London Beauty Haul

Hello lovelies!

As you may know, I spent the September weekend in London with my family and I may have picked up a few beauty treats...

NARS

One counter I knew I just HAD to visit in London was the NARS counter. Their Sheer Glow foundation is raved about in the beauty blogging world and I've been lusting after their dual intensity eyeshadows since their release a few months ago. I was colour matched to Mont Blanc in the foundation and the eyeshadow shades I chose were Callisto and Phoebe. The eyeshadows are freaking GORGEOUS and I can't wait to try them out some more.

The Body Shop

I've heard great things about the Body Shop's new instablur primer and as I'm always on the lookout for products which stop me looking like a melted waxwork by the end of the day, I thought I'd give this a go! I also picked up their honey bronzer in shade 1 (which is the lightest) to give my face a bit of colour.

Benefit

Finally I picked up Benefit's They're Real Mascara. As you've probably noticed, this isn't full size; I was standing in the queue in Boots right next to the tempting little shelves of offers aimed at weak people like myself when I spotted the mini version for £9.99. My old mascara was drying out anyway so I saw this as an opportunity to try a much loved product for almost half the price. 

And there we have it! Everything I bought on my little trip (except from a chocolate frog at the Harry Potter Studio Tour). I plan to review most of these products in the near future but if you're particularly interested in a specific product for a review or swatches then please let me know and I'll try to get on it as quickly as I can. 

Until next time lovelies!

Jen x

Trying the Trend: Orange Lips

I think that we can all agree that orange lips are a huge trend for this Spring/ Summer & being a bright lipstick lover I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon! 

I searched through Boots for AGES looking for a really nice bright orange lip colour but unfortunately every product that claimed to be orange leaned more on the pinky/coral side when swatched. To be fair though, the Boots where I live is pretty rubbish & I'm sure if I'd have been patient enough to wait until I was near a bigger store I would have found something but I have the patience of a toddler so that wasn't an option for me.

I then turned to the internet to find the perfect colour & that's where I stumbled across NARS's Satin Lip Pencil in Timanfaya (don't ask me how to pronounce it, I have no idea!). Luckily I had a discount code for ASOS at this point so I managed to buy it for just under £14 instead of £18 from their site! I'll need to keep ASOS in mind for high end beauty products when they're offering discount codes in the future as I'd never really thought about it before but it really is a great saving considering how expensive these products can be! 

I took these pictures after I'd been out for the day so please excuse the fact that my makeup is slightly melting off my face. I also forgot that the camera angle used in the above pic isn't the most flattering for my tennis ball sized eyes. Ah well.

As you can see from the pictures, Timanfaya really is a bold lip colour & that's why I love it! I wear it with subtle makeup everywhere else of course as I don't want to end up looking like a clown. 

The "satin" aspect of this lip pencil is really nice as it means it just glides on to the lips & doesn't dry them out at all. This product delivers a really opaque coverage after just a couple of layers & it lasts for hours without need for a top up. 

I really am loving the orange trend at the moment & as you can see from the pic above, my lip pencil has been really well loved over the last few weeks! 

What do you think of this colour? Do you have any recommendations? 

Jen x

Review | NARSissist Cheek Kit

Hello lovelies!

If you saw my haul post the other day then you'll have seen that I picked up the NARSissist cheek kit, my first NARS product! I'm now going to spend the next few minutes trying to justify to you, & myself, why I spent £35 on blusher. 

R to L: Devotee, Orgasm, Laguna

Orgasm & Devotee applied

NARSissist cheek kit available here 

As you can see, this palette contains three blushes: Devotee (a new highlighting blush) & then NARS's cult favourites: Orgasm & Laguna. There are a few reasons why I bought this palette. I only own one blush (yes, seriously) & it meant I could try two cult favourites without having to spent £22 - £27 each on them as well as a new highlighter. I already have MAC Soft & Gentle but I really liked the look of this highlighter. The palette also comes with a brush which I was pleased with. Also, I've just finished all my uni exams/ coursework & I've been working really really hard! I practically deserved it! Not really, anything to make myself feel better about this splurge...

I first need to tell you that this palette is T I N Y. I always read reviews before I buy anything this expensive, & I'm so glad I did. I read a review by the lovely Sophs from The Sopho Diaries which meant I wasn't as shocked by the size of the palette as I would have been. I feel like the  pictures on the NARS website can be a bit deceiving sometimes when it comes to the size of the products. If any of you have an iPhone, this palette is exactly the size of the screen of an iPhone. Tiny, I know. If I'm being honest, I do think NARS could have made the palette slightly bigger. 

As I said, the palette comes with a brush & it's just as well it does as there's NO way my Real Techniques blush bush would fit in one of the blush shades alone. The NARS brush just fits into one blush shade & no more so I need to be careful that the shades don't run into each other. The brush itself is really well made with lovely soft bristles & because it's smaller than my other brushes it's perfect for travel. I find that my Real Techniques contour brush is the perfect size for the highlight & contour shades. 

Onto the blush shades. As I said, the palette contains a highlight, blush & a contour. Devotee is a shade exclusive to this palette & I really like it! I'm not sure if you can see but I'm wearing it across the tops of my cheekbones in the picture above. I'd describe it as a pale pink/ beige toned shimmery highlight. It's a gorgeous subtle highlight & perfect for during the day. As I said, I have MAC Soft & Gentle highlighter which I do really like but I think Devotee is a perfect highlight for during the day as it's not too shimmery & just gives some subtle definition. I really do wish they'd sell it seperately as I would definitely buy it! Orgasm is of course a cult favourite amongst beauty bloggers & after trying it I really do love it! NARS decribe is as "peachy pink with a golden shimmer" which I totally agree with. It gives such a gorgeous flush of colour across the cheeks & after trying it I'll definitely buy it once it runs out in this palette. Laguna again is a cult favourite. NARS describe it as "diffused brown powder with a golden shimmmer" which again, I completely agree with. This really is the ultimate pale girl contour shade but I've also been using it just to warm up my face. Again, I'm almost 100% I'll repurchase this once it runs out in the palette. 

Overall, I'm really happy that I bought this palette! As I'd never tried Orgasm or Laguna before, it was the perfect way to try them as well as having a gorgeous highlighter included which I couldn't have tried otherwise. I'm really happy with every shade in the palette & will definitely repurchase their full size versions when I'm finished with the palette. I'm going on holiday in September & will definitely be packing this as it's all the cheek products I need in one palette. In terms of value for money, I'm really undecided to be honest. I know there's a brush thrown in with the palette but in my opinion the blushes really should be bigger. I'm obviously not expecting three full-sized blushes in one palette but would expect something slightly bigger than what NARS are offering. 

I would reccomend this palette if you don't already own Orgasm & Laguna but if you do own these products it may be a bit pointless, unless of course you want to try the highlighter or fancy a travel friendly blush kit!

Have you tried this kit? What do you think?

Jen x 

Haul - Beauty & Fashion

Hello lovelies!

I have a little haul post for you today! I had my last exam last Thursday & also submitted my last piece of coursework for 2nd year so I decided to treat myself at the shops! Hope you enjoy.

Topshop

Grey T-shirt - £16 available here

Mint vest £20 - (from petite section) available here 

Necklace - £7.50 available here

Nail polish - £5 available here

Topshop had an amazing 20% student discount on over the weekend so I definitely had to check it out! I also had a £15 gift card so managed to get all of this for £23! I was really in need of some tops since all I seem to own is wooly jumpers from Winter so what I got isn't too exciting unfortunately. I love the grey burnout tee - I really like that it's oversized & think it'll look amazing with a necklace, skinny jeans & statement lipstick. The mint green vest is perfect for Spring/ Summer & looks great with a pair of jeans & boots. I picked up the nail polish as an impulse buy at the till because it matched the vest really well; I never really wear nail polish as I'm lazy & impatient with it but I've had this on for a few days & I've had loads of compliments on it so I think I'll definitely start making more of an effort with my nails from now on. I also picked up the gorgeous silver collar necklace which goes really well with both tops!

River Island

T-shirt - £16 available here 

I think this top is so cute & will go with both skirts & jeans!

Boux Avenue

Bra & pants set - £25 available here

Pyjama shorts - £16 available here

Can I just start by saying I LOVE Boux Avenue! If you've never shopped there you really need to check it out! You can get a Boux Avenue VIP card which means you get points on any purchase you make & you can get exclusive access to discounts, sale items & view new releases before anyone else. We all know how expensive bras can be but Boux Avenue have really reasonable prices & their sales are AMAZING so keep an eye out! They also start all bra sizes with a 30 back which is fab for me; I find that if you have a bigger cup size then most bras unfortunately start in a 32 or 34 back which for me means they won't fit properly, so keep that in mind if you have a small back size. Anyways, back to what I bought: Boux Avenue had a triple points event on for VIP members last weekend & I'd had my eye on these beautiful pyjama shorts for a while since the nights are beginning to get a bit warmer so I picked them up. I also needed a white bra & Boux Avenue are offereing all of their Chloe sets for £25 (you can see all sets here). This is a fab deal as a Chloe bra by itself is £22 so the set really is a bargain! I had my eye on a gorgeous mint green set but unfortunately had to be boring as I really did need a white set. 

Accessorize

Clutch bag - £15 available here

How cute is this bag?! My cousin is getting married next month & I thought this bag would go well with the dress I'm wearing. I don't normally buy clutch bags as I find them really annoying on a night out; my dancing consists of flailing my arms about like a crazy person which I can't do if I have a drink in one hand & a bag in the other. However, this bag has a strap inside which you can attach whenever you please so it's ideal for me!

Debenhams

Lipstick - £15 available here

Lip liner -  £14.50 available here

Debenhams were doing a great deal over the weekend (it may still be on so check it out) where if you bought one bestselling product from a brand, you'd get £10 off another product! So I technically got the liner for £4.50 which is amazing! I chose the shade Chatterbox for the lipstick as I needed a lipstick to go with the dress I'm wearing to my cousin's wedding. I'd been looking for an orange lipstick but none of the MAC lipsticks were calling out to me (I wouldn't have got the £10 off deal with two lipsticks anyway - it had to be two seperate products, one being a lipstick). However, I really liked the colour of this liner - What a Blast. As you can see, I've already used it & I really like it! I just use it as a lipstick which takes a bit of time as it's obviously a lot smaller than a regular lipstick & then put some vaseline over it. I think I'll review these two products seperately in another post!

NARS

Narsissist blush palette - £35 available here

Okay this blush was a total splurge product at £35 but I've been studying really, really hard! I'll be doing a full review of this very soon so won't say too much except that it contains a new highlight called Devotee along with their famous Orgasm & Laguna blushes. 

Boots

Batiste dry shampoo - £4.99 available here

Tangle Teezer - £10.99 available here

Probably the most boring products from this haul. I don't think much needs to be said about Batiste dry shampoo as it's a regular purchase for most people, myself included - it  absorbs oil really well & keeps hair looking great between washes. I bought the Tangle Teezer because my hair is really long & really thin which means it tangles to a ridiculous extent & regularly snaps when I try to brush it through. It's working really well so far & I've definitely noticed less tugging & NO snapping. 

Well, that's it! Quite a long post so well done if you lasted until the end! What do you think of what I got? Did any of you manage to pick up some bargains in the sales?

Jen x