Wednesday 29 May 2013

SELFRIDGES SUMMER BEAUTY BOX








Hello lovelies! I hope you all had a fab Bank Holiday weekend, I had a lovely time shopping, chilling and enjoying the good weather (what little we had of it!) with Darren. My weekend was actually extended as my boyfriend's mum got married yesterday so I had an extra day off! It was a lovely lovely day and I had a great time, but I'm now writing this before going back off to work and it looks like I'm going to be finishing pretty late tonight so that's slammed be right back into reality after a lovely long weekend, never mind eh?

Anyway, this post probably won't come as too much of a shock to you all as sooo many people have blogged about this already. I actually got this quite a while ago, some of you may have seen my excitable photos on instagram (@chloesway) when it arrived! It's the Selfridges Summer Beauty Box! The absolutely fabulous products inside are as follows:

Aqua Splash Tangle Teezer
I was going to save all the products to take on Holiday with me next month but I've tried this already as my own tangle teezer is a bit worse for wear these days. This is absolutely amazing on wet hair so it'll be perfect to bring in my beach/ pool bag on holiday!

Models Own Neon Nail Varnish in Bubblegum
This is such a pretty shade, definitely a summer colour! I love neon pink with a tan, so definitely one for the suitcase!

Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray 50ml
I've never tried anything like this before but I've heard great things. I'm hoping this will help me create some no heat hairsyles, as straightners in the sun are a bit of a no-no. Let me know if you've ever tried this, I'd love to hear about it.

Molton Brown Blissful Templetree Shower Gel 100ml
This smells really lovely and it's a perfect travel sized so this will definitely be going in my holiday wash bag.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir 30ml
I was super excited that this was in the box, despite not really knowing how to use it, as so many bloggers absolutely rave about it! I've heard this makes a good toner. face refresher throughout the day so this will be great for long days at the beach or even at work if I get a bit 'ughh' throughout the day!

St. Tropez Instant Glow Face Lotion 50ml
Another one I've actually already tried, I used this under my foundation for the wedding yesterday and I love it! It gives the most even, natural looking glow to your face, absolutely perfect for a night out or special occasion. 

Jane Tran Hair Clips
These are something I may not get a whole lot of use out of, but I'll bring them away with me anyway as they're much more fun than regular hair clips and bobby pins. I'd have loved them when I was in the infants mind you!

Erborian BB Cream 12ml
I recently expressed my love for the gorgeous Korean Touch in SOL BB cream so I'm hoping this is another I'll fall in love with. I've tried a lot of high street BB creams that I didn't like so much, so I'm going to give this one a go to see if it lives up to my Touch in SOL one. Watch this space!

Lancaster After Sun 40ml
It may seem boring, but I was seriously excited about this. I've had it in full size before and I absolutely love it. I use it every day on holiday after being in the sun and it soothes any burn and deepens and prolongs tan as I think it boosts your skin naturally tanning ability. Not sure how this works but it's fab fab fab!


I'm not usually one for Beauty Boxes as they're usually full of brands I don't know/ would never use/ don't seem worth the money to me, but you have no risk of that with this box! This little beauty is a limited edition Summer themed Beauty Box, still available on the Selfridges website here. This set me back just £25, which is amazing considering all the fab products you get inside are worth over £70! As I said, it is limited edition and it's already been out for quite a while so snap it up while you can if you fancy one.

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Sunday 26 May 2013

MAC EYE SHADOWS, DAZZLELIGHT, TWINKS, EXPENSIVE PINK





Hi lovelies! I've been trying to build up my MAC palette for some time now, I've gone through so many MAC eyeshadows, thrown them out, given them away and finished them up before actually filling my MAC palette and I'm determined to actually have a full palette soon! Although, the new MAC palettes are so irritating! I still have my old one but the new ones annoy me as you have to buy the casing and the inside bit separately, what's up with that? Anyway, that's beside the point! I made a couple of orders lately in the hopes I'd have a full palette soon and these three beauties were all ones I'd seen talked about again and again on various blogs and youtube videos, so I was so excited to try them all out!

As I said, I recently made a couple of little MAC orders online and this was the first of the two. I wanted to do these posts separately as opposed to one haul as there was a reason I bought these three particular eyeshadows. You may have seen my post on the Clarins Splendours eyeshadow palette and I absolutely fell in love with it. For this reason, two of the colours - the Rose Gold, the Champagne colour and the Plummy Brown are all running out! So, I decided rather than buy the tiny palette again (as much as I love it), I'd see if I could find some MAC dupes. The palette is limited edition, so I figured MAC shadows were the way to go as that way, I wouldn't become too attached to a palette that would eventually be taken off the shelves and also because I like keeping all my shadows together!

So, the shades I chose to try out were Dazzlelight - Light Shimmery Champagne  Twinks - Dark Plummy Brown, Expensive Pink - Rose Gold. I literally could not be happier with my choices! These three shadows together look exactly the same on the eye as the colours in the Clarins palette did. They are all Veluxe Pearl finish, which is my favourite MAC shadow finish as they're all super pigmented and shimmery. These make the perfect summer 'smokey' eye, as they all compliment each other really well. Dazzlelight is the perfect highlight shade and as it's warm toned, it compliments the rose gold colour of Expensive Pink perfectly, which I wear from the middle of the lid to the outer corner, with Twinks through the crease. It makes a gorgeous warm toned smokey eye without giving you a strange 'red eye' look. I use a MAC paintpot as my base and these shadows stay put all day with no creasing or fading, which is fab. They can be worn subtley or built up for a night out which is great - I do love multi-taskers!

What do you think? Have you tried any of these shadows? What else should I get to fill my MAC palette?

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Wednesday 22 May 2013

WOULD YOU RATHER BEAUTY EDITION


Hi lovelies! I recently read this Beauty 'Would You Rather' on the gorgeous Kayleigh's blog and thought it looked like so much fun! I love reading posts like this and adore writing them too so as soon as I saw Kayleigh's post I knew I wanted to do it right away! If you haven't seen Kayleigh's post or visited her blog (which I'm sure most of you will have!) you can read it here. Her blog is one of my 'must read' blogs, love it! Anyway, onto the questions!

Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lipglosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?
As Kayleigh said in her post, this is a super easy one for me. I'd rather lose my palettes and eyeshadows for a few reasons. As much as I love my (eye wateringly expensive) palettes, it'd take a lot more to replace all my mascaras, eyeliner, lipstick etc. And if I wasn't allowed to replace them, there's no way I could live without lipstick, mascara and eyeliner. Eyeshadows, though I love them, I could live without. Re-buying all my MAC ones would just be traumatizing though!!

Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?

This is a horrible horrible question. I want to say never cut it as I hate cutting my hair. However, it'd get sooo ratty and awful ahh I don't know! I suppose cut it as I could always wear extensions or a wig or something until it grew back. If Jessie J could do it...

Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?

Coral for sure. It suits my skin tone much much better, I love pinks, but they're always pinky coral or peachy rather than pink pink. I think with my skin, which is more warm than cool toned, and my blonde hair, pinks make me look a bit barbie, which is exactly what Kayleigh said! I think some blondes can get away with the barbie look, but it's just not for me.

If you had £1000 to spend, Would you rather buy clothes or makeup?

Definitely clothes. I adore buying makeup but I really don't need £1000 worth of it at all. I'm not sure I even need what I have now so £1000 worth would be beyond excessive. So yes, it'd be go wild in Topshop time for me!

Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner, or eyeliner as lipstick?

These are so yucky, but you can get nude eyeliners so I think I'd go for eyeliner as lipstick. You can also get hot pink or orange eyeliners if you do a Barry M jobby so I think I'll cheat and say that. Lipstick on the eyes is just gross!

Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?

We don't really have Sephora in the UK but if we did I'd definitely say that as there's so much more variety. However, I'd really miss MAC. If it had to be one or the other though, it'd be Sephora, purely because of the variety of brands you can get.

Would you rather only use one eyeshadow color or one lip color for the rest of your life?

As odd as this may be for some, probably one lip colour. I use nudey pinks or peachy tones every single day so I'd go for MAC Pure Zen or something like that as it can be dressed up with a smokey eye or down with more neutral shadows. As much as I love other lip colours, I'm not too adventurous with my lipsticks so I don't think it would phase me too much. As long as I'm allowed lipgloss too!

Would you rather wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter?

This is another horrible question as it'd be unbearable either way. I'd hate summer clothes in winter 1. because I'd look stupid and 2. because I'd freeze my butt off. But then, I'd hate winter clothes in summer because I adore summer clothes. If I had to go for one though, it'd be winter clothes in summer as I couldn't stand the cold wearing my dresses in winter time!

Would you rather dark nails or bright nails all year round?

Definitely bright for me. I hope this includes pastels too! I just don't really do dark nails, even in the winter so this is pretty easy. And as a beauty therapist I think dark nails can look a bit odd when you're doing other peoples nails or facials and things like that.

Would you rather give up your favorite lip product or your favorite eye product?

Definitely my favourite eye product. As much as I love it (it's my Benefit they're real mascara), I could find an alternative without too much trauma, but my favourite lip product (MAC lippies!) is something I couldn't live without!

Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a pony tail or a messy bun?

Definitely ponytail, I literally never, ever wear my hair in a bun as I don't think it suits me so this is a no brainer for me.

Would your rather never being able to paint your nails again or never use lipgloss?

Never wear lipgloss, lipsticks can be glossy and even if not it's not the end of the world for me. But never being able to have lovely colourful nails again is just a horrible thought! Plus, my nails break when they've not got paint or gel on them so it would just be bad for my health to give it up, right?

Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all? or sharpie them in everyday?

It'd have to be the sharpie, god how awful. But I just couldn't rock the alien look with no eyebrows. I'm sure sharpies come in all sorts of colours now though so I'd find one to make it work I guess. 

Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?

Eeek, it's got to be nail polish but that would be super sad. As I said, my nails are much stronger with polish or gel on.Maybe I can cheat and say I'll use gels as it's not really nail polish! CAN'T TAKE IT BACK NOW!!

So, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Even if I did massively cheat on most of the questions!

Let me know if you've done this/ are going to do it as I'd love to read it!

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Tuesday 21 May 2013

THE STORY OF US


Hi lovelies! It's not too often I do a super personal and lifey post such as this one, but it's been a rather busy and slightly stressful time lately, nothing major, just lots of little things all being thrown at me at once and getting on top of me and I find it's times like this you need the ones you love the most. It helps to step back from life for a moment and appreciate one of the most precious things you'll ever have, love. As cheesy as that may sound, it's so true. Without love (life is like the seasons with no summer! yay hairspray), I think life would be rather sad. Not just relationship love of course, but love from your family and friends also. In this post though, I will be talking about relationship love. Darren has appeared in many a blog post and my more regular readers will probably be pretty familiar with his face right now, but none of you really know the full story. I wasn't sure whether or not to actually post this, but I thought sod it, if a total stranger on the internet posted the story of their relationship, I would read and love every second of it, because it's human nature to be a little bit nosey, and girl nature to be a little bit romantic.

Darren and I met in college, I was doing Art & Design, he was doing Music. We met through a friend and because our courses were in the same building and we had some friends in common, we started to see each other more often as 'just friends'. When we met, I had a boyfriend and I'm fairly sure Darren had a girlfriend too, so it didn't even cross my mind that something would ever happen between us, but there was always something about him, I didn't know what, but there was. My relationship with Mr X (which is what we'll call him, as names are not necessary!) wasn't so hot when me and Darren became closer friends. It was okay, nothing terrible, but I didn't feel the same anymore. Being young(er) and probably a bit naive, I thought that was just what happened with relationships. Before Mr X, I hadn't had a serious relationship and figured that after a while, the honeymoon period ends and then it's just all a bit blahh. Which is probably why my relationship with Darren started the way it did.

Darren and I were best friends by late summer 2011 and a few flirty jokes aside, it had never been any more than that and I thought it never would be. We both admit now, we'd wonder what it'd be like to say bye bye to our exes and try 'us' out, but it seemed like a pipe dream. In my mind, things like that didn't happen in real life, at least not to me. But then one evening after college in October 2011, we met up. I needed to think things over and Darren was the perfect person to talk to. Or end up kissing next to an old people bowls match ground. Oops. I was still with Mr X and Darren was still with someone too but it just happened. I hate now to think it could've hurt anybody and cheating was not my intention, but it was kind of like a movie. Pour your heart out to 'the best friend', then whoops! The kiss we'd all been waiting for. It just felt really right, like it'd been a long time coming. He smiled the whole time too, which was super adorable. (I promptly broke things off with Mr X, don't worry!). I do not condone this kind of behavior at all, but what I want to get out there is that sometimes, these things do happen and it doesn't always mean you're a bad person for it.

When he asked me to be his girlfriend, Darren was thrown into the world of a shopaholic beauty blogger with an ever-changing mind about the future and a big crazy family with a Mum who wanted to be (and may actually now be) his best friend and amazingly, he took it all in his stride. Helping me with everything from outfit photos to finally deciding on a career I adore. Darren was the one who helped me start up Chloe's Way, he was the one who encouraged me to study Beauty Therapy, he's the one who helps my Mum with the shopping, gets on amazingly with my best friends and my sister, comes to every single family occasion with me, listens to my Grandad's endless rambles about Xbox games (no, really) and so much more.

Between then and now, we've gone through a lot together. Mostly good times, some not so much, but all part of a journey and I wouldn't change one minute. We were kind of against all odds in some ways. There were people who certainly didn't want us to work out, but there were others, my best friends and family who knew we would. We really were and still are absolutely crazy about each other and nothing and no one could change that. Darren has made me realise that that spark in a relationship isn't something that fades after a while, when you're with the right one, its there to stay and it just gets better and better. You learn more about each other and yourself all the time. Darren has taught me to be brave and to take risks, from that first kiss I began thinking 'what's the worst that could happen?' about absolutely everything I wanted to do, and if the answer wasn't 'you could die', I'd go for it! And I'd like to think I've taught Darren self worth. He's one of the most ambitious people I know and during our relationship, his aspirations and goals have soared, he works so hard at what he does and I just know that one day he'll be super successful in whatever it is he wants to do. I've also taught him the difference between warm toned and cool toned red liptick, and that using bar soap on your face is always, always a terrible idea. Silly boy.

It's lovely when people tell me they want a relationship like mine, but it's good to remember that even those who seem so perfect together do have their flaws. Small and not so small. Darren is awful at loading the dishwasher (god help us when we get a place of our own) and I'll cry at tiny things sometimes. We argue, we disagree, but we don't sleep on it, or leave each other upset or mad, nothing is ever worth going to bed upset.. As soon as you're apart, that's when you're going to regret a silly argument. One day at work will feel like a week if you're feeling bad about something you said. Sorry and a cuddle are all it takes most of the time. Our arguments are more often that not super silly when one of us overreacts because we've had a crap day or are feeling stressed. We're still learning, but we know how to handle each other much better now. I know if Darren's had a bad day, I'll make him a cup of tea and give him something yummy and he'll be all good in no time and he knows that playing with my hair and cuddles will always win me over. People often comment that we look like the perfect couple and maybe, from the outside we do. But hopefully, through reading 'the story of us', you'll realise that even the couples that appear the most perfect may not have a fairytale beginning, and every day may not be glass slippers and singing woodland animals, but at least we have a happily ever after.

I hope you enjoyed this more personal post! Definitely let me know what you thought in the comments as I'd love to know!

P.S. Darren is @dazchappers_ and @dazchappers on instagram, if you enjoy ranty tweets and photos of food, he's your man.

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Monday 20 May 2013

TOUCH IN SOL SILKY NATURAL BB CREAM* REVIEW & MINI GIVEAWAY




Hi lovelies! If you follow me on instagram (@chloesway) you might have seen a photo of some gorgeous goodies I was recently sent from a Korean Cosmetic brand called Touch in SOL. Touch in SOL is a leading cosmetics brand that is currently making it's way over to UK. I was so so excited when they got in touch, as I always see reviews of Asian cosmetics brands and get super jealous! So when I received a huge box full of lots of different products I was so excited and overwhelmed.

I was told that some of Touch in SOL's best selling products are their BB creams, which didn't surprise me at all. I've heard so many amazing things about Asian BB creams, so I'm super excited to be reviewing one for you all today. Sure, you can go into Boots and be met with a huge range of BB creams from different brands, high end and not so high end, but nothing has ever wowed me. Before receiving this one, I'd pretty much given up on BB creams, accepting that my skin just does not like them and every single one will separate and oxidize like crazy so I look more orange and patchy than having the gorgeous even skin tone they all promise.

Well, my hate for BB creams is no more! I was sent the full size of their 'Silky Natural' BB cream, which is aimed towards oily and greasy skin types. Now, I don't have hugely oily skin, but my skin in normal/ combination, so I do get an oily t-zone in the warmer weather and I love a matte finish so this is perfect for me. Here are it's claims.
- Soft rolling with matt finishing suitable for greasy and oily skin
- Elastice silky Powder makes your skin supple and soft all day long as it discreetly conceals little flaws and unevenness 
- Oil-free formula that can effectively and evenly cover facial pores and other defects, clog free
- Micro cover powder perfectly covers blemishes, dark spots and fine wrinkles for natural looking, even skin tone.
Finally, a BB that lives up to it's claims! While this is aimed at oily skin, it doesn't feel at all drying on my skin, but still gives that lovely matte finish that I love. If you have blemishes or severe redness, you may need some concealer under this, but when I'm having a good skin day, this looks gorgeous on it's own, it covers any uneven skintone. It doesn't separate at all, my skin looks even and stays even! It also adapts to my skin tone, no dodgy orange oxidizing here.

This also has SPF 36 so will be perfect to bring on holiday with me to protect my skin in the sun, while still giving me coverage. And of course, would it really be a Chloe's Way post if we didn't talk about the pretty packaging? I love the purple 'ombre' colour of the bottle, it's so pretty and it makes it super easy to find in  my makeup bag which is great. Overall, I'm really impressed with the quality of this product and at £12.50, it's not hugely expensive either. You only need a tiny bit as it blends out so well so it will last a long time, which is fab!

You can purchase this BB Cream and more Touch in SOL products here.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!



I was also sent two other sample sized BB Creams from Touch in SOL, but as this one is so perfect for my skin, I decided to give them away instead, so two of my lovely followers would have the chance to give Touch in SOL a go. The first BB Cream is 'In the Skin Renovation' which is aimed towards sensitive, troublesome and acne prone skin and the other being 'Pure Dew Water Drop', which is aimed towards dry skin types. These are both brand new and still have the foil seal so they have not been touched! I'm so impressed with the BB Cream I've tried, so I'm sure if either of these suit your skin type, you'll absolutely love them! You can enter to win and choose which BB Cream you'd prefer using the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway will end in two weeks time on Monday 3rd June.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Thursday 16 May 2013

ACCESSORIES WISHLIST



Hi lovelies! You know those evenings where you sit scrolling through pages and pages of online shops then realise it's 10pm. It was one of those. Which is what inspired me to do a wishlist post for you all! Apologies for the late posting lately, but I've been working late then attempting to make it to the gym afterwards so I don't really settle down until around 8:30 or later! So, back to the point, I decided to do a small wishlist - and believe me, this is very small compared to what could have been, it's difficult to narrow it down when you want ALL OF THE THINGS. As it's getting towards summer, the shops are just all getting it so right for me, which is rare as I can be very fussy. I'm particularly loving the accessories out at the moment and as you'll notice there's a lot of white going on here. I love white accessories, they're so classic and just so with so much.

The first three items are not so white though and the first one is not even an accessory. Good start Chloe! I'm not sure if I want this Topshop lipstick more because of the gorgeous summery coral colour, or because it's called 'ditsy', which is so cute (and may suit my personality slightly, but don't tell anyone). I've seen a few swatches of this online and it looks like a gorgeous pinky, corally, reddish colour. Great for summer nights, especially on holiday! I think this will look fab with a tan, I'm definitely going to give it a go next time I'm in topshop.

I love these simple black ankle strap shoes from New Look. They're just a little bit different from a normal black pump, which is essential for me as I live in black flats at work! I love the stud detailing and I have a real thing for ankle straps right now, cute!

Cat eye sunglasses are my favourite. I'm undecided as to weather or not they actually suit me, but that's okay. I love the colour of these ones and I think they'll go absolutely perfectly with a certain Victoria's Secret Bikini when I go on holiday this year. Brownie points for anyone who knows what I'm talking about.

River Island can do no wrong when it comes to bags and things in my eyes. I absolutely adore their bags and purses, the quality is just fantastic and I love their styles so much. I've picked out what I think will be the perfect holiday trio with this adorable sunglasses case, tote bag and suitcase. I love that they all have gold detailing as I think it looks so chic against the white. Now someone buy me them all please?

So that's it! What do you think? Let me know what you're lusting after lately!

P.S, it'd mean to absolute world to me if you would nominate Chloe's Way in the Cosmo Blog Awards as 'Best New Beauty Blog', let me know if you do so I can pop over to your blog and show you some love! Click here to nominate me!

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Tuesday 14 May 2013

YON-KA AGE DEFENSE CREME 93



Hello lovelies! Bit of a different kind of review for you all today, I'm not sure I've ever reviewed a product like this before, but I was recently sent this Yon-Ka Age Defense Creme 93, Balancing Combination Skin - which is a posh name for an anti-ageing moisturiser for combination skin and thought I'd share my thoughts on it. I know what you're thinking, Chloe, you are 18 years old why on earth are you reviewing an anti-ageing cream? Don't get me wrong, if I'm sent a product that I don't like and will not use, I won't review it. I politely let the company know that the product wasn't for me and be done with it, however, despite this definitely not being targeted towards my age range, I am beauty blogger and a beauty therapist. Two things that have given me an overwhelming fear of ever ageing, ever. So if I can get an early start, I'm going to do so. Am I crazy? Maybe. But we'll see who gets the last laugh when I get asked for I.D when I'm 50! Unlikely? Oh.

Anyway, moving on. I was a little concerned about trying this product, as when the weather is a bit warmer as it is right now, my skin does tend to be a little more combination i.e. slightly more oily in places and normal in others, rather than its generally normal type in the cooler months. So, even though this is for combination skin, I thought maybe it might be a little too rich as it is an anti ageing cream. How wrong was I? This is a lovely light moisturiser that sinks in super quickly and doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy at all. As for anti-ageing, being 19, I'm not really the best guinea pig for an anti-ageing cream. However, one thing I have noticed is that my makeup doesn't settle into my pores and under eye lines at all really since using this.

This really is great for combination skin, as it's getting towards summer (or not), my skin can go a bit mad. In the warmer weather, I can get oily around my t-zone where the rest of my face will stay pretty normal. This moisturiser is great for that. Its super hydrating on the areas that need it, but it controls the shine on the oilier areas too which is fab. You can read more about this moisturiser on the Yon-Ka website here.

What do you think? Would you like to try this moisturiser?

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Sunday 12 May 2013

MAC PURE ZEN LIPSTICK REVIEW





Hi lovelies! I have a little review for you all today, it's kind of a 'pleasant surprise' kind of review as this lovely lippie was a present from my boyfriend - and one he chose all by himself! We'd agreed to only get 'little presents' for our birthdays this year as our birthdays are only a week apart and we booked a holiday as a present to each other. However Darrens idea of 'little' was a gorgeous Ted Baker wash bag with this gorgeous MAC Pure Zen lippie hiding inside! I hadn't given him any ideas, nor had I ever mentioned this lipstick to him before. I was gutted when I missed it in the Marilyn Collection as more neutral/ nude lipsticks are my favourites and I hadn't even realised it was in the permanent collection!

So, when I opened the (equally gorgeous) wash bag, I was so excited to try this! I had a very good blogger moment and took a few photos before trying it on and instantly falling in love. This is the most gorgeous pinky/ peachy/ nude shade ever. It works so well with my skintone as I have my 'summer skin' (aka fake tanned skin) at the moment and it's a very slightly darker nude, with a hint of coral/ peach. It's described as a frosted warm nude on the website, which I can sort of see. It's quite shiny and has a hint of shimmer in the bullet, but this doesn't really transfer onto the lips, which I like. Frosty lipstick is best left in the 80s in my opinion!

This is a Cremesheen, which is my favourite MAC finish, as it's super opaque, moisturising and stays put for ages. This lipstick glides over the lips and is very forgiving on chapped or flaky lips (ew), which is great for those with drier lips. I'd say I get around six hours wear without too much eating or drinking, which is pretty good going for a nude lipstick. I'd recommend this for lots of different skin tones as I think it would be really pretty on someone paler than me, but also isn't too 'concealer lips' so would look great on someone darker too! Definitely worth a swatch if you're going to be passing a MAC counter any time soon. Well done Darren, massive boyfriend points for this one.

What do you think? Have you tried this lipstick? Would you like to? Let me know!

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Friday 10 May 2013

LIFE LATELY

windy weather - my first ever subway! - marc jacobs perfume
changing the ipad background in sainsburys - darren's birthday morning - back to beauty school
£17 in change, fab - nandos, for a change - sexy sunglasses
my birthday weekend - birthday present from work - went to victoria's secret for the first time in the UK!
starbucks - sitting next to annoying people on the train - oops, expensive (but beautiful) bikini!
a birthday present from darren, love it! - small birthday cake - re-organising
neon pink trainers - nails at work - my grandad's expert parking skills
ducky car park take over - vinnie, cutest puppy ever - neon skirt, love it!

Hi lovelies! Sorry I've been a bit absent lately, as you can see I've been a busy bee the last couple of weeks! It's been my boyfriends birthday, my own birthday, I've been working lots, seeing family, learning new things at beauty school and meeting a lovely puppy and some rebellious ducks. I have a few reviews and things to post very very soon so let me know if you have any other post ideas for the next few days.

I'll be back with more interesting posts very soon!
What have you been up to lately?

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Monday 6 May 2013

COLLECTIVE HAUL + HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!












Hello lovelies! Guess what day it is?? Did you guess? It's my birthday! Me and my Twin Sister Hannah turn 19 today, (which is my excuse for all this shopping I've been doing lately). Some of you may have seen on instagram and twitter that I went shopping yesterday at Westfields in Stratford. Westfields is one of my all time favourite places to shop so I went a little bit crazy. I could have gone a lot more crazy though so let's concentrate on the fact that I do have some self control, okay? Okay! So, some of what you see above was purchased before yesterday but I thought I'd throw it all in as one big collective haul anyway. So, let's talk about all this fabulous stuff!

First up is something I didn't buy in Westfield as it's from Primark and any big London Primark is just a no-go for me, me and my boyfriend went in and were out again in about two minutes. Even on a Sunday afternoon it was insanely busy. So this is something I got in my not so crazy Primark at home. It's a gorgeous little black lace crop top, almost exactly like the ones in Topshop - for just £4! I couldn't believe my luck when I found this beauty! It's sheer lace at the back and has lining at the front so you don't need to worry about having too much bra on show, which is great.

Next is the reason I bought the black lace top - this gorgeous neon yellow skirt from missguided. I saw this on Melissa from pretty little obsessions instagram and fell in love, she posted a pic saying she'd just ordered it and I went straight onto their website and copied her (she didn't seem to mind, thanks for the inspiration Melissa!). You may have seen that I instagrammed a photo on Saturday night of me wearing this paired with the black lace top - you can see it here. It was a bit of a crazy outfit but I loved it.

When I ordered the skirt, I also tweeted about missguided's tasseled bikinis and you lovely lot all told me that yes, I did need to buy one. You were right, I did. I love this bikini, it looks so simple yet so cool and interesting - I can't wait to wear it when me and my boyfriend go on holiday next month - exciting!

Another thing I got pre-westfields was these lovely bright pink trainers for the gym. I was going to wait until I went shopping to buy these but I ordered them online a few days ago as no one wants to carry shoes around with them all day! I was a bit nervous ordering these online as buying shoes online doesn't always go down well, but these fit perfectly and they're super comfortable and so lightweight, the gorgeous colour doesn't exactly hurt either ;)

On the topic of the gym, forever 21 have some gorgeous gym clothes! I was seriously impressed with the range they had and I could easily have bought so much more - but I was good! The sports bra, vest top and bottoms came to less than £30 together, which is great and the quality is really good too. I can't wait to wear these - who says you can't look girly and cute at the gym!

More gym wear next, these were from an actual sports shop though as I wanted to get free next day delivery on my trainers and as it never hurts to have extra gym clothes (they are definitely not the kind of clothes you get away with wearing twice before washing!!) I decided to bump up my order and get this plain black top, which is from a brand called pure, which is a cheaper brand, but the quality is pretty good. I also got some adidas leggings, which are fab because they're incredible quality and have neon pink stripes down the side - what's not to love?

This purse from River Island was my first purchase in Westfields, I'd snuck off while my boyfriend was looking at the men's section and decided to buy it while he wasn't looking. He doesn't understand my love for neon right now, I think it scares him a bit. This was only £20, which I think is really good for a lovely purse - and I absolutely love River Island for things like this, I definitely think they beat most other high street stores with their bags and purses, the quality for price is just amazing. I bought a handbag from their around New Years and it's still like new.

Next is my most extravagant but easily my favourite purchase of the day. As I said, today is my birthday so that was on my mind when I bought it. This bikini is from Victoria's Secret and I absolutely adore it. I love a white bikini - particularly with a tan but the gorgeous jewel detailing just screamed BUY MEEE! So I did. Yes, it was a bit more expensive than my other topshop/ missguided bikinis, but it's so so worth it. P.S. The Victoria's Secret fitting rooms are the most magical place on earth, forget Disney Land - your own hot pink dressing room and they put your name on the door. Just let me move in, please.

Let me start by saying how controlled I was in MAC. I nearly bough three eyeshadows, a lipstick, a bronzer and this blush, but I realised how unnecessary that was and ended up with just this. It's the MAC Powder Blush in Fleur Power. I bought this as I sometimes like to set my cream blushes with a powder blush for an extra pop of colour and a super long lasting finish. This is a gorgeous coral pink, I'll definitely review this as I love it so much.

Next is something I bought a few days ago, it's a gorgeous nude dress with stunning gold detailing around the neckline. This was only £14.99 in TK Maxx so how could I say no? I have no idea where I'm going to wear this but I can't wait! I think it looks so much more expensive than it was, you really can find some gems in TK Maxx if you can be bothered to sort through the rubbish!

I caved, I finally caved. I saw this when Darren and I first got to Westfields and just before we had to catch the train, we did a last minute dash back to John Lewis as I decided I definitely needed this. I absolutely adore this bag, I'm going to use it as a beach bag/ hand luggage bag when I go away in June. It matches the Ted Baker Flip Flops I was sent a while ago too so that'a bit of a bonus!

Phew! So, what do you all think? I'd love to know!
I'm off to get ready to enjoy my birthday - hope you all have a fab day!

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