'Sunshine in Spring' OOTD // 15/04/14

The sun made a welcome appearance today and even though I've been ill for the past week I forced myself to get up and get out! 

I've got my fav bourjois colour boost lip crayon in the shade 'Fuschia Libre' on because I'm feeling all summery and bright! 

I swept my hair to the side and did a quick and easy plait. 

For my OOTD, I paired my New Look jeans with this cute blouse from Warehouse and a jumper from h&m over the top because it still wasn't too hot outside. My white converse just topped off this super casual outfit! 

My day in pictures // 10/04/14

This morning I woke up (at 7.30 even though I didn't need to be up until 9.30) and decided to take a few pictures throughout my day to share with you even though I woke up feeling ill and had no plans. So apologies in advance for it being a bit of a boring day but I thought I would share it anyway. My blog. My rules lol.

First of all, a jog around my park. Yes you heard right! This isn't a regular accurance even though I want it to be. I took these on my iphone and instagramed most of them so the filters are a little obvious!

As soon as I got home and kicked off my shoes I dragged myself into the kitchen feeling exhausted and rustled up some breakfast. Attempting to be as healthy as possible while I was at it. OH not forgetting a big glass of water before and after the run, gotta keep hydrated girlies! 

I came back up to my bed to flick through my company magazine and enjoyed my breakfast.

A few hours later after doing not much at all.. I was feeling pretty ill. I had some paracetamol and a cuppa tea to keep me going. Again this isn't a regular accurance, I'm a coffee lady usually! 

That's what I call a no make up, feeling crap but the tea will help selfie. 

This is a no frills straight up comfy in the house OOTD. It's surprisingly matchy to say it's a chillin in the house outfit, which are usually a mix match of anything I can get my hands on first in my wardrobe. 

I have my mums laptop which used to be mine, so that I can do some photoshopping pictures for the blog. 

Finally I got back in bed with mine and my mums laptop and spent pretty much the rest of my day in bed feeling sorry for my ill self and attempting to photoshop some pics.

Ohh last picture had to be put in of this gorgeous apricot tart with strawberries.. Mmmm :)

I know this is a different type of post for me but let me know if you would like more of these!

Toots signing out for the night! 

X

A Nude Matte Lip.. High Street VS High End

Above L to R: Sleek in Birthday Suit, Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet in 34 Raffinée. 

Theres no universal nude shade that suits everyone so finding the right one for you can be a little difficult. Ive found that to be the case for me anyway, i either end up with a lipstick that gives me that 'foundation lips' look which washes me out completely or a lipstick thats too light like a baby pink which doesn't suit my skin at all. This can be worsened when the nude colour is a matte, making an even more impossible task.
Todays a bit of a different post too, this is the battle of the High-street VS High-End, but who will win? 

Round one // The High-Street Nude - To those sleek smarty pants, YES I'm cheating because this is a lip cream (apologies for cheating but you will thank me later) but I'm classing it as a lipstick. Right, now thats out of the way, lets just appreciate how cool the formula on this 'Matte Me' lipstick is, you apply it as if it is a lipgloss, the same doe-foot spongy applicator, it goes on creamy and slightly glossy but dries completely matte, and when i say completely matte, i mean make sure your lips are in perfect condition before applying this to your lips. This stuff clings to dry patches on your lips you didn't even know you had. The colour 'Birthday Suit' is more on the too light side but it is very close to my natural lip colour. The colour pay off is fab and it stays around for hours without coming off. 

Round two // The High End Nude - Oh Chanel my beauty how i love you *insert lovestruck emoji*. The Rouge Allure Velvet formulas are by far the best matte formulas around, and I've tried my fair share being a matte kinda girl. Its creamy and soft and glides on your lips like.. well.. velvet. The colour of this is more on the pinky side of the nude scale and would probably only class as a nude on skin tones like my own, but its a beautiful shade regardless. Perfect pigmentation but the staying power on this one isn't as good as the Sleek. We can probably all agree who wins the prize for best packaging.. i won't even say it. 

Round three // The verdict - They both have their pros and cons and they're both two of my favourite matte nudes. The winner is pretty clear to me though and wins by a mile, and that is of course the Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet. *round of applause woop woop*. This isn't a packaging bias verdict, its purely because i use this one way more and the colour is just stunning and the formulation is something else. Well done Chanel, you did us proud! 

Hope you enjoyed this post guys, would you like to see more of these 'battle' style posts? leave a comment and let me know! and if you have tried any of these, what do you think to them? 

The Multi-Tasker - Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream

Every girl should own one of these… thats a big statement to start with but fo'real girls, this is a must have. Its a classic cult product thats been around since its first appearance in 1930 (yes I've been doing my research on this super cream). 

So what is it? -  To sum it up its basically like a better version of vaseline, in a tube. It has the texture of vaseline and smells rather strange but i can get past that (there is a non scented version too if you don't like the original, so smell before you buy!). This is the small version that i got in a set but it has lasted SO long and I'm not even half way through! 

How do you use it? - Personally I love using it as a intensive lip balm when my lips are really chapped, just squeeze a tiny bit out because a little really does go a long way and smooth it straight onto your lips and thats it! 

You can also use it on any dry skin patches on your body like elbows or your hands, wherever you need it really. 

Top tips that worked for me - My favourite way of using this little wonder is as a dewy highlighter. This is how celebs and models achieve that super dewy make up look, especially on runway models. You know when they look like they have flawless radiant and dewy skin but somehow look like they have no make up on. Well thats when this bad boy comes in.. dab a tiny amount onto your finger and apply it to the high points of your cheeks and rub it in. Be light handed tho you don't want to look greasy. But there you have it.. a lip balm and highlighter all in one.

Come on, one more top tip? -  Go on then i'll share my last favourite tip when using the 8 hour cream. Now this may seem slightly odd and I'm not claiming this will work for everyone but it certainly worked on me. You know when you've got a pesky spot on your face and when you apply make up over it you get those really dry patches around it? well yeah i have a tip that will solve this over night (or over two nights if I'm being realistic). How to do it.. 

If you see a spot coming, or if its already popped up on you unexpectedly, just dab a little bit of the 8 hour cream on it at night before bed. When you wake up in the morning you should see that you don't get that dry skin around your spot.. but stick at it a few nights if it doesn't go straight away. Also i have found that it works wonders at actually reducing the spots over a few nights. 

Hope you liked this, leave a comment and let me know if you have tried the 8 hour cream and how you use it :)

Amber x

Review - Benefit Watts Up Highlight

For you contour & highlighting gals.. this one is for you. 

This is one that I've been drooling over for months but could never justify paying £24.50 on something that puts a little sparkle on my face. Of course i finally gave in.. for blogging purposes only. 

The Packaging - Well like all benefit products, this comes in cute quirky packaging. Im not 100% sure about the weird little sponge thing at the bottom.. its hard to use and i think to blend the highlighter its much easier if you just use your fingers. 

The pay-off - There is no denying it with this one, it is not subtle at all. You can easily go OTT if you just whack it on without caution. When i was at a benefit counter once, the woman told me just to place it on the top of your cheekbones and drag it upwards. Id say this can put way too much product on the face for a day to day look, i find it works best by dabbing it on the tops of the cheekbones and anywhere else you choose to highlight or dragging it then blend it in with fingers. 

Below is one swatch before blending: 

Below is after the swatch has been blended to create a more natural and subtle highlight:

The highlighter has a champaign shimmery colour that can be very complimentary to warmer skin tones. I personally love using this when I'm doing a bronzed look and i can imagine this looking gorgeous in the summer to add a natural sunkissed look with some bronzer. I can however understand why people find this highlighter too glittery, but i personally don't mind a little shimmer. 

The sum up - Id give this product a 8.5/10. I think its so versatile and can be used in so many different make up looks. I also inserted that last picture to show how much product you get for the price. It doesn't seem much but i can see that this is going to last me ages and i would say it is so worth the money. 


Have any of you tried this or any other highlighters, let me know in the comments :) 

Amber x

Bronzed Makeup Look

The Eyes - My trustee MUA palette came in handy for this bronzed make up look. Even though they're only around £4, the MUA eyeshadows are really pigmented and have a gorgeous pay off. I started with a lighter shade all over the lid and then the 5th shade on the bottom row (the shades don't have any names) to create the bronzed effect on the lid and crease. To apply the eyeshadows i used my Victorias Secrets eye brushes that i got as part of a travel kit. They're nothing amazing but they do the job i suppose. I also used a tiny bit of my eyebrow shadow on the outer corners of my eyes to create some definition. I also tight lined my top lashes with my SmashBox eye kohl and put a tiny amount on my bottom lashes to create a more smokey effect. 

The Eyebrows - My unruly brows really need some TLC but for now I'm just making do with the bushy brow look and filling them in with my Browzings eyebrow shadow from Benefit. 

The Lashes - I have to curl my lashes, if i don't mascara just doesn't apply well at all and i end up with straight flat lashes that looked weighed down with mascara. So the first step is to curl. Then i go in with my Thick and fast mascara for some volume and my They're real mascara to lengthen.  

The Base - I usually keep it simple on the base and don't go for anything too heavy. I concealed my under eye circles with my illamasqua concealer, then went in with my borjouis CC cream. Nothing too heavy as this was just a day time look. Bronzed and highlighted then done. 

Hope you liked this look, leave a comment on what you think. 
Amber x

Review: The Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil

The Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum-in-Oil - £12

I'll put my hands up and admit that although I love buying skincare, I have never used or tried a serum before (yes a beauty blogger who has never used a serum in her life)! 

However I've always been one that uses oils, especially natural oils such as almond oil and coconut oil. So when The Body Shop released there new 'Serum-in-oil' I had to buy it. 

The science behind it: This overnight serum in oil is The Body Shops product with the highest concentrate of wheatgerm oil. Wheatgerm oil is a natural oil that is high in Vitamin E which is an antioxidant that helps protect and repair the skin. This product also contains other natural oils to nourish the skin including Sweet Almond oil, Sesame seed oil, Sunflower oil and Jojoba seed oil. Now some of you might be thinking it seems a little cray to be slathering all those oils on your face, especially those with oily/combination skin, but have a little trust in me, all these oils are really beneficial to the skin and I plan on doing a post soon with my favourite natural oils and their benefits. 

The packaging: How cuteeeee is this! I know its pretty much the same as all of the vitamin E range but i still love it. I adore the little pipette on the lid,  it makes it so much easier to get the right amount of product and it makes it feel a little more expensive and a little like the Estee lauder advance night repair serum. Plus its baby pink, and  girls love cute pink packaging right? well done body shop.. 

The results: I've been using this serum-in-oil for a few weeks now and I'm happy to say that The body shop has done me proud once more. I used to always use the coconut beautifying oil at night and I would wake up in the morning with plump soft skin but for the past few weeks I replaced it with this but I'm not sure which I prefer. This soaks in almost instantly and doesn't leave you feeling greasy at all. I wake up in the morning with lovely soft skin however I don't think it is as hydrating as the beautifying oil. I find this oil works best after exfoliating at night before bed, in the morning you can really see and feel the difference. My verdict on this one would have to be a 7.5/10. I think it is ideal for anyone who is starting to explore facial oils and i would say its perfect for any skin type (yes even you oily skin gals).

Leave a comment and let me know if you have tried it or what your favourite oil is. 

Amber x