MUA Madness!

Okay so remember me mentioning my little splurge on the MUA website the other night? Well it's finally all here! I was a bit wary of ordering make up online, as I didn't want to end up with any broken pallets but each item came individually wrapped in bubble wrap, so no need to worry at all! My only thing about this is that I had to wait about a week from making the order to actually receiving it. It's not a big thing, but I'm not the most patient when it comes to waiting for post.. Anyway here's what I bought, all unwrapped :)

First the eyeshadows: my make up obsession.

Left to right - MUA pearl eyeshadow £1 each

Shade 9

Shade 4 

Shade 2

I actually have about ten of these little eyeshadow pots now, they are pretty amazing, in fact most of my eyeshadow is MUA, come to think of it (may do a post on them all at some point!). I love purple colours and as mentioned in the last post, plums in for Autumn! I expected the first shade to be really really dark so was quite pleasantly surprised. The lighter purple is more lilac, but still pretty nice and I was happy with the white shade as I've bought quite a few before and they've not shown up at all. I actually think these would look pretty nice all together for a smokey eye, shall have to try this out.  

Fashionista Double take baked eyeshadow £1.65 each

Left - Exclusive Collection

Right - Trend setter

I mainly bought these because I liked the pattern.. I'm like a magpie for pretty things. I usually try and steer clear of these baked eyeshadows as I don't want to mess up the pattern of it, which yes I know sounds silly. The one on the left is pretty similar to the bronze/ gold ones I already have, so might not be using this for a while. I quite like the other one as it's sort of grey but with a purple hint to it so this will be getting used through winter :)

Fashionista Lipstick £1.50

I'm really trying to get into lipsticks as my lips usually look really pale after all my make up's finished. This is the fashionista double take lipstick in Atomic Tangerine. Now I know what you're thinking, 'tangerine'? Who wants orange lips? But it's kind of a blush pink colour, make up names never match, I think they do it to throw us off.. I haven't actually tried it on my lips yet as they're pretty dry from the hot weather, going to have to stick to my Carmex for a little while longer.

Fashionista Primer 

E1 eyeshadow brush

L1 Lip brush

I'm always buying new eyeshadow brushes, might be my laziness so I don't have to clean them so much but hey! This one is pretty good quality, despite the £1.95 price tag and none of the bristles pull themselves out as you're applying. I've read somewhere, think it was a Crownbrush blog, that applying lipstick with a lip brush gives it a smoother look, so again at £1.95 I thought, 'what have I got to lose?' It also splits so the bottom half acts as sort of a case which is handy for on the go! As for the primer, I haven't actually used it yet as the box came after I'd been out so my make up was already done, but it was reduced from £10 to £3 so can't complain, and it's always something I've wanted to try.

Nail polish 

This is a part of MUA's £1 nail polish range (I love how cheap their website is!) and is in Coral blush. I think I picked the wrong one, as I was looking for a pillar-box red kind of colour, but it's pretty nice. Excuse my feet, my fingernails are actually painted black from the weekend still and I've ran out of nail polish remover :(. Unlike other cheap nail varnishes I've bought, this one is pretty darn good. It's not thin like most I've got and the colour's really vibrant.

I did also order the cream blush in blossom, but for some reason it was crossed off of my order, I think they'd ran out of stock. So still on the hunt for a nice cream blusher that won't make me look like a rag doll. Now for the amazing bit, all of this only cost me £18.20 including postage! So if you're on the lookout for some inexpensive but still great quality make up check out the MUA store online or in Superdrug :)

A/W 13: the trends.

I've been googling around all the usual fashion mags - Elle, Cosmo etc - having a look at the trends for this autumn/winter. I love this time of year, all the colours and leaves, granted I'm not a fan of the wind and rain, but nothing compares to those beautiful autumn mornings when you get to wrap up in a big coat and scarf! I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite trends that caught my eye and I'll be trying to incorporate into my wardrobe over the next couple of months.

First up the make up trends. I love love love all the plum! I don't entirely think I myself could pull of those dark plum lips, I'm much too pale, but I would definitely incorporate it into a smokey eye or my nails. I'm also loving the gold and orangey hues that are going around. Of course they sneak in at some point every year, but it's great how big the nail art trend is this year and there are so many ways to change it up, or attempt to if you don't have a steady hand! 

I am a creature of habit. I tend to stick to my tried and tested style throughout autumn and winter, but this year I've vowed to change it up a little. I love the colour pops in accessories this season, and royal blue is one of my favourite colours at the moment! Might just have to get this bag soon.. I am in love with Kelly Brook right now, and this dress and leather jacket is just something that I think would be perfect for days out shopping with the girls, would be great for nights out too! (definitely going on my to buy list) Another trend that's caught my eye is the tartan trend. I love a good shirt and they're great for when it's not too cold but you still need a little covering. This outfit is featured in River Island's new collection. The grunge trend is also pretty big this season, but after spending my teen years a tad gothy, think I'm going to steer clear of that one!

What trends are you all looking forward to splashing the cash on?

On the run..

Now that the kids have finally gone back to school and aren't littering the streets with their bikes etc I can finally start running again! Okay, the kids being out may have been a bit of an excuse not to do it.. Anyway, I've always wanted to be able to class myself as a 'runner' and lets be honest none of us would say no to a hot runner's body. I originally bought all the running gear - trainers, top and bottoms, special running socks, trainers and water bottle - a while ago for around £80. I know, it sounds expensive but I know I'd rather pay out the money and avoid injury. I used to be one of those people who just thought "Ahh I'll go running in my normal trainers" but this is probably the worst thing you could do and would no doubt have sore feet and legs in the morning. 

Excuse my messy room, I did warn you in the last post! In this picture I pretty much am an ambassador for Karrimor. The top is really good and has a built in sports bra, although I usually wear a normal bra underneath as well just for a little more support. The bottoms breathe really well at the back of your legs (which is great for my sensitive skin) only downside is that they have no pockets except for a little one round the back (strangest place to put a pocket ever). I'm even wearing Karrimor socks! I think I got a tad roped into the whole Karrimor brand whilst buying my stuff..

 

Top

Bottoms

Socks

Shoes

Water bottle

Just a few pictures from my run, well more my little walk after my run :) I felt a tad silly wearing sunglasses to run, but It's so so so bright out today, and roasting so thought what the hell. I really wanted to run across this field I saw on my way out, but some other people got down there first and I have a little bit of a complex of thinking people are watching me run, so went across the train bridge by my house to have a wander.

 Now for the technical (kinda) bit. I used to use the MapMyRun app to record my runs, but I saw one of my friends using the Nike+ app (free on Google Play store) and decided to give it a try as it seemed to give more info. You can even sync it up to Facebook and if anyone likes the post, you get a little cheer through the app (this is apparently supposed to make you more determined..). But either way here are a couple screenshots from the app.

The app records your distance, time, calories burned and also how many minutes per mile. This wasn't a particularly long run as it was absolutely roasting out and my first in quite a while but 12.07 minutes per mile isn't bad for what I think is my fourth ever run! I will admit I got a tad lazy when I first bought the stuff and it's barely been used.. but I promise you all I will to try and run at least three times a week! and might post a little screenshot on another post if I remember, or improve.

Any other runners out there? Would love to read about your experiences :)

Lucky No.7?

If you've read my blog before, you might notice I seem to have a thing about keeping my brushes really clean at the moment, which, if you'd actually seen the current state of my bedroom, you would not believe in the slightest. Kind of bomb site meets TK Maxx (I always find that store like one big giant jumble sale). 

Anyway, I was in Boots yesterday buying probably my thousandth pair of Katy Perry fake eyelashes for going out last night, which I didn't even up wearing as the glue wouldn't stick (again! I waste so much money on eyelashes..) when I remembered that while I was trawling their online site the other day that I had seen a No.7 brush cleanser. Now, since I started using my foundation brush (which I'm loving although I find I'm going through foundation a lot quicker) I find I need to clean my brushes, especially that one at least once every couple of days, which of course, having the memory of a goldfish, I forget to do until I actually go to do my make up and then have to deal with the last couple of applications still stuck to the brush, making it a tad solid and clumped together.

I've seen quite a few make up cleansers lately, but as I was in store I thought I'd just ask and yay they actually had it! 

The bottle itself is actually £8 and it's quite a big bottle. Apparently it's quite a new product, so only the larger stores have it at the moment (according to the boutique Boots store in my town centre). Usually I would think hmm £8 on something I don't know what it's like is a bit of a risk, but I decided to trust No.7 and just go for it as their products are usually really good. 

 I first tried it out on my blusher brush. You just put a couple of squirts on a cotton pad and then gently brush the brush over it. Although I will warn you, the first time you use the pump it will come out a tad fast. It seemed to have worked really well on the blusher brush and my bristles felt really smooth and it actually dried within about 30 seconds! 

Top - before

Bottom - after 

Okay so I will admit my foundation brush has been a bit neglected the past week as I've been in a hurry when doing my make up. As you can see it's sort of clumped together and was a tad hard to apply smoothly. I had to use quite a bit more of the liquid on this, might just be because of the amount of foundation in it though. The brush was still a little damp when I took the picture, but it hasn't gotten it all off as I could still see a bit of foundation in between. 

I admit I was a tad disappointed that it didn't all come off in one sweep, but I realise I may have been expecting a little too much considering how much was on there. I think that this product is pretty good if you don't have the time to thoroughly clean your brushes, as it does get rid of some residue, but it's by no means the same as deeply washing your brushes with water and soap/shampoo. 

Hope you all had a great weekend! xo

Autumn is the time for new hair!

So while trawling through Pinterest which I tend to do most days I decided to check out some new hair ideas. I've been blonde since May time now and I'm spending way too much money on maintaining it as my hair seems to grow so darn fast. I've been toying with the idea of going gingery, just because I haven't (intentionally) been it before. I keep going back and forth with it, as it's taken me so long to actually get my hair this light. Ah girl problems, the stuff we have to deal with hey? These are a couple pictures of what's convincing me take the plunge to gingery, and also some cool styles I'm thinking of trying for Autumn.

As we all know the lovely British Autumn is just three or four months of wind and gloomy rain, I'm probably going to become very best friends with my enrapture rollers and I love these different takes on ponytails. Anything to make sure the windswept look won't look horrid! Think if I don't go ginger I'll probably try my hand a bit of dip dye :)

Any other trends you've seen for Autumn hair so far?

My everyday

Morning everyone! Realise I haven't done a beauty blog in quite a while so thought I'd take the typical blogger plunge and show you what I use everyday at the moment.

So this is my everyday hair styling equipment. On the left we have my Andrew Barton blown away hairdryer and on the right my Andrew Barton straight answer straighteners. These two are my most trusted tools (as well as my enrapture rollers which are becoming a favourite) and I've had them well over a year, which means they are a little faded and battered in places, but they still work perfectly (even if I could do with cleaning them more often!). Also we have just a normal clip for separating my hair as it's irritatingly thick somedays and the Scwarchzkopf (think that's spelled right!) Guardian angel heat protect spray. This is quite a new product of mine, and I love the smell of it. Despite this though, I found that I can only spray on the lengths, any higher than my ears and it makes my hair greasy :(. 

My everyday make up!

I apologise for the darkness of the pictures, my room's like a cave in the mornings. Okay so looking at it all together, it looks like a lot, but I can actually do my make up in about 15 minutes on a good day.

Top: Breath of fresh air toner Lush

Steam cream moisturiser Asos

Bottom: Max factor eyelash curler (savers) 

My trusty UBU brushes (see my post on them Here)

Barry M eyeshadow brush Superdrug

Yes, I am one of those girls, like many others, who has a little lush obsession. It's not as bad as when I first went in there, but anyone who's been in knows, the smell in there is just luring you in and makes you buy stuff. Bath bombs are my downfall.. Anyway, this is the Breath of fresh air toner, I used to use the tea tree one, but I found this made my face feel dry, this one however, is pretty darn good. It cleans your face as well as tones, even if you think you've gotten all the make up and dirt off your face, this will surprise you! The steam cream I did originally get from Tesco, but I found that there are so many more different tins on Asos, so I think I'll be buying from there in the future. It is £13 so not the cheapest, but definitely affordable. It's can also be used as a body moisturiser and it just makes your skin feel amazing, so I recommend it highly!

As mentioned, I've written a review on my UBU brushes previously, but I do tend to use them everyday (excuse the foundation brush, it's in need of a wash!). I also have my Barry M eyeshadow brush which I use for if I want a quick application of one colour, I did have a superdrug own brand one, but the hairs were pulling themselves out with every use so that unfortunately had to be thrown away. I also have my max factor eyelash curler which I did get from savers for £2 (you know I love a bargain) which I'll admit I only use when I remember to. The blusher brush is quite old and I don't remember where it's from, I really need to invest in a more high end one, it's just finding the money! Ooh also the little black one is a Maybelline eyeliner brush that I got with the little pot of eyeliner. Not sure if you can buy this particular brush separate though.

                                   

These are my base products, I think I have a bit of a thing for Natural collection! It can be found at Boots. The foundation is pretty good, I have sensitive skin so when I find a foundation that doesn't make me break out I tend to stick with it. Plus, this range is really cheap, which is useful when you've suddenly realised you're running low. Only problem with this brand (particularly the powder and foundation) is that it doesn't tend to stick to your face in terms of lasting very long. And the blusher doesn't tend to show up very well, but that might just be the little amount I put on. I have the fear of looking like a rag doll with those bright rosy cheeks.. The concealer is amazing, it's the Miss Sporty (yes I am the drugstore make up Queen) liquid concealer. It's quite light, but it works wonders on those puffy dark circles that I'm a victim of.

Again apologise for the dark picture. These are my everyday eye heroes. I have the collection 2000 gel eyeliner, I used to use the Maybelline eyeliner pot, but I'm trying to be good and actually pay attention to my make up's use by dates. I'm sure none of us pay as much as we probably should though. It works just as well as the more expensive one although I wouldn't rely on their supplied brush as it's teeny. Ah my MUA pallet. I would probably buy up every single one of these if I had the money, they are amazing. I did actually have a little Mua/fashionista splurge last night online, so will do a post when they are delivered! This pallet is the glitter ball pallet and has both daytime and nighttime colours in. My go to colours are the silver in the top right corner mixed with the pale pink in the top row. I must buy another one of the white as my darling daughter decided she'd try to scoop it out with my old brush.. 

Again with the cheaper make ups, I have the collection 2000 longer lash mascara. I have tried so many of the £7 to £15 priced mascaras and I can honestly say that none of them work as well as this one does. And it's not clupmy like some of the others! 

Well there you have it, my everyday make up and hair styling tools. It will probably change as the weather does as I need more moisturising foundations etc etc so will have to keep shopping around. Have you used any of these products? What are your favourite make ups at the moment? Would love to hear!

A day in food

Trying to have a little bit of a health kick at the moment, what with all the hot weather, I don't see how people can still be eating big heavy hot meals! Think this was actually last week, as I've not actually moved off the couch this morning, kind of wishing I was one of those greek Goddesses with people cooling me with the huge leaf fans (think they were leaves..) but I doubt that will ever happen. Anyways, onto the food!

You can't go wrong with a bit of fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, it's light, it's healthy and it will fill you up 'til lunch (if you don't constantly think about food!). This was simply just some berries tossed in a bit of natural yoghurt with some honey :)

Okay now I'm not always one for salads, I think they're quite boring to be honest. My mum could strangely have the same thing everyday but I tend to not eat the food if I find it boring, which yes I know is quite weird. But, saying that I found these chilli bruschetta bites (they're croutons, no matter what the packet says!) from Tesco and they added a little more flavour to the dish.

Yep, more veg! But I absolutely love a stir fry at the moment. I find beef's better than chicken, but I'm quite fussy with my steak so chicken's usually easier. Quick and easy, pretty much anyone who knows how to work a frying pan (or wok if you have one) can make it. This one was also a sweet chilli flavour, I think I have a bit of an obsession with chilli at the moment. But we can't be healthy all the time so I had to add some prawn crackers to the side, just to have a bit of crunch.

Urm so pretty much nothing to do with beauty or fashion whatsoever, but we all like to keep healthy once in a while don't we? If you are interested in food, then give my Instagram a look as I seem to be one of those annoying people who constantly photographs food (although I only started it recently so there won't be much on there). I'll also be posting some fashion and beauty pictures on there and pretty much anything I find mildly interesting, just like everyone else!

Hope you have a great weekend in what I'm assuming will probably be our last heatwave of the year :( But bring on those autumn fashions!