Review | Revlon Colorburst matte balm sticks

As it's been said before (many times), I'm a big fan of lip products and think they're my favourite make-up item to buy. However, I rarely stray out of my MAC comfort zone and have found just lately that I'm stuck in a bit of a rut! 

I am a big fan of matte lip products at the moment and am forever reaching for my MAC 'flat out fabulous' for the comfort of knowing it'll pretty much stay on my lips for my eight hour shift at work. I find it rare to find a matte effect high street lipstick and was quite surprised to stumble across these at the Revlon counter in Boots.

I'm a huge Revlon fan, and go to them for nearly everything from my nail polish to my foundation, but rarely buy their lip products. I have one or two of the Revlon Colorstay balm stains, which are the shiny version of these, and find they're very similar to the beautiful Clinique Chubby Sticks (however not so similar in price!)

Knowing how much I liked the balm stains, I had every faith in Revlon not to let me down with the matte balms, and alas, they did not!

I bought three different shades, for three separate occasions. The red balm is called ‘standout’ and is my favourite of the three. It's an incredibly vibrant red - perfect for a night out with a super winged eyeliner. The pink balm, called ‘elusive’ is a pretty pink, ideal for an everyday face, good to team with a delicate brown smokey eye, while the nude, ‘complex’ , the least pigmented of the three is a soft, natural and versatile colour to work with a dramatic smokey eye or a pretty natural eye for any occasion.

All three have great staying power and create a dramatic but classy look, even intensifying the size of your lips to make them look plump and voluptuous. 

One thing I was fairly surprised about was the cool minty flavour of the balms and the slight tingling sensation they left on the lips once applied. It felt, to me, as though I had just applied a lip-plumping gloss on my lips, although I didn't notice it'd had any 'plumping' effect! Overall, I would recommend these balms to anyone, with a fantastic colour range there's plenty of choice and without the glossy sheen they're a subtle but sultry way to add long-lasting colour to your lips!

xoxo

Goodbye dark brown, hello blonde (sort of)

bye bye dark brown locks!

Since the day I was born I have had thick dark brown hair, and despite a few dubious 'experiments' during my teens, it has pretty much remained the same colour throughout my life.

I adore my brunette hair, and after attempting all over bleach blonde when I was 17 (cringing at the thought of those blotchy yellow/bronze highlights), I was more than happy to go back to my comfort zone and my glossy chocolate brown locks.

However, over the past two years, I've been contemplating doing the hair fashion must-have and bleaching the ends of my hair to create the 'dip dye' or 'ombre' effect.

I adore this look and think it's incredibly classy and pretty (if done correctly, it is SO easy for it to go horribly wrong, I've seen a few prime examples), but feeling nervy about the dreaded bleach on my ends has left me saying no at the very last minute.

Speaking to a friend who is a hairdresser, she's given me many tips on where to get it done, how much to pay, what to ask for and what to expect and I'm feeling a little bit better about it. I've been doing my research and trying to find as many pictures as I can of girls with long dark hair like mine, with ombred ends. The pictures I saw the most, were lovely, long, dark brown hair with subtle golden highlights stretching from the mid-lengths of the hair and splashing out onto the ends. This gives a golden glow and blonde effect to the hair without the ends having to be totally doused in bleach and without the awful blonde to brown line that would stretch across the mid-length of my hair. I fear it'll be a tricky thing to ask for, but hopefully with the correct care and dedication from professional hairdressers, I'll come out with the barnet I've always dreamed of!

The gorgeous Camilla Alves with the look I want to ask for!

google images

Sometimes you need a little change to brighten things up!

xoxo

Review | Vaseline 'spray & go' body moisturiser

I've heard a definite mixture of good and bad reviews about this product, and honestly didn't know what to expect when I first tried it. I bought the cream coloured one first, which is the 'essential moisture' version, which is a light, fresh scent you'd typically expect from a moisturiser. Obviously their novelty isn't the scent of the product, but rather the thing they're advertised to do - 'moisturise in seconds'. The idea is that if you're in a hurry to get ready, but your body skin needs a little pick-me-up, you give a quick spray, wait a matter of seconds and the product will have sunk in, leaving you ready to put on your clothes without that sticky feeling. 

I was under the impression that you wouldn't need to get your hands messy either, as you'd just spray and go, but the nozzle sprays the product into a sort of splatter onto the skin which you then have to rub in yourself. Not a problem, just my own mis-judgement!

The product did sink in pretty quickly and definitely didn't feel sticky once dressed, however I felt no matter how thickly I applied the spray, it still only gave a light, hour-long feeling of being moisturised and didn't seem to last long enough to leave a lasting feeling of soft skin.

Out of all three sprays, my favourite is the 'cocoa radiant' as it smells divine, but all three seem to work in the exact same way and leave the same feeling.

Overall, I enjoyed trying the products and will probably bring them out of my beauty drawers in summer time when I want a light skin pick-me-up during the day or just before a night out. Not the best product for night-time moisturising as I like a thick, long lasting softness cream, however I can fundamentally say they're a very good idea and are still on my daily beauty agenda!

I'd love to know if anyone else has tried them and what they thought about them, but for now, take care and expect another post from me soon! :)

xoxo

Big, voluminous hair

Last Sunday I tried something a little different with my hair and was so impressed by how it turned out I've decided to share it with you.

I have very naturally straight hair and usually I would curl it every day and brush it out into loose, bouncy waves. Although my hair is quite long and thick, I've never been able to achieve the correct level of volume with it, and despite trying numerous products, nothing has worked as well as this little trio.

I've been a big fan of Toni&Guy sea salt texturising spray for a while now and particularly like to use it in the summer when I want my hair to look effortlessly styled. I used it with two new products I've been trying recently in the hope that each one would do their little bit to build up the volume in not only the lengths but also the roots of my hair. 

I'm sure nearly every girl uses her fair share of dry shampoo - it's a god-send for those days where you just can't be bothered or you've spent too much time doing your makeup and haven't allowed enough time to wash your hair. However, I'm not the biggest fan of Batiste as I find it far too chalky and it dries my hair out. So in a bid to try more brands, I gave this slightly pricier dry shampoo out. This is the Charles Worthington salon at home dry shampoo. It's brilliant as the formula is light and not powdery at all, it settles in the roots and once worked in lifts the roots so effortlessly to create amazing volume. 

I finally finished the look with the brilliant Loreal studio line texture spray which I think is like a mixture between a sea spray and a hairspray to create a perfect mattifying spray which inspires a tousled look to any hair. It even works on my boring dead-straight hair (believe it or not!).

Altogether, these products make for the perfect stay-all-day volume treat for dull-looking hair and give that effortless 'oh look how gorgeously big and windswept my natural hair is' look, with only a few sprays of each!

not the best picture, but you get the idea!

What hair products have you been loving lately? Let me know!

xoxo

Cute disney socks

On my little visit to good ol' Primark the other day, I fell completely in love with these adorable Disney print socks. Just lately, Primark seem to have teamed up with Disney to incorporate the iconic Disney prints and styles in many of their products at very reasonable prices. Just 50p more than other printed socks in Primark, these cute, retro socks are definitely worth the pricetag - £2.50!

Sadly, there were only two different types in my local store, although I know there were some Little Mermaid ones recently as my friend bought some just before Christmas. The only two I could get hold of were the Minnie Mouse and the Snow White print. I'll keep a lookout to see if they bring in more but for now I'll be loving life as a die-hard Disney fan in my Minnie Mouse socks watching Tangled, The Little Mermaid and all my favourite Disney movies! :)

Youtube...

My blog has existed for about a year and a half now and although my posts haven't been very regular, I feel as though my life has opened up enough to give me sufficient time to blog and share my passion for beauty with people who feel the same. This means I plan to write many more blogposts, with ideas flying around my head every day I'm confident I won't ever run out of things to say!

For a while now I've been a keen follower of certain beauty and fashion Youtubers and have been considering setting myself up with my own channel.

I've finally gathered up the confidence to try and make my own videos and see if people are interested in what I have to say. I'm not entirely sure when, but I plan to post a video soon and see how it goes. At the moment I'm trying to think up some ideas of what my first post is going to be, and until I do, nothing will be posted. 

It's quite a challenging and intimidating thing to do, but I want to be sure I am confident and positive enough to do it and feel good about it. 

I will be sure to post my first video on my blog when it's ready and hope to receive only kind words of encouragement so I'm not too afraid to do more!

A MAC for every mood

My MAC Collection

A MAC lipstick is possibly the staple product of every beauty bloggers' makeup collection and is a product which never goes out of fashion. With their sturdy packaging and beautiful colour pigments, MAC is definitely my favourite brand for lip products.

With only five to my name, I don't have as many as some people, but as you can tell from my picture, they're all very well loved!

#1 Nicki Minaj Limited Edition 'Viva Glam'

Starting with the 1st lipstick in the left hand corner, my Viva Glam lipstick is one of my definite favourites. It's a beautifully soft and creamy hot pink, with lighter undertones than that of the very popular (and much lusted after by me) 'Candy Yum Yum'. It's a good lipstick for everyday, as it's not too bright but adds a lovely pop of colour.

#2 'Flat Out Fabulous'

A new addition to my collection and a new favourite, 'Flat Out Fabulous' is everything it says in the name. I hinted to my boyfriend a little while back just how much I loved it after trying it in my local MAC store and the little gem he is, he bought it for me for christmas! :D It's a gorgeous deep purple/pink shade which can be built up depending on how many layers you apply. It's my only matte shade but I can safely say, after trying matte, I will definitely try more!

#3 'Costa Chic'

This is the second MAC I ever bought and is a very pretty coral pink. It's definitely more on the pink side of coral rather than orange, and is perfect to wear with a soft brown smokey eye. It's a creamsheen so packs loads of creamyness and colour.

#4 'Sunny Seoul'

Definitely a stay-safe shade if you're more a lipgloss girl than a lipstick girl and you're willing to try something new. It's a pretty light pink which can be slightly sheer when first applied but built up into more of a pink colour. It's a lovely everyday lip colour and perfect for summer time. I did a fuller review of this lipstick here.

#5 'Creme Cup'

My absolute, all-time favourite, go-to colour which never lets me down. When I can't be bothered with fancy eye makeup or meticulously applied bold lip colour, I reach for my 'Creme Cup'. It's a creamsheen so very very creamy and soft and easy to apply, it's a less daring nude with pink undertones so creates a softer lip than brown-based nudes. One of the first MAC's I ever bought, and my most-used, I bought this one without much knowledge of how many different nude shades there were. I plan to branch out and try a more beige nude soon as I've become a bit more daring, but this one will always be a firm favourite everyday colour.

Below is a little swatch picture for you to see what they look like when applied. Sorry they're not on the lips, it was just easier this way!

xoxo