Topshop Make-up Giveaway Winner!

Morning lovelies! Wow, it was such a struggle getting out of bed this morning *yawns* 6am starts are NOT fun. I don't think I'll ever be a morning person, not even for all the coffee in the world.

I hope you've all had wonderful weekends? I had an awesome one, I'll do a photo diary post later on today, but for now let's get down to business.

Time to announce my first ever giveaway winner... thank you so much to all of you who entered, I was really worried no one would enter and it would be the worst giveaway ever. I'm looking forward to doing more of them now I know this isn't the case :) If anyone has any ideas for anything they'd like to see in my next giveaway, please do feel free to leave a comment.

Anyway, I used random.org to find my winner (thank you to everyone who reccomended it to me, I didn't have a clue!).

The winner is... Shannon Beer

Well done Shannon, hope you enjoy the goodies. I'll be in contact with you today!

Topshop make-up giveaway!!- Now closed

*giveaway open internationally*

So, this is my first ever giveaway, eeep! I really hope some of you do actually enter and I don't look like a total loser! I'd just like to thank all of you who are following me :) I tried to pick a couple of things I thought would suit everyone, and that I thought everyone would like. I ended up buying things that I wanted myself and now I just want to keep the giveaway prizes. Pretty sure that's not how it's supposed to work?! 
I picked this gorgeous Topshop lipstick in shade 'Pillow Talk', which I thought will go well with pretty much any skin tone. I don't have this shade yet, but I really want it! I also picked up these Nail Rock wraps in a polka dot print, can't go wrong with those, right ladies? Oldy but goody.
So, if you'd like to enter, all you need to do, is be a follower of my blog on blogger, and leave a comment below with your email address so I can contact you if you win. If you'd like to tweet about it, that'd be great too! I'll announce the winner next Monday (the 10th).
Good luck everyone!

Wherever you go, there will be love.

Hello darlings, my day so far has mostly involved caffine, reading all your darling blog posts, a sneaky nap that snuck up on me, and of course these gorgeous little polka-dot nails.

I'm not sure if I'll be posting for the next couple of days, I'm packing up to move in with the mister tomorrow. Then we might try and get out of the city this weekend, perhaps in the countryside at Goldaming or maybe France (a 30 minute drive away, why not?!).

Anyway, nails. Polka-dot nails, an oldy but good, yes ladies? You don't need any fancy-smanshy nail art pens or transfers to re-create this look, no siree!! Just grab your 2 favorite varnishes, a top coat, and off you go...

1. Apply 2 coats of your base colour, wait to dry completely. (I used 'Milkshake' by Topshop)

2. Take your 2nd colour and use the very tip of the brush to create little round dots. Don't overload the brush with varnish, it's easier if you don't have much to work with. (I used Nail Tip Whitener by Rimmel)

3. Wait for all the dots to dry completely.

4. Apply a clear top coat to avoid chips. (I used Forever Strong Pro by Maybelline). TADA!!

Tease.

Hello everyone,
I hope you all had a smashing weekend?
Mine was wonderful, the first weekend in ages where I haven't woken up with a filthy hangover. It was amazing (and a little bizarre) to wake up as fresh as a daisy. It meant that we were able to do lots of fun things, canoeing and bike riding, but I'll save that for a later post, I have lots of cute photos to show you.

Today I want to show you a lipstick I've had for about a month now, I bought it for my holiday, I just haven't got around to blogging about it. Tease by Topshop (£8)
Tease is described as a ‘Barbie pink’, but I would definitely say that it has undertones of lilac in it too, which is really pretty. It has a velvet formula, with a matt finish. I did find this a rather drying, even when I used Carmex before application. Maybe because it is a matt finish? I don’t know about you but I tend to find Matt lipsticks much more drying and uncomfortable. I also found it quite hard to build up the colour with this shade, I had to smudge the color in with my fingertips and then keep applying more.
Honestly, I love the colour was a little disappointed with this lipstick, but I guess that it’s always a gamble when you’re trying something new hey?

Have you tried any of the Topshop Lipstick range?

Milkshake

Happy Friday lovelies!
I hope you've all had a swell week?
Mine has been nice and relaxed. Lots of nights in with my mister, and I had a juicy catch up and pizza night with my gorgeous friend Laura too.

Seeing as it has been such a lovely sunny day in London and I'm heading out for some canoeing tonight (yes, you heard me right!), I thought I needed a nice new summery shade for my nails.
Cue 'Milkshake' by Topshop.
I painted on two coats, but you could definitely get away with just the one. This is my new favorite for sure, it's the perfect babydoll pastel pink and such a nice consistency. Plus, it makes you look more tanned than you actually are, bonus!

Yesterday, I found this quote...
"Sometimes we feel guilty about spending money on ourselves; we feel like we're being self indulgent or ridiculous. The truth is YOU ARE YOUR OWN BEST IVESTMENT".
I decided that this meant I should buy shoes.
I've been perving over these Topshop brogues for a couple of weeks now, and finally decided to hell with it, and purchased them today. They're super cute, huh? I can’t wait to wear them this weekend in the sun. Oh, I also got these cute vintagy lacy pants, I know it’s a little weird showing you my pants, but hey ho!

Have a fabulous weekend :)

Holiday Purchases

Hey guys!
We're all guilty of a little panic shopping before going on holiday, yes? I don't know about you lovely lot, but I love reading bloggers posts showing hauls of what they have been buying.
Well, here are a few things I picked up on a few manic sprees before jetting off...

I’ll start with my favorite piece, which my boyfriend very kindly bought for me while we were away in Ireland.
A really cute white embroidered blouse Topshop £35. I love the embroidery collar detail and the pearl buttons, just my kind of thing. On holiday I wore it tucked into a high-waisted floral skirt, and a red high-waited skirt. I'm planning on teaming it with Jeans and heels for a night out, or underneath a jumper in the winter so you can see the pretty collar detail. LOVE.

A pale bleach effect, cropped denim jacket Topshop £38. A holiday essential, right? I felt so 1990's buying a denim jacket. Like I was using someone from Saved by The Bell as an unlikely fashion icon.

A long sleeve spotty blouse by Sparkle and fade for Urban Outfitters £25 in the sale. I couldn't resist this. I saw it on Lily Bees' blog. Seeing as I love absolutely everything this girl wears, I knew I had to have it.
I haven't actually worn it yet, but I'm planning on wearing it tucked into black jeans, done up to the collar with bright orange lippy. Or tucked inside a pleated skirt with tights and boots.

Ripped denim hotpants £25 Urban Outfitters sale. Again with the denim. I don't think I realized just how short these shorts were. They were a bit of an impulse buy the night I was packing for the Bahamas. Fine for the beach, but I'm not sure they'll be acceptable for the city unless I wore them with thick tights.

Shades Topshop £12. These just go with everything, you can't go wrong.

Lastly I got a couple of Topshop Lipsticks, both £8 and a nail varnish £5.

Idol, a bright shocking candy pink, perfect for impact lips. Tease, a couple of shades lighter, for a more day-time look. The nail varnish is a really nice pastel purple called 'Parma Violet'.

Have you been shopping recently?

Infared- Topshop Lipstick

Let’s be real, Mondays are hard huh? Sometimes you just need to re-group and put on bright orange lipstick.

So, shall we talk about lipsticks?!

I am a huge sucker for lipsticks and I really can’t rave about this one enough.

‘Infared’ £8 by Topshop. A gorgeous bright orangey-red shade.

The pigmentation in this lipstick is incredible and really buildable too. You can wear it as a lighter coral colour or add a couple of layers to become a bright orange. The staying power is really impressive too.

It's a velvet formula, which means it is super moisturising, and doesn’t dry or chap your lips at all.
It's very unusual for me to find a lipstick which doesn’t dry out my lips, I've only ever found one other (Estee Lauder Crystal Pink ). I do apply Carmex lip balm before and after lipstick application, but with this one, I wouldn't say it was totally necessary.

The quality is comparable to MAC (whose lipsticks are now a whopping £13.50 each). Actually, I’d even go as far as saying I prefer this formula to MAC lipsticks, although the shade selection isn't as varied.

Infared has injected a bit of excitement back into my make-up bag, without breaking the bank. I’ll certainly be adding to my Topshop Lipstick collection, for only £8 you can't really go wrong.

Have you tried any of Toyshops’ Lipstick range?

Anyway, I hope you all had an awesome weekend?

I was a very lucky lady, I spent the whole weekend with my mister. We went to LOVEBOX on Saturday, and then sat in Hyde Park in the sunshine with a bottle of wine on Sunday, bliss.

What's in my make-up bag?

Good afternoon poppets,
how are you all dealing with this monsoon June?!
I donned the hunter wellies on my way to the office this morning, and snuggled up at my desk with a hot water bottle and a cup of tea. Wouldn't it be dreadful to live in a country where they didn't drink tea??

I know I said I would be a little more diverse on my blog (I promise I will), but I'm really enjoying make-up again at the moment.
I'm thinking of doing a make-up artist course, even though they are ridiculously expensive. If anyone could recommend any around central London, that would be great!

Anyway, let's get down to it.
I love peeking into other peoples' make-up bags, who can resist a good nosey, eh?! So...this is the contents of my every-day make-up bag... 

I'll walk you through it...

Face

Clinique Dramatically different moisturizing lotion

No.7 Concealer- shade 03 fair (I always like to have my concealer in a lighter shade than my foundations)

Chanel Foundations-

My crazy love obsession with Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation is still going strong. We are coming up to our 3 year anniversary... or so.

Chanel Vitalumiere (shade 20 Beige), which I Mix with Vitalumiere Lumiere (shade 30 Cendre Shell) £35 for 30mls, depending on how tanned I am.

 Mac Finishing Mist

Topshop Foundation Brush

Cheeks

Mac Sheer tone Shimmer Blush- Trace Gold

Illamsqua Cream Blush- Sob (I've hit the pan on this one, it's lasted over a year and I still absolutely love it)

MAC 109 Contor Brush

Eyes

Mac Mascara- Studio Fix Boldblack Lash

Mac eyeliner- Smoulder

 Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil- Shade 001 dark brown.

Lips

Carmex Classic Lipbalm (I use this as as a base for lipsticks)

MAC Satin Lipstick- Myth

YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick

Randoms
Make up bag- Muji

Boots Eyelash curlers

Tweezer- Octopus

Bobby pins

 Cath Kidston mirror

Phew! It does seem like a heck of a lot when I list it.
This is my every-day natural make up look (excuse the hair, rain = bad hair day)...

What do you carry around in your make-up bag? is it as much as me?!

Topshop Make-up brushes

Hey pals, I hope you've all had a smashing weekend? 
I've had a crazy, wonderful, busy one... Nandos Gignics (where I met Lydia Bright from TOWIE) and Kensington Rooftop gardens, lovely.

Anyway, I've read a few not so great reviews of Topshop make up brushes floating around on blogosphere, so I thought I'd add my two cents.

I haven't used make up brushes for a long time, I had a previous bad experience with a malting Max Factor brush which put me off. I reverted to using my fingertips for the application and blending of everything. I was pretty impressed with this foundation brush though, so that might have all changed for me.  

Little tip for you, I washed both of these brushes before using them. I know they are brand spanking new, but I just find that this helps prevent bristles from shedding with the first use.

The foundation brush was a really great size, unbelievably soft on my face and I found it blended my foundation in really well, leaving no brush strokes. 
I really liked the look of my skin after using this brush, I found that the foundation looked much more natural buffed in with a brush.
Using fingertips alone means that the foundation tends to just sit on top of your skin. So I would really recommend this brush, at £7 you can't really go wrong. 

I didn't have so much success with the powder brush (RRP £10), I found that the bristles where far to scratchy on my face and the actual brush itself felt too big for my face. I also had a few stray bristles, so I'd stay clear of this one unfortunately. 

P.S Lydia and I are basically best friends now. Basically. 

Celestrial and Ice Crush

Another nail polish post!? What can I say, I like my polishes. I do, I do.
Meet Topshop nail polishes  'Celestial' and 'Ice Crush'.
These were one of those 'purchasing just for the sake of it' moments.
I feel like this is a little bright compared to some shades I've been wearing recently, but saying that, it has really grown on me. What do you think?

I am really liking the formula of Topshop nail polishes, I applied two coats of 'Celestial' (the blue shade), but could have gotten away with just one.
I then applied 'Ice Crush' (clear silver glittery polish) over the top on one random nail. I think 'Ice Crush' will look cute over any other colour too, particularly pastel colours.  

At £6 a pop, these little beauties are more on the pricy side of high-street brands, but I'm quite happy to pay this nice mid-way price for a decent nail polish. The range of colours is fantastic and the formula is great, I always feel like I need to own more of them.