Topshop Lipsticks: Beguiled & All About Me

Topshop Lipsticks in Beguiled & All About Me £8 each

Bit late in the game maybe, but I am well and truly a Topshop make-up range convert. My personal favourite items from their range is obviously the lipsticks, holla my fellow lip junkies!

I currently only possess two in my ever growing hoard of cosmetics, but Beguiled has become a fast favourite, especially fitting for the autumn/winter period. I find myself picking it up almost daily, feeling bolder and braver every time I wear it, and its battered appearance is a result of having it always readily armed in my purse. You can see me wearing it here, here, and here.

Beguiled looks a bit forbidding in tube form but once applied is a much softer plum with pinkish undertones. I find Topshop lipsticks highly pigmented and easily build-able for more of a statement lip which Beguiled is perfect for. 

Next up, All About Me. Pinks scare me. Hot Pinks especially. I'm extremely fair skinned with red hair and so I've always listened to the warnings of darker pinks and yellow clothing being off limits. However, I'm glad I rebelled and tried it out for myself. All About Me is an accurate title for this lipstick as it really won't fail to get you noticed. It leans slightly lilac in its undertones, and due to its vivid barbie-pink-come-bad-girl shade it can make teeth look slightly yellow compared to a blue-toned classic red but if you're up to date on dental hygiene you'll have nothing to worry about!
I love the bright pop of colour with a toned down eye look and pale blush. I normally slick it on when wearing a very understated outfit, say a classic LBD with a twist, or jeans and a slouchy jumper. I think this lipstick would look especially gorgeous on medium to dark skintones but us pale girls can reap its rewards to.

What are you favourite Topshop lippy shades?

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MAC Marilyn Monroe Deeply Adored Lipstick

MAC Marilyn Monroe Collection Lipstick in Deeply Adored £15.50

This is the first of three posts I have of what I managed to get my eager little mitts on from the latest MAC Marilyn Monroe collection. As you're all probably very aware the collection sold out like hot cakes on the actual MAC website and silly me having forgot the release date was then one of those frantically scourging the internet to get my hold of my wishlist. Selfridges still has a few items from the collection, including this lipstick still in stock so get in there quick!

Deeply Adored caught my eye straight away, in tube form it appears a very vampy deep plum which is quite off putting to the more timid lipstick wearers, however, once applied you have a dark Scarlett with brown undertones running through it so only just verging on the plum side of things. The brown undertones make it more suitable for medium to darker skin tones but I actually really loved strutting out with my dark matte lip for a night out and think it's a flattering shade for nigh on everyone (as you can well see from the only photo of me wearing it I managed to find, obviously being taken by a club photographer, sorry liver). This lipstick added a touch of Old Hollywood Glamour that every girl loves to emulate every now and then thanks to its gorgeous icons such as Marilyn herself. 

In the picture above I had been wearing Deeply Adored for around four hours so it has real staying power which is a must for a night out especially as there's no need to keep dashing to the ladies room for touch ups! As it's a matte it can be a little drying on the lips especially if it has been built up but one swipe leaves an opaque finish and I added a little lip balm to aid any dry areas. 

I do deeply adore 'Deeply Adored', what do you think? Did you pick up anything from the Marilyn Monroe Collection?

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Look Loud Lips in Tangerine Cream

Look Loud Lips in Tangerine Cream £7*

Look Beauty Range is fast becoming one of my favourite drug store brands and in particular, true to form, the Loud Lips Lipsticks are right up there with my top picks from their line. I received three of their lipsticks, which have also been reviewed, being Baby Doll, Toffee Cup, and finally Tangerine cream.

All of the Loud Lips range are housed in baby pink boxes adorned with the Ashley Isham print which is also embossed on the sturdy, magnetic silver casing. I like the magnetic casing as it shuts close in a jiffy and my lipstick feels protected, despite not being the most delicate packaging wise I do find the print extremely pleasing to the eye.

As many of you may be very aware I am a HUGE advocate for corals and tangerine cream fits the bill and also reminds me of my beloved Cut a Caper from MAC ( review here). Tangerine Cream is a fairly pale orange toned lippy which may have to be built up for a more visible coat of coral or can be worn as a lighter based coral with one subtle slick. The pigmentation of loud lips aren't fantastic and for me, a brighter lip fan, you may need to build up two or three layers which will then last on the lips for around two to three hours. However, this doesn't really bother me in the slightest as I absolutely adore the creamy formula of the range which feel baby bottom soft and smell good enough to eat.  True to the name, Tangerine Cream, the shade is a milky orange which is best suited for the warmer months or for a subtle work lipstick.

For £7 I swear by their range and only wish their were more shades available as they are a really moisturising treat for my winter windsmacked lips. Have you tried much from the Look Beauty Range?

I also have a new sidebar and blog button image designed by the lovely Tami from Aztec Wolves who is mega talented at all things arty so a massive thank you to her. Please do let me know what you think and also a quick reminder that advertising and sponsor spaces for next month are open so if you would like to know more or feature your blog don't hesitate to e-mail me! 

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Lush: Sex Bomb Ballistic

Lush Bath Bomb in Sex Bomb £3.20

Named after the King of Swagger, Mr Tom Jones, top hit Sex Bom is one of the most popular bath bombs so I just had to try it for myself. I am a huge advocate of Lush, I love their policy on no animal testing and the majority of their products are suitable for my sensitive skin as well as adding a splash of colour to an evening bath.

Jam packed with sensual oils such as clary sage, jasmine and ylang ylang, your skin is in for a treat as well as the bicarbonate in this bath time treat aiding the longevity of the aphrodisiac oils on your skin helping you to smell gorgeous for hours at a time. Yes, that's right, you also heard aphrodisiac pop up there, this bath bomb is one for the lover in all of us and might explain its popularity...ahem.

I loved dunking this into my bath and watching an explosion of bright pink and fuchsia taking over ready for me to dip into, my skin was left feeling silky smooth and the jasmine added a subtle but nonetheless gorgeous aroma. The rose petals once detached from the evaporating bath bomb did, however, become a slight annoyance, they were not real rose petals I don't think but instead became a kind of slimy nuisance. There was only three or four of them so this was easily overlooked but do let me know if you have had a similar or different experience of this!

All in all another winner for Lush, I think it's mainly the novelty of attractive ballistics and bright colours to bring our tub to life that draws me in time and time again. But I must add that my skin has always felt smoother and more nourished after use and never have I yet experienced any rashes or complaints which is a great thing to say as the owner of very sensitive skin.

What are your favourite Lush treats?

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Purely Natural Skin Acne Cleanser

Purely Natural Skin Acne Cleanser* - £7.95

This is the second product from the Purely Natural Range that I've been very kindly sent to review, first being their Healing Moisturiser. I chose this product from their collection to test out as not only is it their best seller but acne is something that has plagued my skin on and off for many years now. Like my skin type, this issue is a very sensitive one for me and I've often dallied with the idea of posting my bouts of strugglesome spots. Luckily my acne has always been quite mild in comparison to some of the more ferocious and unforgiving cases but every girl and even every boy I believe will attest that it is something that makes you highly insecure about your appearance and gets your spirits down on many a occasion.

I like Purely Natural Products because that's what they are, purely natural ingredients so the abrasive and harsh chemicals of other products I've tried (and failed with) are thrown out of the mix. Upon first opening up the product I was a little taken back by the consistency, it reminds me very much so of Cookie Dough or an Oat-y dough mixture, it even has a slight cake like smell. Therefore I was a little daunted about how to use it, I'm used to liquid or gel cleansers and so the paste like content of this acne cleanser does take a little work.

I tear off small chunks and warm under water, rubbing between my finger tips to create a finer paste like substance, which, with my muslin cloth, I then rub into my skin using circular motions every morning and night whilst my skin is clean. It doesn't agitate my blemishes, nor does any redness appear which is always a good sign for me, I'm prone to redness and so sighed a sigh of relief. The substance whilst swirled around my facial and neck area became much smoother and even slightly milky leaving my skin feeling softer and clean after every use.

So, has it banished my spots into the abyss? No, not just yet, as I'm having a particularly bad few months skin wise. However, after using this product for just two and a half weeks I have noticed major changes, my skin is calmer, softer and blemishes do tend to shrink in size and do not blare out in redness anymore giving me a huge confidence boost. I think if I continue to use this my skin will only go from strength to strength!

p.s. would you all be interested in a post about my skincare and troubles with acne relief? Have any of you suffered from acne and could recommend any products?

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lush - rock star soap

Lush Rock Star Soap* (I received mine as a Christmas present within one of their gift boxes)

Retails for £3.40 for 100g

I am an avid Lush fan, whenever I go shopping the various scents and array of brightly coloured bathroom treats draw me in and there I can spend up to an hour just sniffing and 'isn't this so pretty Jon?!'-ing away. Lush customer service is for me personally the best around, they're are always so pleasant and willing to play along with you for hours creating massive foam eruptions from bath ballistics and whatnot. Seriously, hours of fun.

I have never had a problem with any Lush product I have purchased or sampled as of yet, and Lush Rock Star soap is no exception to that rule. Christmastime will see me stocking up on their gift boxes as little extra treats for family and friends as I always think they make such a great little present. By boxing day sales I'm stuck right back in there, wrestling my way through everyone else to pick up whatever I can scavenge from their 50% Sale which sends me delirious - last year I think I got £80 worth of stuff for under £40 with other discounts involved as well.

Sweet lovers this soap is for you, if you like a concoction of bubblegum and haribo's then this soap is heaven sent for your nostrils. However, compared to other soaps I've tried from their range Rock Star isn't all that overpowering when you have the smaller slab of soap (bigger slabs at 3.05 oz might be a lot more pungent and leave your bathroom smelling like candyland) and is very subtle when it lingers on your skin after bathtime. 

I find that it lathers up pretty well and is extremely moisturising on the skin rather than some soaps that tend to dry my skin out. I would suggest cutting your Lush soaps into smaller slab sections as to get the most of the product and for easier use. I would definitely buy this for myself!

Do you have any Lush favourites?

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look loud lips: baby doll

Look Loud Lips in Baby doll *£7

Second of the three Loud Lips lipsticks I received in my Look Beauty Prize was the shade Baby doll (the other two being Toffee Cup and Tangerine Cream). I must admit at first I was thinking of adding this lippie to my give-away prize as I'm not a fan on pink lipsticks no matter what the shade, I just have always doubted that I could pull off a subtle pink let alone barbie pinks and fuchsia's due to my colouring.  But then I stopped to think 'but Lauren you've never tried' and so here we are.

The Look Loud Lips range are housed in baby pink boxes with Ashley Isham print for decoration which is also embossed on the sturdy, magnetic silver lipstick casing. I like the magnetic casing as it shuts close in a jiffy and my lipstick feels protected. Despite not being the most delicate packaging wise I find the print extremely pleasing to the eye.

Baby Doll is a pale barbie pink that applies more subtle than it appears in tube form but can also be build up for a brighter pink lip. Look Loud Lips from my personal experience are a delightful addition to your lips, I love the creamy formula which feels light to touch once applied and buttery soft. I find myself rubbing my lips together often which perhaps isn't the best thing for longevity but they really do feel that soft, and they're extremely moisturising. Pigmentation wise these aren't the best and longest wear I would say would be a max. of three hours but that wouldn't put me off purchasing from their collection, I only wish there was more shade to choose from!

Have you tried anything from the Look Beauty Range?

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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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steam cream

steam cream* £12.95

You might be aware that I've recently been on the hunt for brands that support recycling and are full of natural ingredients. I've already reviewed Purely Natural's Healing Moisturiser, which you can find here, and also look out for a review on their acne line, and now I'd thought I'd share with you the wonder that is steam cream.

I've shared a few e-mails back and forth with the lovely Nisha who offered to aid my search by sending me a gorgeous floral adorned tin pot of steam cream. The beautiful designs caught my eye immediately as Steam Cream offer a vast variety of beautifully designed pots so aesthetics wise this gets a double thumbs up, and the fact that it is both eco-friendly and extremely cute makes it an all round winner in that department.

So, is it worthy of its 'Beauty Insiders' Choice' win? I think so. I know some of my fellow beauty enthusiasts and bloggers agree with me such as the ever so gorgeous Jade whose review you can find here.
What is different about Steam Cream is that they use a shot of steam to produce a light emulsion which then in turn sinks in rapidly into your skin for an instant effect and creates the lightweight feel of this moisturiser which I adore. A little really does go a long way in terms of application the product glides on like a dream needing little help and force to work its way into the skin. Combined with use of natural ingredients (find out more here), such as jojoba oil, oatmeal, orange blossom water, and lavender oil, your skin is left feeling refreshed and softer than mine has done in quite a while. 

I've used this pretty much every morning and evening before applying makeup and after cleansing and toning at night. My skin appears to me heaps and bounds better in terms of dryness and all round glow as my skin seems less greyish and dull than before.  The only fault I can find with this product, and this is just a personal preference, is that it has quite a strong lavender scent and I'm not the biggest fan of lavender but that aside I will happily re-purchase this product.

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Look Double Hit Lip in Rose Riot

Double Hit Lip in Rose Riot* £8

Enter my new favourite lip product! I have been eager to try these out for quite some time but never got round to it so was over the moon when I saw this in my Look Beauty Prize and I've been wearing it pretty much everyday since it arrived - such a flattering summer shade!

There are three ways you can wear this product, using the matte lipstick alone (although I wouldn't quite class it as matte as it has quite a sheen to it), lip gloss alone, or obviously both together which is what I tend to do most often. I absolutely adore the shade which you can see me wearing more clearly in this post, it is a gorgeous peachy pink with flecks of gold underlying it. It very much reminds me of NARS Orgasm (post here) in tube form, I just can't get over how pretty it is!

As for staying power this product has got what it takes lasting me up to several hours which is always an added bonus so you don't need to be constantly re-applying. I'm not a huge fan of lip gloss finding it too sticky and hate getting my hair stuck to my lips so I do apply this sparingly but not much is needed, and boy does it smell good! Seriously, have a sniff, it smells good enough to eat!

I look forward to trying it in Citrus Kick next! Have you bought any products from the Look Beauty range?

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look loud lips: toffee cup

Look Loud Lips in Toffee Cup* £7

I was lucky enough recently to win Look Magazine's 'What I'm Wearing' Street Style competition and to my joy a bundle of cosmetic delights was my prize that arrived on my doorstop yesterday morning - it felt like Christmas I tell you.  

One of the items I received was their Loud Lips lipstick in Toffee Cup (I also received Baby Doll and Tangerine Cream from the Loud Lips collection) which is housed in baby pink boxes with Ashley Isham print for decoration which is also embossed on the sturdy, magnetic silver lipstick casing. I like the magnetic casing as it shuts close in a jiffy and my lipstick feels protected. Despite not being the most delicate packaging wise I find the print extremely pleasing to the eye.

At first I was unsure of the shade in tube form as I thought it looked a little too dark for my skin tone and I thought it was more of a chocolate brown nude. I don't really venture into nude lip territory often, besides my favourite Rimmel Nude Delight, frequently opting for corals and reds instead. However, upon application I found that it was a very flattering milky brown with pink undertones which I think is well suited for fair to medium skin tones.
The shade is very natural and therefore suitable for the workplace and everyday wear, and I particularly love the creamy formula that feels very light on the lips leaving a somewhat sheen finish which is quite moisturising. Wear-ability I would say is only up to two, three hours max. but I do love the pigmentation and milky softness of the Look Beauty range lipsticks and so toffee cup is a very welcome edition to my collection and a great choice for an everyday or nude lip.

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Purely Natural Skin Healing Moisturiser

Healing Moisturiser* £9.95

I hadn't heard of Purely Natural until they recently got in touch via twitter and I jumped at the chance to try out their new healing moisturiser as, like all their products, it is made of 100% Natural ingredients! And although their packaging is very simple and not much to behold when compared to some higher end brands, the no fuss packaging doesn't bother me and in fact I applaud companies such as Purely Natural for using recyclable PET packaging.

Now let's get onto what we really want to know, does the product work?

This product is geared towards those of us who have suffered or do suffer from damaged skin in need of a bit of TLC. In my early teens I did go through quite a horrendous and emotionally draining phase where I was very acne prone and my light purple acne scars around my chin area serve as a not so pleasant reminder of those days. I've searched and searched for products aimed to help reduce scarring with some hits and many misses along the way and so after using this healing moisturiser I hope to try out their healing scars scrub and acne cleanser.
 I have noticed a reduction in the appearance of my acne scarring and a clearly visible 'good riddance' to dry skin just by applying a small amount of this product and after just a few applications my skin feels smoother, more hydrated and I feel like it's added an extra luminosity to my otherwise quite dull skin. 

In terms of its contents it contains beeswax, carrot seed oil, sunflower oil and Vitamin E oil amongst other natural oils found from vegetables and fruit.
Vitamin E has been a popular choice for beauty oils even since the ancient Egyptians for skin and hair care purposes and has been considered a valuable source of maintaining healthy skin as it is an excellent antioxidant providing both cell protection as well as maintaining our immune system. The results speak for themselves as Vitamin E has proved an ideal weapon against problematic skin such as roughness, dryness and fine lines - what more could we ask for!

 I would say that I do prefer more creamy forumula's when moisturising my skin and in particular my facial area as opposed to the more oily consistency of this product which I don't normally like applying to my skin. However, the skin does quickly absorb the oil which as shown above is filled with skin loving ingredients that will only serve to nourish and moisturise and there is little excess oil and residue left on the skin surface which I originally thought might be a problem when first trying out this product; you only need to use the smallest amount so don't over do it with the product as it is oil based.

The results speak clearly for themselves as my skin does feel heaps and bounds betters and I look forward to trying out more from the Purely Natural range!

What do you think, will you be trying anything from their range or could you recommend any products specifically for damaged skin?

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MAC Costa Chic

MAC Costa Chic £13.50

Lipsticks are an obsession of mine, never feeling completely myself and presentable without a slick of colour upon my lips, and so over time I have accumulated quite the little collection most of which are either red or coral toned. Coral lipsticks are my go to shades for spring and summer and I think compliment my colouring far better than any bubblegum pink could; I tend to steer well clear of anything remotely barbie-esque as it really doesn't do much for me. I know coral tones are always associated with summer sun and tan skin but I don't think that should put off any paler skinned girls from daring the brighter coral shades such as MAC's Costa Chic - in fact it is one of my personal favourites!

Costa Chic was brought for me as a present from my dad back in the bitterly cold winter months and so has been sat in my makeup drawer patiently awaiting a sunnier day to make its debut. It is a true bright coral shade which often draws out my green eyes and leaves my teeth looking far whiter than normal. It can lean slightly pink some lights but throughout it remains an utterly gorgeous shade. You can dab this on with a slight hand for a more subtle finish or for those of you want to brave a more punchy look a light coat is enough as the photographs don't quite illuminate how bright this lipstick can be in true light.

It is a frost finish which I didn't realise for quite some time and I know that many take an immediate disliking to the often over shimmery and metallic finish that is labelled 'frost', however, I am quite partial to this finish as I find it extremely moisturising and I don't personally find the touch of glimmer that overpowering.

I think my summer coral lip is sorted, what about you? Do you have any summer lip suggestions?

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Amazon Kindle 4

You might have heard me harp on a bit recently about my newly purchased Amazon Kindle, I thought as an English Literature major that I could justify parting with £84 as an investment and I haven't been dissapointed yet.

I thought I would write up a quick review for you about my experience so far with the Kindle and a summarized review that hopefully will be helpful to any of you looking to buy one for yourselves. I know this is not my usual sort of post but reading is a great part of my life and I thought I would share a little of that with you.

There are clickable buttons on either side of the kindle which help you to go back or forward a page catering for both right handed and left handed individuals.

These are the navigational buttons that pretty much function as their icons would suggest. From L-R: Go back, Keyboard (in order to type in book titles, word searches, annotations), Up,Down,Left,Right and Enter directional buttons, Pop Up Menu, Home Screen.

This is my personal homescreen which I have not yet properly organised into Genres as you're able to do to condense these pages as well as make selected reading choices easier and is much more organised. In the top right hand corner you will see the strength of your wireless connection, which you will need with this particular kindle in order to connect to the online Amazon store; this enables you to buy books via whispernet a process that takes a mere few seconds to complete.

 You will also see the battery logo which will keep you informed of your battery life which is one of the key things about the kindle that amazes me as I have used mine constantly since I got it and the battery and barely gone down, once charged it can last up to a month before it needs to be re-charged.

Whilst reading you, like me, might come across certain words you're unfamiliar with and so by using the navigational arrows you can then hover over that word and a definition will appear for you to read. This I find extremely useful as despite English being my choice of degree we all have a bit of trouble with words less commonly known from time to time.

The main thing that attracted me was not its lightweight feel and memory of up to 1,300 books but rather having the option to purchase books at a much cheaper price and the fact you don't have to wait days even weeks for your book of choice to arrive. I have taken advantage of the many free books available on the Kindle Store, the majority of these being classics such as Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and Alice in Wonderland. I managed to pick up The Great Gatsby for 49p. bargain! However, more modern literature and chick lit are generally still quite pricey and even can sometimes work out more than the paperback versions which defies my main goal of saving money. 

You really have to keep your eye out for good deals and value for money, I often check Amazons daily deals where a selection of books are reduced to 99p and prices are altered regularly with some kindle books being free one day and £2 the next!

If you're an avid reader then I think you'd really love this as it is so easy to get books straight to your kindle and is a great device for reading on the go as I often use mine for long train journeys without the burden of carrying a heavy novel around! If you're not one of those who reads quite regularly and only purchase chick lit or the newest best seller every now and then you might be best sticking to buying paperback novels.

Do you have a Kindle or are thinking of purchasing one? I'd also love to know any book suggestions you have, so please leave them in the comments below!

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