winter. 
Sometimes I think... well it’s only clothes at the end of the day why spend so much? But then I see lovely stuff and I’m like I must have this! Is that just me??

Anyway here are some of the Autumn/Winter trends in the shops right now, which include some items I am lusting after!

OPI Polish  / Top /  Jeans / Cardigan /
 Belted Dress / Court shoes /  Litas

Shirt / Top / Jacket
Jumper / Bracelet / Dress / Jeans
Nail polish / Eye Makeup

Top / Necklace / Skirt
Gloves / Skirt / Leggings / Lipstick

Dress / Nail Polish / Top / Dress
Shoes / Jeans / Eye Makeup / Bag

Leopard / Green
Jacquard / Floral / Tiled / Tartan

Are you adjusting to the weather yet? What trend do you like out of these? Or are there any others you like? 

LFW Favourites

So London Fashion Week has come to an end and everyone has packed their bags and set off for Milan to see the likes of Gucci and Prada. But how amazing were the shows in London!? Sadly I didn't get to attend any of the shows, hopefully one day I will be sitting front row. (ha i wish!) 

Here are some of my favourites from LFW. I loved the casualness and how wearable the Topshop Unique looks were with their space age feel too. Then there was Matthew Williamson who showed and Indian influence with detailed embroidery and colour explosion. But my favourite comes from Issa where there were some truly gorgeous dresses and summery prints. I love that everything from this collection is also so wearable and reminded me of what I would love to wear on an exotic holiday. If only I could master my hair to look like the models! 

Issa London

Topshop Unique

Matthew Williamson

Henry Holland

Burberry Prorsum

What were your favourite shows from London Fashion Week?

L'oreal Professional hair products

The other week I received an email to my surprise that I had won a competition I entered with L’oreal. To be honest I had to think back and try and remember entering it as I do love a good competition so entered a few! But I was one of the lucky 10 winners that received a couple of products from the L’oreal Professional range. I loved this as I never win anything and usually just think I’ll have no chance of winning but I was wrong this time!

So I got the Tecni Art Liss Control (150ml) and the Tecni Art Volume Riche Mousse (250ml).

I was really pleased with the mousse as I usually just use a cheap one from Boots, mainly because I don’t use it often, but I will make sure I use this one. This mousse is designed to add lasting volume to the hair and add shine. Also everything from this range has a numbered system from 1 to 6 to determine the force of the product. This mousse is number 4 so I guess this means the strength of the product and that it has a pretty good hold. I have used this a couple of times so far and like the texture of it and it does add good volume. It also isn’t sticky like some other products. I apply it to towel-dried hair before blow drying and also have added a little afterwards to give an extra lift. I will definitely use this more often in my hair routine now.

The other product is the Tecnic Art Liss Control gel cream, which is to help control frizz and smooth wavy or curly hair. I do not have really frizzy or curly hair; my hair is pretty straight and quite flat. So I don’t think I will benefit particularly from this and it will probably be a product I use for a few weeks before it gets lost amoung all my other hair products! But I have used it a couple of times on towel dried hair and it smells very nice. If you do have curly hair or want something to tame frizz then this could be a good product for you.

I hadn’t really heard of these products before as they are professional products and are usually found in the hairdressers. But I like that I have been able to try these out, even better that it was for free! It may make me look into some of the other products in this range.

Have you used anything from this range? Or are there any other good professional hair care products you like?

Facets of Fuchsia

With autumn around the corner, it is not only clothing colours that change but the colours of beauty products too. That means that the darker shades of nail polishes come out and the neon and coral colours are put away until summer returns (well tries to.)

                   

One of my favourite polishes has to be this Revlon one called Facets of Fuchsia which I got last year. It is a deep purple colour with little pieces of pink glitter and larger specks, which is a perfect dark nail polish for the winter months. What I love about this is that you don’t need to apply any other colour underneath this as it has colour combined into it. You just need a few coats to get a good amount of larger glitter pieces and desired effect. It reminds me of the galaxy trend that has been going around on nails (which I haven’t yet tried) and you could use this polish and add different coloured glitters to get the same look.

I am thinking of investing in some more autumnal colours and here a few I have found that I like. I will definitely be on the lookout for a dark green and a grey polish so if you know any good ones let me know!

Link to images

What are your favourite colours for nails in autumn/winter?

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder range

John Frieda Go Blonder Shampoo* £5.89 | John Frieda Go Blonder Conditioner* £5.89 | John Frieda Go Blonder Lightening Spray* £6.99

John Frieda has been one of my favourite hair care brands for a long time and I always enjoyed using their products. I had been using my Aussie hair care products but I recently run out, so when I was approached by the lovely people at John Frieda to try some of their new products, it seemed to be the perfect time! The new range is called Sheer Blonde and is designed specifically for blondes to maintain colour, moisture and help keep that salon fresh look.

I chose to try the Go Blonder products as my roots have started to go dark and I wanted to lighten them up. This range contains a Shampoo, Conditioner and a Lightening Spray. As you may know I did a post on the Lee Stafford Lightening Spray (here) so was eager to try this one and see if it is better.  

I have used the shampoo and conditioner a few times now and it is really lovely. They don’t have a strong scent which is good as I don’t like overpowering smells for hair products. It made my hair feel really good after the first use and I could notice the difference straight away. It added a really nice shine to my hair and made it feel light and nourished.

I have so far only used the lightening spray once, but what I like about this spray is that it reacts to heat. So the more heat you put on it the more enhanced the colour. I only applied the spray to my roots and I also noticed that this spray didn’t make my hair look brassy at all, which I have found with my Lee Stafford spray. I will obviously have to use this a few more times to see the full effect but so far I am impressed! I will do an update on this too. People can get the wrong idea about these kinds of products and over use them, which will end up doing no good to your hair. So this product is really designed for touch ups rather than an alternative to colouring your hair. John Frieda also recommends not using this spray more than 10 times between visits to hairdressers. I will probably only use it 5-6 times.

Overall I am really pleased with these products and they have definitely renewed my love for John Frieda! These products are also currently 3 for 2 at Boots which is a pretty good deal. 

John Frieda has also made 4 video tutorials which you can see on YouTube here, which can be done on anyone. I have attempted to do the hair bow tutorial but haven’t managed to master it yet.. I think I am a bit too much of a perfectionist! But it is very simple to do so definitely worth a try. I am also going to try the fish tail tutorial too and if I do any of them I will post them in an update. 

*PR Sample

Prawn Massaman Curry

I made this prawn curry the other day and it was so nice I thought I would share the recipe with you all. I love a good curry but this one was slightly different and not too spicy (although I love spice!) and a similar taste to korma.. but better!

So here is what I used to serve 2:

2 tbsp Massaman curry paste (I got mine from Asda)

1 x 400g tin coconut milk

150g new potatoes (cut into half or quarters)

1 x cinnamon stick

2 cardamom pods (squashed)

200g raw king prawns

1 tsp brown sugar

2 limes one juiced, and one quartered to serve

1 tbsp fish sauce

Sliced red chilli to serve

You can also add toasted peanuts but I have a fussy boyfriend so didn’t use these!

The recipe is really easy to make and doesn’t take long.

1.      First you cook the massaman paste and the thick bit of the coconut milk for a few minutes until it becomes fragrant. I also par boiled the potatoes as I didn’t think they would cook through by adding them at a later stage.

2.      Then add the rest of the coconut milk to the massaman paste and simmer for a minute.

3.      Add the potatoes, cinnamon, cardamom and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

4.      Add the prawns, sugar, lime and fish sauce, and cook for 3-4 minutes until the prawns are just cooked and pink.

5.      You can then sprinkle over the chilli and peanuts if using and serve with rice. 

NYFW Favourites

I do love this time of year! It’s when the biggest fashion designers showcase their newest collections to the world. I have been keeping up to date with some of the shows from NYFW and there have been some gorgeous collections, some of which from designers I do not usually follow. So I have put together some images of my favourite looks. I love designs that have intricate details, graphic prints and feminine colours and all of the collections below have these.

Out of all of the collections my favourite by far was Marchesa. The collection had a clear Indian influence, with ornate embroidery, jewels and shimmering fabrics. The pieces had so much attention to detail and I wish I could see them up close; I would admire them for hours!

I can’t wait for LFW now!!

Badgley Mischka 

Mara Hoffman

Herve Leger by Max Azria 

Zac Posen

Marchesa

Photos taken from Vogue.co.uk

Natural shimmer nails

This is just a quick post to show you what I am wearing on my nails at the moment. I have been quite busy over the last few days as I had an interview yesterday for an internship I really reallllly want to get! So I had been preparing for that and not really thinking about blogging. But now it’s done I guess it’s just a waiting game, but fingers crossed! Anyway these are the nail colours I chose, which I have never put together before but I actually love them. They are still quite natural but not boring and the glitter is very subtle. It has great iridescent colours that show in the light too (the pictures don’t really catch it that well.)

The base colour is by Nails Inc and is called Eagle Street. It is quite hard to describe the colour but it’s a bit like a dusty pink with taupe and toffee shades to it. Then on top of this is the Barry M in Pink Iridescent. I find it hard to just put one colour on my nails lately and keep looking through my glitter shades to see what I can layer over the top, although it’s a bugger to get off and I never learn! 

Mini Haul | Bargains from Tesco

This is a very small haul but I wanted to share what I got nevertheless. I actually got these bits because I had £5 in Tesco clubcard points and I decided to turn it into £10 when they did their clubcard exchange. I used the £10.00 on the Tesco website and knew I was going to spend it on some make-up or skincare products. After looking I decided to get a couple of VIVO bits, which are Tesco’s own brand seen as they don’t sell them in my local store. So what I got for £10 was:

VIVO Ultimate Brow and Eye Kit - £5.00

I wanted a little set for my eyebrows and was going to get the FashionistA one, but I saw this one and it looked just as good. I really like this little set and the colours are great (although they don't look great in these pictures because of the lighting!) I don’t like to have my eyebrows too dark so the middle colour is nice. The colours are also really nice as eye shadow bases. This set is a really good size and also comes with and angled and blending brush and a gel brush to set.

 

VIVO Baked Blush in Peaches and Cream- £4.00

This blusher is now one of my favourites and it is such a lovely colour. It is a peachy/coral colour and adds a really nice glow and shimmer when applied. It is very pigmented and you don’t need a lot to get a good colour. I am so impressed with it that I now really want to try all their other baked blushers and bronzers as all the colours look great!

Rimmel Clear Complexion Anti-Shine Powder - £3.98

I wanted this powder as I often get a shiny forehead and wanted something to apply without added loads more powder. This is a transparent powder and I have been applying before my foundation and as a setting powder. So far its working pretty well but I will have to see how it holds up on a night out!

As you may have noticed this totals £12.98 so money had to be added on top of my £10 voucher. Seen as I have been on a spending ban I thought I could bypass the £3 as it isn’t much but my boyfriend kindly offered to pay for it so I didn’t spend a penny!

Have you tried any of these products or would you try them? 

Boohoo comp | Dress for less!

Boohoo have recently made it into the top ten fashion money saving websites which I am really not surprised at as they have some great clothing for very affordable prices. I often look on the site for a cheaper alternative of something and usually you can find it. So to celebrate this fashion vouchers are running a competition where fashion bloggers can go onto the Boohoo website and create and outfit for £50 or under.

I love the idea of this and wanted to see what I could create with that amount of money. There is also four £50 Boohoo fashion vouchers up for grabs so would be silly not to enter! So here is what I put together.

I think accessories can make an outfit, which is why I chose this plain red dress and added lots of accessories. I love this dress though as it is perfect for day or night and the colour is great for Autumn/Winter. I love statement necklaces and this tassle one is perfect for the outfit. I also added the studded belt as this will dress up the outfit instantly and who doesn’t love studs right now? 

If you want to enter this competition just go to www.fashionvouchers.com and to their blog for all the terms and conditions. 

Wednesday Wishlist

I am currently on a spending ban and have actually done quite well, (minus a new pair of trousers and a necklace, but they were essential!) and have so far gone about 3 weeks. I am doing okay with beauty items and making sure I use up all the stuff I currently have. But the thing I am finding the hardest is not buying clothes, as I am so ready to start buying items for my Autumn wardrobe and I'm pretty much over Summer. I didn’t have a holiday this year so really didn’t get into the Sumer mood very much! So I have done a wish list of items I really want at the moment, my list is extremely long at the moment so there are plenty of other things I want that you will probably see in the coming weeks! 

Bag/Top/Jacket
Socks/Boots/Concealer
Brushes/Fragrance Diffuser/Eye-shadows

I am in LOVE with this bag and I really like the colour, studding and just everything about it!

I also think this peplum top is really nice and can’t believe I haven’t bought a peplum top yet! I also really want this River Island jacket even though loads of people have them I still like it. The socks are really cute and would look nice with a little skirt or dress for winter. Last year I only had brown and grey boots so I definitely need a black pair this year, and these are cheap from Ebay.

I am dying to get my hands on the Real Techniques brushes! Also the UD Naked 2 palette and Collection concealer, these are some essentials I need in my make-up collection.

The other item I have on my wish list is a room fragrance diffuser as I am fed up of using the automatic room sprays. I want one of these diffusers that looks pretty too and need to find a nice smelling one that isn’t too expensive. So if anyone knows of any nice ones send the suggestions this way!

Soap and Glory Kickass Concealer

I am a pretty big fan of Soap & Glory and love all of their skincare products. I literally have a box full of the stuff! So when I saw they had a cosmetic range in Boots a couple of months ago I had to have a look. I am often looking for a good concealer as it is always a part of my makeup routine, so I picked up this little compact to try something new. Whenever I buy concealers I always stick to a thick cream rather than the liquid ones as I find they blend better (although I really want to try the Collection concealer after seeing so many rave reviews!) 

 The packaging of the compact instantly attracted me, as do all of the Soap & Glory products. They just have such good branding and know how to draw your attention when browsing shelves in the store. This often causes me to make a lot of impulse buys! The small compact is perfect for putting in your makeup bag and comes with a small mirror too which is great when you’re on the go.

No flash

Flash

It has two concealer colour shades inside; one being a creamy light pink colour, and the other a more yellowy, thicker almost waxy shade. The pink side is for under the eye area and the colour matches well with my skin and blends in very well. Although if you have dry skin it may not be as good as can go slightly cakey on dry patches. Then on the other side is the concealer, which I usually apply with my fingers and blend it into blemishes. It also has a transparent setting powder, but I do find it can make my face look a bit white so I don’t always use that.

Overall it’s a really good concealer and I use it all the time. It’s a nice little size to keep in your makeup bag when you go out and stays on well. It costs £10 from Boots but they currently have it on offer for £7 which is a great price!