My Sephora Wishlist: Lips

One downside to living in the UK is that we do not have Sephora... you know, that wonderful and dreamy cosmetics store full of all of the make-up you could ever ask for! Of course, Sephora has recently started shipping to the UK but I cannot bring myself to pay for the extra costs of postage & packaging. Furthermore, it can be extremely frustrating (as I'm sure my fellow Brits will know,) because it's very difficult to track down certain products and brands. However, one of my Mums old school friends is going to America soon and she's offered to pick up a few bits and bobs for me! So, I have since been trawling the website for hours on end deciding what to put on my list of items for her to pick up.

This then inspired me to start a new series on my blog all about what products I would love to own from Sephora one day. Naturally, there were too many beauty goodies for me to list in one blog post and that's when I decided to break it down into sections. I am a huge lip product junkie and so that's the category I have chosen to focus on first. Now, here are all of the amazing products that are firmly on my wishlist:

Smashbox Always Sharp Lip Liner / Bite Beauty Smashed Agave Lip Mask / Too Faced Melted Lipstick / NARS Audacius Lipstick / Marc Jacobs Lip Crème / Dior Addict Lip Glow / Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick / YSL Rouge Volupté Shine / Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon / NARS Lip Gloss / Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick

I hope you all enjoyed this quick little wishlist and I will be focusing on different categories in the near future, so stay tuned for that! Also; what is currently on your beauty wish list? Let me know as always by leaving a comment down below!

Kiss-Proof Valentines Day Lips

As all of you are aware, Valentines Day is next Saturday and so today I thought that I would share one of my favourite lip products that would be perfect to wear on the day. Bourjois' Rouge Edition Velvet lipstick has been a firm favourite amongst beauty bloggers, including myself, ever since its release and there's a reason for that...it's amazing! Not only does this liquid lipstick/lip stain hybrid glide seamlessly onto your lips but it stays put all day too!

The formulation is one of my favourite things about this product. Upon immediate application, it feels very glossy and buttery on the lips but then after a few minutes, it will dry down to a matte finish. Usually, matte finishes have the reputation of being very drying on the lips  but this one is still very comfortable to wear. Also, as it is matte, it is incredibly long-wearing and it also slightly stains the lips. So, it will last even whilst you are eating or having a cheeky kiss!

The colour that I have chosen to show you today is 'Personne ne Rouge,' which is a gorgeous true red shade and is therefore perfect for a Valentines Day themed make-up look. However, if you like the sound of this product but do not like this particular shade, there are plenty of others to choose from! A few other popular shades within the range are; Hot Pepper, Pink Ping and Nude-ist!

Overall, the Rouge Edition Velvet range is an excellent choice of product for Valentines Day. It is long-lasting, the colours have amazing pigmentation and they are comfortable to wear too! All in all, what's not to love?! Regardless of whether you are celebrating the day with your loved one or if your simply hanging out with your girl friends, I hope that you all have a wonderful day! 

Have you tried this product before? What did you think of it? What are your plans for Valentines Day? Please let me know by leaving a comment below!

A Christmas Lip & Nail Combo

Hi guys. The other day, I picked up a few new products from Boots in order to update my make-up collection for the festive period. I was seriously lacking both a long-lasting and reliable red lip, as well as a cute metallic and glittery nail polish. So, I picked up these two absolute beauties!

After trying the shade 'Frambourjoise' from Bourjois' Rouge Edition Velvet (£8.99) range when it was first released, I had been meaning to pick up another shade for quite some time. So, this time I have opted for the shade 'Personne Ne Rouge' which is a classic, vivid red colour. The main reason that I love this particular product is that even though it gives a matte finish, it does not dry out my lips too much unlike other brands do. Plus, the formulation of this liquid lipstick is so lightweight that it barely feels like I am wearing anything at all! The fact that this product is a long-lasting stain also means that it is perfect for this time of year, where you tend to be out eating, drinking and partying the night away! Most of the time, I do not have to reapply this product at all so it is perfect for creating a fuss-free yet glamorous make-up look for around Christmas time.

To go with my red lip, I wanted to buy a glitzy and metallic nail polish to go alongside it. I do not wear glitter nail varnishes that often but of course, Christmas is the perfect time to do so. You can never have too much sparkle at this time of year. So, I picked up Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure (£6.99) in 'Shoot To The Moon,' which is strangely not available on the Boots website but it is definitely available in store! I have owned a few Sally Hansen polished in the past and I have loved all of them. They go on evenly, dry relatively fast and the flat, wide brush makes application an absolute breeze. This striking silver shade is perfect for this time of year which has a lovely metallic finish with fine particles of glitter running through it, so you get the best of both worlds in that respect!

I think that these two product combined make the perfect lip & nail combo for this time of year. What do you guys think? What make-up you will be wearing over the festive period? Please let me know by leaving a comment below!

My Top 3 Autumn Lip Colours

Ever since I can remember, I have been a huge fan of bold lip colours. I really believe that a statement lip can really take your make-up look to the next level. My make-up always feels incomplete and bland unless I have a pop of colour on my pout! Now that we are now into autumn and winter, one of the most obvious and popular trends out there is berry lips. So today, I thought that I would share my top three favourite autumn lip colours with you all. I hope you enjoy! 

Rimmel Provocalips Lip Colour in Kiss Fatal - £6.99
First up is the newest addition to my lip product collection. I went out and bought this product on the very first day that it was released because I was really intrigued about the claims Rimmel were making. The whole Provocalips range claims to be kiss proof and transfer proof, which I completely agree with - this stuff does not budge! It's two steps of applying the colour and then the top coat is a genius idea and it really locks everything into place. 'Kiss Fatal' is a gorgeous purple/mauve shade with brown undertones and is even more intense than my swatch shows below! This is one of my favourite products to wear at the moment due to its unique shade and impressive longevity. You have to give it a try!

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Dark Night Waterl-oops! - £6.49
Next on my list is this stunning lipstick, again from Rimmel London. 'Dark Night Water-loops!' is a super dark and intense plum colour that is one step up from one of the most talked about Moisture Renew lipsticks, 'Sloane's Plum.' The formulation of this product is one of the other main reasons as to why I love it so much, it is so creamy and moistursing! In addition, this product will not make any dry or flaky patches look obvious, which can often happen when you opt for bold lips. I highly recommend 'Dark Night Water-loops!' to anyone who is a fan of rich and almost gothic looking shades, as this one certainly packs a punch!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush - £7.99
Last but not least is the product that first got me into berry coloured lips, Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain. This beautiful lip crayon allows you to get the same effect of a statement lip whilst being a little bit sheerer than the lip stain and lipstick that I have mentioned above. 'Crush' is a great product for beginners who are just venturing out into the world of darker lip colours. It is a classic berry shade that suits every skin tone and is incredibly easy to apply! Another great factor to this product is that it is also a balm, which means that it is moistursing and does not dry out your lips in anyway. This crayon will always be a firm favourite of mine (I've already gotten through almost two,) so I highly recommend it to all of you as well!

(Shades from top to bottom: Kiss Fatal, Dark Night Water-loops!, Crush)

So, those are my top three favourite lip colours for autumn. Berry shades are bang on trend at this time every year and I absolutely love them! Which out of the three products above do you like the look of most? Have you used any of them before? What is your go to autumn lip colour? Please let me know by leaving a comment below!

Rimmel Provocalips Lip Colour Review

After hearing lots of rave reviews about Rimmel's new lip product 'Provocalips' from various beauty bloggers, I just knew that I had to pick up a couple of shades for myself. They sounded so amazing that I even went down to my local Boots on the first day of their release to the general public. Plus, there is a deal on at the moment whereby if you spend over £10 on any Rimmel products, you receive a Lash Accelerator Endless mascara for free - which of course, I opted for! I am a bit of a lip product junkie and it my favourite make-up product by far, I just love trying out tons of different colours and formulas! After only having these products for two days, I am already really impressed with them and so I thought it was only right that I did a review on this brand new launch. Let's get started!

The Provocalips range (RRP £6.99 each) comes in eight shades; Skinny Dipping, Make Your Move, Dare To Pink, I'll Call You, Little Minx, Kiss Me You Fool, Play With Fire and Kiss Fatal. What's really great about this range is that there really is a colour for everybody as there are both natural and bold shades to choose from. 

Rimmel claim that Provocalips can last up to 16 hours on your lips whilst being kiss proof, transfer proof and food proof. Those are usually some pretty hefty claims to live up to but so far, I would agree with all of those statements! The product is extremely long wearing and it barely fades at all throughout the day. You may need to touch it up just a tad as you reach late afternoon but just two applications throughout the day is pretty incredible compared to standard lip products.

The product itself has two steps. Step 1 is applying the colour to your lips, which will then dry down to a sticky matte consistency within about 30 seconds. Then, the second step is to apply the clear balm that acts as a topcoat for the product. Not only does this stage ensure that your lip colour is locked into place but it adds a lot of moisture and shine back into the lips too. Both steps also have a doe foot applicator which is the perfect size to apply the product onto your lips quickly and precisely.

The two shades in the range that I went for are 'I'll Call You' (a classic pink shade) and 'Kiss Fatal' (a deep purple shade.) I love how 'I'll Call You' is a shade that can be easily be worn during the day time when you don't want to go to OTT. On the other hand, 'Kiss Fatal' is a vampy and darker colour which will look great in the evening and for nights out, especially as we are now entering into autumn/winter.

I would say that the only downside to this product is that the top coat is not as long lasting as the actual lip colour, so that tends to disappear quite quickly. This means that your lips may start to feel a little dry and dehydrated, although it's simple to apply the top coat without a mirror to make your lips feel nourished again. That's a small price to pay in my opinion, as quickly swiping on the balm every now and again is not very time consuming.

Overall, I absolutely love this new launch from Rimmel and I am already looking forward to picking up a few more shades. 'Make Your Move' and 'Kiss Me You Fool' are definitely the next two on my list! What do you think of this new range? Have you tied out Provocalips yet and which colour did you purchase? Please let me know by leaving a comment below, I always love reading your opinions!

New Years Eve Pamper Tips

Hi guys, I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas! I have had a little bit of time off from blogging due to being incredibly busy over the the past week or so. However, now that all of the festivities are over, hopefully my posts will become regular once again. So, seeing as New Years Eve is only two days away now, I thought that I would share with you all some of my favourite things to do to pamper myself prior to nights out. Making sure that you are fully prepared will ensure that you are feeling and looking your best, as well as keeping last minute stress and worries at bay. So, let's get started!

1. Exfoliate your skin
Prepping your skin the night before is a really great tip as everybody wants their skin to be silky smooth, especially if your New Years outfit is a little revealing. In addition, if you are planning to apply fake tan before the big day, exfoliating is a key step to include. As most of you will already know, fake tan clings easily to dry patches on your skin and that is not a good look! I simply like to use some exfoliating gloves which are pretty inexpensive or a body scrub, (my favourite is Soap & Glory's Sugar Crush Body Scrub,) and gently buff my skin in circular motions before applying some body butter and viola... smooth skin in seconds! 

2. Look after your lips
Making sure your lips are prepped before applying your lip product of choice is another crucial step. There is nothing worse than flaky-looking lips, especially if you are planning on puckering up at midnight ;) A great way to banish flakiness is to use a lip scrub and Lush do some great ones, (Bubblegum and Mint Julips,) which are extremely popular amongst beauty bloggers. However, an excellent and cheap alternative is to make your own lip scrub. I simply slather a little bit of Vaseline mixed with some sugar granules on my lips to make a simple (and tasty) scrub. Afterwards, I apply a liberal amount of my favourite lip balm, Carmex, and my lips are really smooth and plump in no time!

3. Prime the face
As many of you are probably aware by now, using a primer before applying foundation is a great way to ensure that your make-up stays put all night long. All you have to do as apply a layer of primer onto your face and then do the rest of your make-up as normal. For Christmas, my parents bought me Clinique's Universal Face Primer (£20.00,) which I have had a tester of before and I absolutely love it. If this primer is a little too expensive for you, there are some great high street alternatives out there. A few of my favourites are Revlon's Photo Ready Primer (£11.00) and Rimmel's Match Perfection Primer (£6.99.)

4. Paint your nails
Last but certainly not least, having nicely painted fingernails and toenails is essential on a night out on the town! In my opinion, having a pretty manicure really finishes off your look and pulls everything together. There are typically five steps to a manicure/pedicure that you can do at home, which are; pushing back the cuticles, filing the nail, applying a base coat, applying two or three coats of polish, followed by a top coat. Alternatively, if you fancy treating yourself, do not have a steady hand or you have a bit of extra cash, getting your nails done professionally could be another way to go!

I hope that these tips help you to prepare for whatever you are going on the 31st. Also, I would love to know what is your favourite thing to do to pamper yourself? I love listening to your suggestions and sharing tips with fellow bloggers. I hope that you all have a fabulous New Years and I wish all of you the best of luck going into 2014! 

Boots 3 For 2 Lip Care Review

Hi guys! I thought that today I would carry on the theme from my previous post (My Top 5 Favourite Lipsticks) which is lip care. Whilst shopping in my local Boots yesterday, I came across an offer that I just couldn't resist- 3 for 2 on lip care! Now that the English weather has taken a serious turn for the worse, it is feeling more and more like autumn/winter every day. With that in mind, I thought I would prepare for the season of dry lips and stock up on some top quality lip balms. Boots have a lot of amazing deals on at the moment including 3 for 2 on skincare, body care, indulgent bathing, self tan, vitamins and No 7. So, I seriously suggest going down to Boots and picking up all of your essentials whilst saving those all important pennies in the process. Now, without any further ado, let's see what I bought! 

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Ultra Moisturizing Lip Balm - £1.89
Being a big fan of Palmer's body lotion, I thought that I couldn't go wrong with buying their lip balm too. As expected, the balm has the same amazing cocoa smell as all of Palmer's other products, which is what drew me in to buying this item the most. The lip balm also contains an SPF of 15, so this would be perfect to use in the summer too. This product lasts a long time on my lips and keeps them hydrated, however, the balm seems to have a slight fine, gritty texture to it. On one hand, this could be a positive as it does exfoliate the lips a little but to me, I find the texture a little annoying and impractical to wear at times. 

Nivea Vanilla & Macadamia Lip Butter - £2.25
Next up, and my favourite of the bunch, is this amazing lip butter from Nivea. I have fallen in love with this product after only one application. The vanilla and macadamia smell is so lovely and the consistency of the balm is so creamy, so it feels really luxurious on the lips. I have always heard great things about this product but I have only just got around to buying it. Now, I am keen on trying out the other flavours in the collection: Raspberry Rose and Caramel Cream.

Carmex Strawberry Lip Balm - £2.69
Last but not least is this strawberry flavoured lip balm from Carmex. In the past I have used the cherry version of this product, which I adore the smell of, but it was sold out in the Boots I went to. Although this lip balm does an amazing job of hydrating and protecting my lips during this harsh weather, I am not too keen on this scent. It is really sickly sweet, which is really not my cup of tea. However, this being said, I am still going to continue to wear this product of a night time before I go to bed. Similarly to the Palmer's balm, Carmex contains SPF 15 and so it is excellent to use in the warmer weather too.

Overall, I am really please with the three products that I chose to purchase for the 3 for 2 deal. They are all really beneficial to my lip care routine and I am sure to get a lot of use out of them in the up and coming months. As usual, if you have ever used any of these products before, I would love to know your opinions on them. So, please leave a comment below as I honestly love reading them! Thank you :)

My Top 5 Favourite Lipsticks

Hi guys! I have always been a big lover of lipstick and over the past few years, I have built up quite the collection. So, I thought it was only fitting that I wrote a blog post about my top five favourite lipsticks. I really think that lipstick can take your make-up to the next level and give your face that extra pop of colour. I have come across many people who think that wearing lipstick during the day can make you look a little overdone, however in my eyes - the brighter the better! So, with that in mind, let's just dive right straight in and begin.

Max Factor Colour Collection Lipstick in Rosewood - £6.99
I love this lipstick because it is a 'your lips but better' colour, which means it is really natural-looking and would no doubt suit a wide range of skin tones. This is definitely my go to lipstick on days where I want to achieve a more understated makeup look but still want to feel polished at the same time. 

Barry M Lip Paint in 156 - £4.49
This lipstick is a gorgeous, berry colour and will most likely be the colour I wear most during autumn and winter. It looks really vampy on the lips and is long-lasting without being drying on the lips. Barry M tend to focus more on their nail products (and undoubtedly so because they are amazing,) so their lip colours seem to be overlooked, however, this shade is fantastic.

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in 12 - £5.49
This super bright orangey-red colour creates a very bold, statement lip and I adore it. The formulation is moderately long-lasting but I do find myself having to re-apply it a few times during the day to keep it's brightness up. The only bad thing I have to say about this lipstick is that it quite drying and so, it does not look too good on cracked, un-conditioned lips.

Avon Color Trend Kiss 'n' Go Lipstick in Lucky Kiss - £3.75
Whilst I was an Avon representative last year, I bought a few products myself and this lipstick is definitely my favourite purchase - and not just because it's friendly on the purse strings! On the lips, this product is a very deep red/burgandy shade with lots of flecks of glitter in it, which in my opinion makes it really unique. Although a little drying, I love wearing it and always get compliments on it!

Mac Cremesheen Lipstick in Crosswires - £15.00
Last but not least is this beautiful coral colour from MAC. I have had this lipstick for around two years now and it is one of my favourite products to wear during the summer months. I will probably not reach for this lipstick much during the colder months but it is still a firm favourite of mine. Surprisingly, I only own one MAC lipstick and the only qualm I have about it is that it really shows the cracks in my lips if they are a little dry.

Here are some swatches of the lipsticks which are in the same order as they have been mentioned above, going from left to right.

I hope that you have all enjoy reading about my top five favourite lipsticks. As always, I would love to know what your favourite lipstick are as I love reading fellow bloggers opinions of different products. So, please do not hesitate to leave a comment below because I love reading them. Thank you!