July Favourites!

Since July has been my first full month of Blogging, I thought I might do a monthly favourites before August kicks off!

Makeup...

Daniel Sandler's Watercolour Blush in Cherub £15.50

This stuff is absolutely wonderful.  It leaves the skin dewy and fresh, and the colour sticks around all day long.  It takes a while to get the hang of applying it - I now put a couple of drops on the back of my hand, work it into my RT Expert Face brush equivalent (it's got the same shape and is so soft!) and then stipple it along my cheekbones.  Perfect for the warm summer months.



Max Factor Eyeshadow in 'Burnt Bark' £4.99

I rediscovered this at the bottom of my makeup drawer a few weeks ago, and out of curiosity swatched it on my arm.  At that point aswell, I was considering purchasing 'Satin Taupe' by MAC as I'd fallen back in love with taupe-brown shades - but once I saw this on my arm I knew I didn't need the MAC shadow any more!





Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in 'Nudist' £8

I originally purchased this at around Christmas time, and wore it obsessively. These chubby lip crayons smell like MAC lipsticks on steroids, and are super shiny - like a liquid gloss!  'Nudist' is an almost browny-nude, which translates to a slight coral sheen on my lips.  Recently I've been using it instead of my usual reds and pinks to balance out a smokier liquid-lined eye.



Clothing...

I've pretty much covered my recent clothing staples in the 'Wears of the week' post I did a few days back.  I did go and purchase two more of the ASOS tee-shirts though...*oops*
Also, my old saggy Levis have come back out to play due to the warmer weather - they're worn out, rolled up cutoffs and I love them to bits.


Shoes...

Keds Trainers £40

Mine are pretty old and battered, as I'd been using them as work shoes.  They're so comfortable though, that I've been wearing them all the time now - the black goes with everything and you can cutesy them up with a pair of coloured trainer socks.



Accessories...


Sterling silver dreamcatcher earrings

I bought these earlier this year from an independent shop - they're about an inch and a half long, very lightweight and quirky.  They also match my new Nails Inc. polish, hence why i've been wearing them constantly the past week or so!  I don't have a link for the store I got them from but if you're in the UK they're available here, and from the States here.



Reading...


'Will We Ever Speak Dolphin?'  £5.59

If you've ever wondered about the history of the '10 second rule', or why us ladies wear makeup, look no further.  People's questions, answered in the 'Last Word' column of New Scientist have all been compiled into a series of books - this one being the latest.  The answers can be from anyone, and often include hilarious anecdotes!






xxx

Chic nails by Barry M...

The other day, I saw a fellow blogger wearing this polish and fell in love.  Long story short, I ended up popping into Boots to get it on Saturday - and applied it as soon as I returned home...

Barry M Gelly Nail Polish in 'Almond'

'Almond' is a gorgeous grey-nude colour with some lavender undertones.  In some lights it looks pure grey, and then as if by magic it will change to a dusky purple!  I absolutely love it on the fingernails - not sure about toes (might be a little too grey for them) - and as it's supposed to mimic a gel manicure it should last a long time on the nails too.

I used a base coat as advised on the bottle, and applied two coats of the polish.  It was almost opaque in one, but was a little streaky so a second was required to smooth it all out.  I also applied a top-coat out of habit, and also as we're going away for the week I didn't want it to need any touch-ups! (At some point I'll also do a top-coatless test to see the longevity of the polish alone.)

And here's the finished product! 

You can find it here for £3.99.  All the Barry M polishes are buy one get one half price in Boots at the moment, so I may or may not have slipped the shade 'Elderberry' into my basket too...that's next on my list to try out!

xxx

What's in my handbag, you say? Well, plenty...

I'm one of those people that likes to lug their life around in their handbag.
As in: Must. Be. Prepared. For. All. Situations.

So this evening, I thought I'd do a little post on my favourite bits and bobs that I always haul around with me....



1) Card Holder, Ebay £7

Mine is just a cheapo one from Ebay, but it was such great value for money.  There's plenty of room for cards, reciepts and vouchers, and even my paper drivers licence (all folded up neatly!)  Plus it's lovely soft leather.






2) Coin purse, Cath Kidston £6

I downsized from my gorgeous, yet extremely heavy Fossil wallet to this dinky little coin purse from Cath Kidston and I'm loving it!
The combo of this purse and a the card holder means I can switch up to a small handbag in no time.

3) Keys

An obvious one, no real need to elaborate here.  Although dull as it is, the huge loop i've got them on is awesome as it means you can switch them up in no time (also without ruining your mani!)

4) Hand Cream, Neal's Yard £10

This one from Neal's Yard is divine.  It came free with a copy of Marie Claire - but I'm so obsessed that I'll be running out to repurchase once this is finished.  (They also donate some of the proceeds to the 'Save the bees' campaign, so it gets a thumbs up from me!)

Mine's this pattern, but with
 a chocolate-brown background.

5) Mini umbrella, Cath Kidston £22

Even though it's properly summer over here in England, the weather still trips us up by giving us mid-afternoon downpours.  I've had this Cath Kidston brolly for years now - the last one died during a thunderstorm in Paris when the handle snapped off (yes, the wind was that strong).  Doesn't blow inside out and is seriously lightweight.  Definitely worth the money.





6) Makeup bag, Amazon £12.95


I'm in love with this design.  So cute!  It's big enough to fit brushes, and also has a little inside zip pocket for the things you don't want people on the bus seeing...
Also it's slightly padded, so if you're clumsy like me and drop it on a daily basis your powder compact is protected.

May have noticed (sneaky sneaky!) that
 the black version is on sale for about £13...

7) Diary/notebook, Smythson £45

Over the past year I'd been using a battered Filofax as a planner at college, but our babe of a chemistry teacher surprised us with fancy Smythson ones as leaving gifts last month.  The notebook hoarder in me wanted to keep this on a shelf, pristine and lovely - but I've managed to persuade myself to start using it!  Dangerous territory as I'm bound to replace it once it's filled up, but hey we can all treat ourselves once in a while, right....?




xxx

The BEST hair ties ever!

For starters, my hair is very thick and wavy.  On day one, just after washing I can get it to stay up in a bun (as long as it's still damp).  However, after being slept on it's near impossible to get it to play ball.

My odd little hair saviours!

I picked up a pack of Invisibobble hair ties on my last Boots expedition, thinking perhaps they'd be good for tying my hair back overnight as they claim to leave no marks/dents from where they rest.  I don't quite think they live up to that claim, but the classic 'ponytail dent' is significantly less noticeable than with regular hair ties.

The reason I think they're awesome though, is that they manage to help you create the perfect bun - regardless of the condition of your hair.  Somehow, the rather odd telephone cord shape means that they grip the hair and stop your bun from slipping down your head.   I've got the brown coloured ones, and they disappear into your hair beautifully.  Just wrap them around a twisty bun on the top of your head, and you're good to go!

They're available from Boots in 3 packs for £3.75

xxx

Makeup chores #1: Sanitisation

It's no secret that if you're a bit of a beauty junkie it's far too easy to end up with a massive product stash.  It occurred to me a few weeks ago that there's a lot of fuss about keeping our brushes clean, but what about the makeup itself?
If (like me!) you've got skin that's prone to bacterial blemishes, the oils and bugs that build up on/in your makeup can trigger breakouts.  Also, products such as mascaras can cause eye infections if they're 'out of date'.

If you look at the back of a product (be it skincare or makeup) there's a little symbol of a pot with a number inside.  This indicates the number of months after opening that your beloved eye cream/blush/miscellaneous makeup item is going to go out of date.  

Cream and liquid products tend to have a shorter lifespan, and for those which you double-dip such as lip glosses it's even less time.  To be honest, the latter should be binned after a year or so (depending on how much you use them) and mascaras after an even shorter timeframe.  The bacterial colonies from your face will have gone haywire in these sorts of products, and in the end your health is the most important thing.

However, many other products can easily have their lifespans extended by sterilisation!  You can easily get your makeup stash to last much much longer by killing off the surface bacteria using an alcohol spray.  I use pure Isopropyl alchohol (you can get canisters of this here on Amazon). Surgical spirit is a bit cheaper and you can get it from Boots, but I'd advise only using this for cleaning the packaging itself as it contains castor oil and will leave residue on the product.

Here's the stuff I use.  The purer the better.

I'd also recommend getting a little spray bottle/atomiser as this will allow you to mist the product evenly, instead of blasting it straight out of the can.

This works amazingly well for pressed powder products (you can also get compact mirrors really clean while you're at it too).  Cream products such as bullet-form lipsticks and blushes can also be sterilised decently this way and the Isopropyl alcohol evaporates quickly, so you don't have to wait ages for things to dry.  (It will however ruin your manicure if you've got painted nails and I'd also urge you to do the whole process in a well ventilated area.)

To sum it up, I think It's definitely something worth doing every few months if you're looking to extend the life of your beloved makeup stash.  Now to persuade my Mum to do hers too...!

xxx

Ways to use your No.7 voucher...

It's that time again where when you get to the till at Boots, you're given one of those dratted No.7 vouchers for £5 off skincare and £3 off makeup...

I'd usually just head off home and completely forget about it, until it was long out of date!  However, if you're savvy there's quite a few bargains to be gotten with it.  (Prices are for when you use the coupon.)


£2 Face Wipes

I usually use the Simple wipes, just because they're usually the cheapest ones around that don't leave a funny residue.  However, unless they're on offer they're more expensive per pack than these.  The No.7 ones are soft and feel a little more luxurious.  My main pro is that they have a proper clicky closure, so they dry out much less quickly (and when travelling don't leave your washbag all damp!)






£7.50 Thermal Mask


There's been a lot of buzz going around in the blogging world recently about the Sanctuary 5 minute thermal detox mask.  This mask does pretty much the same job, but is also formulated for oily skin.  I find that if used once a week,  my face looks a lot less oily when I wake up in the mornings and my makeup lasts much longer.  I've actually got it on as I'm typing this!  Sanctuary's offering is on promotion too at the moment, making it about the same price but it's usually about £10.





£3 Nail Polish

If you're looking for a long lasting polish, comparable to Essie, look no further.
There's a huge range of shades available, and at a similar price point to Rimmel or Seventeen these are a no brainer.










£5 Cream Shadow Stick

I picked up several of these last time the coupons were being handed out.  My absolute fave is 'Cool Mink', a soft grey taupe with a little bit of shimmer.  They've really got the formula on point here - scribble it all over your lids, quickly blend out and you're done.  Long lasting, and I've heard that they're supposed to be a dupe for the By Terry 'Ombre Blackstar' shadow sticks!







£1.95 Pencil Sharpener

A sharpener is a sharpener, isn't it...?
This one is pretty sturdy, and with the coupon is cheaper than Boots' Essential range one.  The second hole is just the right size for those impossible to sharpen chubby eye crayons (I'm looking at you Nyx!)









Bargain Brushes

Finally, I couldn't help but mention the makeup brush range.  If you're after a real hair blending brush, the Eye Contour Brush is the way to go.  My absolute essential though is the Smokey Eyeliner Brush.  This is amazing for applying powder concealer to blemishes.  Work a little into the brush, then press the tip gently into the skin.  Couldn't recommend it enough (and would probably run out and repurchase full price if mine went missing haha!)  Both are £4.25 with the coupon.


Skincare is on 3 for 2 here
Makeup is also currently buy one get one half price here

xxx

New love: Liquid liner!

I've gone through many many phases with eyeliner.  First it was kohl - applied only to the lower waterline - panda eyes alert!  Then there was about a year or so of disastrous liquid liner experimentation.  I then gave up on it all for a while (I believe I actually went through the whole of last summer sans eye makeup).

Most recently though, I've just been using brown or black shadows to accentuate the lashline, and that's been going pretty well.  However, I purchased this Stila liner a couple of months ago having seen Estée from Essiebutton do an amazing cat flick tutorial - but until a week or so ago had been too much of a wuss to try it out properly.  Thank goodness I did!  

Stila's 'Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner'

It's a liquid liner, but instead of having to keep reloading your brush constantly it's all in pen form - like a Sharpie for your eyes!  The felt tip nib means you can be very precise with application, and I've found the best way to start it all off is with the flick itself and then to fill it all in back towards the inner corner.

It takes quite a few tries to get the hang of it (I'd thoroughly recommend getting your hands on a huge pack of cotton buds beforehand - you can get a 300 pack from Wilko for 37p) but I think I've finally managed to get the technique down.

Here it is after 6 hours outside in 31 degree heat.
I couldn't keep my makeup on any longer than that as I felt like my face was going to melt off!
(Yes, us Brits are pants at dealing with warm weather.)

Once dry it doesn't flake, or rub off easily.  Also, the pen itself hasn't dried up after being open a while - something that has put me off purchasing felt tip liners in the past.  All in all, a fab buy :)

You can get it from ASOS for £13 (but there's almost always discount coupons)

xxx