The Autumn Lip Line Up

Whether you still classify November as Autumn or not, here's my rundown of the lipsticks that have made it into my line up for the next few months...

A mixture of subtle nudes, deep reds, and berry hues are welcomed with open arms this time of year. There's even the odd occasion a full on purple (meet MAC's Up the Amp here) will make an appearance. If you're not a fan of the bold and bright, I've got a few muted options that still pack a punch for a wintery lip.

Nudes: Enter: MAC Hue and Shy Girl - not pictured above, but either one of these two is bound to hit all the nude lip check points. For a deeper wash of colour try Bobbi Brown Baby Pink* - my go to milky rose lip. Or, my much raved about Liz Earle lipstick in Heather*, a gorgeous plummy brown toned nude - looks quite grown up and somewhat 'grannyish' in tube, but applies gorgeously. 

On a budget? Elf lip pencils in Natural and Tea Rose are flawless for a matte finish, and for more of a sheen pick up L'Oreal Collection Privée (swatches here).

Reds: The festive season always calls upon a strong red lip so here's my skimmed down selection for you: MAC Ruby Woo = ultimate fail safe for a deep blue toned red, great for making your teeth look white. Chantecaille's Tiger Lily* is also stunning for making a statement - for more deets click here. Hourglass Liquid Lipstick in the shade Icon is high on my list for Christmas party lip, but more on that coming soon. For a more toned down wash of colour try the Bourjois Color Boost lip crayon in the shade Red Island*.

Plums & Berries: Possibly my favourite category, and great for this time of year day or night. During the day I love to wear Kate Moss 05 or MAC Craving, which is a gorgeous plummy rose shade that truly deserves a post of it's own alongside MAC Plumful - my most worn autumnal lipstick that's slightly more purple than Craving. Budget Berries include: Topshop Beguiled - a deep blue toned plum, great for a night out; and L'Oreal Color Riche 290 in the shade Plum Passion, which has a gorgeous creamy formula and stunning pigmentation- I'm wearing it here.

Let me know what makes your autumn/winter lip line up!

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elf blush: fuchsia fusion

(l-r) fuchsia fusion, giddy gold, berry merry

fuchsia fusion £3.75

A few weeks back I took high advantage of the elf 50% discount code, among many other items I had often thought of picking up an elf blush to see for myself whether they were as pigmented as some of my favourite beauty bloggers have claimed for their extremely purse friendly price tag. I ended up adding three to my online shopping basket, and trust me when I say I would have gone for more if some of the more popular shades hadn't already sold out completely. 

First thing I noticed, once the excitement of eyeing up my new assortment of discounted delights wained off slightly, was the similarities between ELF and NARS. Most obvious to the eye is, of course, the packaging, cased in their sleek, black, and rectangular homes the only main difference is the famous rubberised packaging associated with Nars. Another similarity is that many of the elf shades are close dopplegangers for Nars also, in particular the blush in question which I find a great dupe for Nars Angelika.

Despite its namesake 'fuschia fusion', I would in fact describe this shade as more of a bubble gum pink with flecks of silver glitter running through it. Pigmentation wise I can't fault it, however, unless you're a human magpie, excited by all things sparkly and that shimmers, this shade can be over done quite easily creating a less desirable human glitterball effect. No, thank you. Therefore, you only need a light dusting on your brush and I would advise tapping off any excess before application and building up slowly but surely to your desired flush of pink. I really didn't need to build this blush up much personally as I am of the pale, ghost skin persuasion and as aforementioned this product is highly pigmented. 

I really do like this shade as it does add that rosy flush to your cheeks that is suited to the warmer months and more feminine look but I would prefer the elf blush range to have more matte blushes as many of their shades are quite frosty. And, if I'm being pickity, I would add that it is quite chalky so be careful of excess fallout.

Will you be trying any of the elf blush range or do you already have a favourite from their brand?

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girl put your records on

dress - dorothy perkins (old)

sandals - river island

nails - elf nail polish in white

I'd thought I'd share you with you a few snaps of how I'm spending my days in the sunshine within this outfit post. My boyfriends garden is one of my favourite places to relax as his stepdad has made it look so beautiful out there, I especially love their hand built koi fish pond which I could spend hours admiring and giving all the fish names.

I found this old dorothy perkins dress in the back of my wardrobe this morning and thought 'perfecto!' as its floaty fabric suits this weather to a tee. I especially love the cath kidston-esque floral print embossed on it matched with my trusty sandals that I wear pretty much all summer long once the weathers good.

How are you spending your day in the summer sun?

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what I've bought: elf haul

01. Nail Polish in White and Mod Mauve - 02. Elf High Definition Powder - 03. Blush in Berry Merry, Fushia Fusion, Giddy Gold - 04. Mineral Moisturising Lip Tint in Guava and Berry - 05. Studio Matte Lip Color in Natural and Tea Rose - 06. Studio Pout Perfector

Just a quick little post to let you have a sneak peek of up and coming reviews, as you can see I did buy quite a bit from elf, however, for those of you that didn't know, they recently had their 50% off discount code floating around and it was too good an opportunity to pass up having wanted to try out elf products for quite some time after hearing plenty of praise for them. Elf products are reasonably priced to begin with being at the cheaper end of the price range for make-up items yet still maintaining good service and a plethora of different cosmetic delights. I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the products I received and can't wait to share with you some more in depth reviews.

This little bundle of joy (yes, I literally 'eeped' with happiness when this arrived) totalled to only £23 including delivery! Did you manage to snap up any bargains in the elf sale? Or perhaps you have a favourite product of theirs?

Please do let me know :)

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