New video: My Hair Tools Collection

Hey everyone, I've recently uploaded my latest YouTube video and it's just a little run through of all the hair tool products I own. I haven't provided any in-depth tutorials on the tools but on some of them I have quickly mentioned how I use them. Enjoy!

Along Came Betty All Concealed & Starlight Shine

During my weekly Tesco food shop a couple of weeks ago my eyes were drawn to some very Soap & Glory-esque packaging in the beauty aisle. Along Came Betty is a relatively new beauty product line to be introduced in Tesco and seeing as I'm a magpie for pretty things, I just had to pick a couple of items up.

First up is the All Concealed concealer kit, which I bought in Fair/Medium. This nifty little product comes with two concealers (one of a thicker consistency for hiding blemishes and another, creamier concealer for under eye circles) and also a little pot of eye brightening powder. Being somebody who despises my dark circles I just had to buy this.

This is a pretty good concealer and I'm quite impressed with the coverage it gives on my under eye circles. The concealer is very creamy and can feel a little greasy when you put it on, but the coverage is buildable. However, when you apply the brightening powder (which I apply with a powder brush) the concealer is instantly set and feels smooth to the touch. Below are before and after pictures so you can see the coverage for yourself.

 Before

After

 I also picked up the Starlight Shine highlighter, which comes in a chunky stick. The consistency feels very smooth and the colour is lovely, more of a golden shimmer.

This doesn't add a huge amount of shimmer which is a good thing. Again, it is buildable. On the skin this perhaps feel a tiny with waxy, but looks okay and doesn't cake at all. Hopefully you can see in the below photo the nice amount of highlight it gives to me cheekbones.

Have you used any of the Along Came Betty products? 

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Lipsticks

After stumbling across Frangrance Direct a couple of weeks ago I discovered they sold Rimmel Kate lipsticks for only £1.99 and it would have been rude not to have purchased one or two... or eight! And now I have finally found the time to swatch them all for you.

I bought the following colours; 03, 05, 06, 07, 09, 10, 12 and 19. All in all, I'm happy with the colours I bought and I'm pretty sure I'll wear all of them. They glide on so smoothly and they really do last a long time (proven by the fact I still have faint swatch marks on my arm). Here are the colour swatches below.

But I mean, who really wears lipstick on their arm? So I thought I'd treat you lovely people to some real life picture of me wearing aforementioned lipstick colour so you can see what they really do look like on. I'll also tell you a little bit about the colours.

03

My go-to shade is 03 which is just absolutely beautiful. It's an everyday shade that can be worn to work, shopping, drinks... whatever! I just love my lips in this shade.

05

One of my many favourites from this range, 05 is a gorgeous pink-ruby colour which just looks amazing. In love.

06

I think I may have finally found my perfect bright lipstick shade, 06. I'm really looking forward to wearing this in Summer. 

07

Another wearable nude shade, but the 07 has just a little more colour to it. Gorgeous and girly.

09

Vampy and sexy, the 09 is a deep, sophisticated red which would look stunning for evening cocktails.

10

I do have a slight fear of resembling Ronald McDonald in this shade, but hopefully Ill be able to pull it off better once I have a summer tan.

12

Another shade I'm going to be wearing a lot in the summer months. 12 is a gorgeous orange based lip colour which is just adorable.

19

Last but not least, 19 which is another wearable lipstick with just the right amount of colour. Another favourite.

So there we have it, the eight Rimmel Kate lipsticks in my collection. I would definitely recommend these lipstick and especially at the bargainous price of £1.99 each!

Which is your favourite colour?

The Influences of the Internet Tag

I came across this tag on youralmostalice and thought I'd give it a pop!

Did other blogs convince you to start up your own?
Actually no, other blogs didn't convince me to start up my own. I started this blog in 2008 purely because I wanted to express my opinion on designer fashion. However, other blogs did convince me to continue blogging regularly (after only blogging once a year if lucky)

Have you joined a site because someone else in the blogosphere did?
Yeah, bloglovin. It's a great site to catch up with all your favourite bloggers on one site.

Is there a tip/regime you've got from the Internet that you use now?
I've learned so many tips from the internet, especially with hair tools such as Enrapture Totem Styler. I don't think there are any beauty regimes I now commit to as a result.

If your favourite Youtuber/blogger likes a product, will that make you buy it?
It certainly makes me research the product a little more. Recently I bought Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation and Rimmel Apolocalips off the back off blogger recommendations.

What do you look for in a blog that makes you want to follow?
Ooh, lots of thing! If they have a pretty blog, if they feature the types of products I can afford (not all high end stuff), if I like they're writing style. But more importantly... if they have nice hair!

Have you ever been deceived by a product that you ordered online? (e.g you thought it would be pink but it was coral)
I'm sure I have plenty of times but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Have promo pictures and press releases given you the impression that a product will be better than it is?
Oh all the time! That's what advertising is for. I recently bought Garnier Perfect Blur primer and it sounded amazing. But I am very disappointed.

Is there a product you could give a 'cult' status for being so good that you discovered through the internet?
They're pretty new but the Rimmel Apocalips are on their way to legend status.

Is there a product you've tried and hated but others have loved?
I wouldn't go as far as 'hate', but there have been some I'm not too impressed with such as Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer and Benefit Erase Paste.

Is there a blogger/Youtuber who influences your fashion style? If so, who?
I don't think I've ever gone out and bought an item of clothing influenced by another blogger, but I really do admire dizzybrunette3's style.

Is there a blogger/Youtuber who influences your attitude each day/lifestyle?
Hmm, I think I'll have to go with Zoella on this one... just because she's so damn hilarious!

How much time do you spend on the Internet daily?
Probably more than I think I do... dangers of having an iPhone!


So I hope that helped you guys learn a little more about me. Do you like these kinds of post? Let me know.

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers #2

Bonjour!

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the Apocolips Lip Lacquers in Celestial, Apocaliptic and Stellar. Well only a couple of days after that post I purchased three new colours; Galaxy, Nova and Luna, but I just haven't had time to post swatches! So here they are (please accept my apologies for my unforgivably pale complexion):

Galaxy

Luna

Nova

As mentioned in my previous post, the lip lacquers are very pigmented but are still incredibly easy to wear. I'm kind of in love with every colour but out of these three I think I'd have to choose Nova, it's such a cute, girly pink which will look amazing in Summer! Don't forget to check out all 6 colours mentioned in my April Favourites video!

My Teenage Beauty Disasters

I've been inspired by yesterdays #bbloggers chat (best/worst beauty advice) to share with you all my many, many beauty disasters as a teenager - and I had some right gooduns! I so wish I had some pictures of me sporting these disasters back in the day, but unfortunately (or fortunately?) I don't. Please bear in mind that these disasters occurred around the ages of 10-13, not remotely recently.

First up is white hair mascara. This was the 90's equivalent of hair chalk and I thought it was amazing. It came in all sorts of colours: pink, purple, red, blue.. and white. Now for some reason I thought it was a brilliant idea to wear white hair mascara - until my mum once panicked and thought a bird had pooed in my hair.

 

My second disastrous beauty product that I thought was oh-so-cool as a 12 year old is glitter mascara. Why, oh why? In my mind I looked amazing but in reality I just looked ridiculous. On top of that, I wondered why I kept seeing random dots in front of me eyes... it was the pieces of glitter that I could see out of the corner of my eye.

Staying on the topic of mascara, I also went through a phase of wearing blue mascara. Yes, you read that correctly - blue mascara! I would actually wear this blue mascara to school and it wasn't until I received a copy of my school photo when I realised how blimin' awful I looked! Cara might be able to get away with it, but not us mere mortals I'm afraid.

The last item I would like to mention in my teenage beauty disasters post is an item which I honestly cannot believe it still being sold. The spawn of Satan that is Sun-In Spray. I sprayed this on my hair to within an inch of it's life, so much so that my hair snapped off about 1cm from the root and I had a tuft of hair sticking up all along my parting. How bloody horrendous!

So there you have it, my teenage beauty disasters. Did you have any disasters as a teenager? I'd love to know in the comments below.

April Favourites

I know I'm a teeny bit late with this (blame my laptop) but here are my April favourites. You can also watch my April Favourites video on YouTube.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation
I'm not going to say too much about this foundation because I have already done a pretty extensive blog about it here. However, I will say that this foundation has now become my go-to daily essential. I never used to wear foundation as I do have a really good complexion anyway, I used to just slick on a bit of BB cream and I'd be ready to go. But this foundation gives such a gorgeous, dewy, natural-looking coverage that I can't not use it!

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Liner
I recently picked up this eye liner as I'd seen it mentioned on quite a few other blogs for its longevity and pigmentation. I previously used the Rimmel Kohl eyeliner but the Scandaleyes is so much better! It goes on super black and really does stay on all day without any smudging or fading.

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers

I can't even begin to tell you how much I flippin' love these lip lacquers, I've been wearing them nearly every day since I got them! They're a cross between a lipstick and a lip gloss - they apply like a lip gloss but feel more like a lipstick, they're not at all sticky. The colours I have above from left to right are: Luna, Celestial, Nova, Galaxy, Stellar and Apocaliptic. Luna is a very cute orange-based pink which looks gorgeous for Spring, where as Celestial is a medium dusky pink. Nova is a barbie pink lip colour. Galaxy is one of my favourites and that's a lovely plum pink colour. Apocaliptic and Stellar are much more vibrant, with the first a bright pink and the second an orange-based red. You can see me wearing Celestial, Stellar and Apocaliptic in this blog post whilst I'm wearing Galaxy in my latest YouTube video. These lip colours are very pigmented and really do last for hours. Love, love, love!

MUA Blusher

I stumbled upon MUA a couple of months ago whilst browsing Superdrug and as I'd been wanting a new pink-based blusher I thought I'd give this ago. MUA is so cheap so I thought 'no big deal if it's crap!' I've been so impressed with this blusher. The colour is gorgeous (I bought shade 2) and it stays on so well. I used to use No.7 blusher but I didn't find the staying power to be so good. I'll definitely be stocking up on this little gem in the future.

Barbara Daly Eyebrow Pencil

This is another product I'm not going to talk to much about as I've already blogged about it. I find this eyebrow pencil to be the absolute perfect shade for, applies very well and lasts a really long time. A daily essential!

Essie Fiji

I had been looking for the perfect neutral off-white nail varnish for a while, then I saw Lily Melrose wearing Essie Fiji in one of her videos. This is the most beautiful cream colour with just a perfect hint of pink and I adore wearing this. I colour is opaque enough to only have to put on a couple of coats and in general Essie nail varnishes last a really long time with hardly any chips.

Tresemme Platinum Strength 

Next up are some more products that have been mentioned on numerous other blogs - the Tresemme Platinum Strength hair care collection. I have the shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioning treatment and leave in condition. These products claim to rewind up to two years of damage, which is a pretty big claim! I wouldn't go as far as to say they do that but my hair does look lovely and shiny and feels quite soft. They don't weigh my hair down either so all round winner!

Olay Regenerist Serum

With me turning 25 in Summer I'm starting to become really paranoid about fine lines and wrinkles, especially on my forehead. I read up on some reviews on Boots and the Olay Regenerist Serum came highly recommended. It's a very lightweight serum that I apply twice a day to my entire face. The product claims to visibly reduce wrinkles and fine lines and leave your skin looking and feeling younger. Although my fine lines are still there, I have noticed a slight reduction in them so I'm happy with this product. It doesn't leave your skin feeling remotely greasy and it doesn't have any bad smell or leave any residue. I find it also works really, really well as a primer.

Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter

This isn't just an April favourite, the Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter is a lifetime favourite of mine! It smells divine and is so lovely and thick. I use this all over my body and is rubs in so nicely, straight away my skin feels smooth and nourished and quite frankly I smell amazing all frickin' day after I've applied this!

There we have it, my April Favourites. Have you used any of these products? What do you think of them? Let me know in the comments below.