Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Paint | Review

I've discovered a new product that I absolutely love and it's Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Paint. 

As usual I was wandering around Boots near where I work and found myself at the Rimmel stand. I wasn't really looking to buy anything but I had watched a couple of vlogs (Lily Pebbles and Viviannadoesmakeup, of course) and they had mentioned about these Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow  Paints. I was interested to see what it was about these paints that were different. 

There were only a few shades, about 5 and but I picked two.

The two colours I opted for were 006 Rich Russet which has been widely recommended by the two vlogging superstars but I also picked up 005 Golden Bronze. I kinda really liked the Golden Bronze as well and thought it could look really nice on if I had a bit of a tan or if I was on holiday. I think that golden tones work really well with my green eyes. 

To start with they are in a tube that looks like lipgloss and the applicator wasn't far off.

006 Rich Russet

005 Golden Bronze

The tube is going to get quite messy, there is a fair amount of suction with the product so if you're a little OCD with your beauty products then this may cause a little stress. 

When I was swatching these in the store I got in a right mess. They go on exactly like paint, I then smudged it out over my hand to see how well they blend after doing this I thought great, I'll rub a little harder just to get it off my hand. Oh how I was wrong. The stuff has a fantastic ability to stay put. I was getting shimmer everywhere and the entire back of my hand was covered. 

I've done a little swatch for you but this one is far less messy. 

Wonderfully pigmented aren't they, however what this doesn't show you is what the look like with a little smudge and blend. 

I find you have to work quick with this product, when you put it on your eyelid, get your brush and start blending straight away, because this stuff dries pretty quick so it's just easier when it's slightly wet still. 

I haven't worn Golden Bronze yet however I have worn Rich Russet on numerous ocassions and it's easily become a firm fave. Not only is it a gorgeous colour to wear but it's just to easy, it doesn't take every long to put on and it lasts bloody ages. This claims to be crease proof, however it is not. Though I am starting to wonder whether I just have massively creased eyes? Who knows? Though to be honest it isn't really that bad, yes it goes into my eye creases, not any worse than any other product. 

As I bought two Boots had a special offer - Buy one and get the second half price on selected Rimmel products. They're only £4.99 anyway so I definitely think they are worth trying out. 

Have you tried the Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Paint yet? What colour are you loving?

Slowly drifting...to Norfolk

What a beautiful weekend, bright sunny and breezy. 

I've found that recently I've needed a break more and more. I haven't really booked any time off in the past 8 months since joining my job, part of this is because the year is going too damned quick, another part if because i'm just a bit of a workaholic so I haven't even thought about it. 

After feeling pretty stressed recently my dad suggested that we go to the boat, just for a couple of days and I tell you what, I really needed it. My parents own a boat on the Norfolk Broads and it's just so lovely to go there and relax. It's about a 2 hour drive from our house, but it's definitely worth it. 

Norfolk has a completely different vibe, very relaxed there's no rush which is a little refreshing considering I'm used to the hustle and bustle of London. It was nice to just chill out by the river just watching the world go by and I literally had the best weather for it. Though I may have got slightly burnt, lots of coconut oil on me tonight!

I managed to take a couple of pictures a couple from my garden and a couple on the boat...

This is our pooch Alf.

So there's a little snapshot of my weekend, how was yours?

What did you get up to?

Essie Nail Polish

I've only just tried Essie nail polishes and I'm in love!

Now that my nails are all lovely and natural, I have been painting them weekly. Most of the damage from the acrylics have grown out now so they are a good length. I'm quite lucky because my nails beds are actually pretty long anyway so even if my nails are short with a bit of polish they actually look longer. 

I was in my local Boots, bearing in mind I'm supposed to be on a spending ban I shouldn't have set foot in there, but it was like a magnet to me and I went straight to the gorgeously bright Essie stand. 

I was drawn to the most gorgeous shade of lilac called Go Ginza. I love it, I've got a real thing for pastel shades.

Since I've started painting my nails I've come to realise I really need a good base and top coat but never really knew which ones to go for. In the past I always pick up a top coat but they turn out to be rubbish and within minutes my nails are chipped. 

After I picked up Go Ginza I just spotted this cute little duo...

This was exactly what I was looking for, then I blinked and I was at the till paying for them. 

This is my first experience with Essie nail polishes and I'm genuinely in love. Now I understand why everyone raves about this brand. My nails have lasted 4 days without any chips and I have one tiny chip but isn't even noticeable. They almost remind me of a gel manicure, they look so glossy and smooth. 

I know as soon as pay day comes around I'm going to be buying many, many more shades. 

What's your favourite Essie nail polish? 

Smashbox Photo Op - Eyeshadow Trio | Review

My lovely friend gave me the Smashbox Photo Op - Eyeshadow Trio in Aperture because she never really uses eyeshadow and she knows I'm trying to broaden my whole make up spectrum. 

The three shades that come in this trio are Alabaster, Sky and Truffle. To be honest I think that all of these shades are pretty safe and easy to wear 

They showed up fairly well on my arm, kinda matte. I think the really cute thing about this trio is that it comes with a couple of instructions on where to place which shade. Which is a little handy for a newbie like myself.

I really liked all three shades but I didn't know how well they would work together. 

I will admit I was a little disappointed when I applied the Smashbox Photo Op Trio to my eyes. The colours are actually pretty pale and I've got quite pale skin anyway so it didn't really stand out at all. I think this trio would look stunning on dark skin. So as a complete look, it just didn't work for me, pretty lack lustre.

However if I break down each individual shade I quite like them. 

Alabaster is a pretty standard nice base colour for any eyeshadow really so I'm definitely going to be using that one. 

I actually really love Sky, it's got a subtle shimmer that just lightens everything up, it's one I would probably reach for if I was looking for a very subtle everyday look. 

Truffle is fab for a bit of eye contouring, a very matte shade that would just work well over the top of my other shades. 

So I definitely think I will use them, just not all together! 

Have you tried any of the Smashbox Photo Op trios? 

A little bit of me...

I thought that I would post a little personal snapshot of my room and things I love. 

My blog is fairly centered around beauty related posts so I guess it can be hard to work out what other things I like, or different aspects of my personality. 

I'm going to keep the words on this post very minimal and just have a few pics. 

Enjoy! 

Benefit's Stay Don't Stray Primer | Review

When I first received Benefit's Stay don't Stray in an old Birchbox I had no idea really what to do with it. I didn't even think I would even use this. 

However, I'm starting to wear eye make up more often, I blame all the gorgeous blogs I follow now. What I have noticed is that my eyeshadow tends to disappear by the end of the day and usually ends up in the creases on my eye lids - sexy I know. 

There could be a few reasons why this happens, the weather - it's bloody flippin hot so everything is melting off of me, the product - pretty cheap palette from Barry M as a start set etc etc 

So whilst I was taking off my make up the other night, I remembered that I have this Benefit's Stay Don't Stray eye primer and realised that I must try it out. 

It looks exactly like a concealer that you would use to cover blemishes even the little wand applicator is exactly the same. 

I apply Stay Don't Stray on my eyelids before I put my eyeshadow on, I just gently add a couple of dots to each eyelid and blend. I leave it about a minute to let it set then I apply the eyeshadow. 

After my first day I was actually really impressed with Stay Don't Stray. I put my make up on at about 6:45AM and I checked it through out the day and it still looked really good. By the time I walked through the door at home at 7:45PM when I had a look I noticed that some of my eyeshadow had gone into my creases but the majority stayed put. That's like 13 hours guys!!! 

Yesterday I really put it to the test because it was incredibly hot, I walk to and from the office each day which in an hour in total at a quick pace. I then went for a run/boot camp style workout with my friend Nikki after work leaving my eye makeup there just to see how hard I would have to work to make it "Stray" so to speak. When I checked at 10PM, though a whole lot had seeped into the creases there was still SOME left on my eyelids!!!

I really think this is a handy product, it does to what it says it does. I'm now really glad that I did receive this in my first Birchbox. I'm going to try it with other brand eyeshadow to see whether it'seven better.

Have you tired this product yet?

Colour my lips pretty...

I'm very simplistic when it comes to the colours I wear on my lips, I like a lot of nude shades. 

However the latest trends appear to be these lovely lip crayons that I kinda wanted to try out but didn't want to end up wasting my money. Thank goodness for freebies and beauty boxes is all I can say!!

In this months Birchbox I received a Laqa & Co - Lip Lube (cheeky I know) which is a pretty bold purple shade called Menatour. This was a pleasant surprise though totally not my colour. 

I also ended up buying two Glamour Magazines this month because they had two different shades of the Clarins - Chubby Sticks, Super Strawberry and Woppin' Watermelon and I needed both, obviously. 

They all look pretty cute together and immediately my collection has tripled. What I will say is I'm actually pretty impressed and may in fact have to try more of these beauties! 

Let's start with the Laqa & Co - Lip Lube

Pretty damn purple huh? Even though this colour is too much for me, I don't hate it as much as I thought I would. It's incredibly pigmented which is a great thing. I think if I only applied a small amount it would probably be easier to wear for me but I wanted to see it's full effect. 

Moving onto Clarins - Chubby Sticks

This is gorgeous shade is Woppin' Watermelon and I think it's great! These are completely different to the Laqa & Co one because these more sheer therefore much easier to wear. I like that they add a bit of colour but they're also very much like a balm. 

Love love love it in Super Strawberry though! Can you tell by the smirk?! 

Massive fan, these Chubby Sticks are definitely going to be added to my handbag. 

Have you tried the Chubby Sticks? 

What shade of Laqa & Co did you get in your Birchbox? 

You Came Back by Christopher Coake

Like everyone else, I love a good book, I received You Came Back by Christopher Coake about a year ago when I went to an event it was free in my goodie bag. 

When I first saw You Came Back I knew it wasn't really my type of book, I tend to like novels that have a dark twist within them but this kinda looked like  a relatively light book. I know I know, you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover however the cover is pretty impactful especially when you like a certain genre.

That being said there is a slight darkness in the book, it's all about love and the power of hope.

The story

You Came Back is about a man called Mark who was previously married to a woman called Chloe and had a son with her, the son dies in an unfortunate accident which then ends the marriage as they both realise it's something they cannot move past. 

The novel starts with Mark and his new girlfriend Allison, he is trying to move into his future with his new partner but he meets another lady who will change things forever...

I won't go further because I really wouldn't want to ruin it for people who may want to read it or already be reading it.  

The narrative

I'm quite used to the modern way of writing in the sense that I'm used to duel narrative books, I like it when there are two tones of voice in one book. I like the way some blend from one character to another and  the change in tone, I love it. However this novel is very much told by the author, you don't even really read it from Mark's perspective which is quite rare with novels these days. Though, maybe duel narratives are a type of writing I'm used to with different genres I read. 

My verdict

I read this book in about 4 hours, I read books incredibly quickly. It's not that I skim read them, I can tell you in detail all of the book, but I just have the ability to inhale novels. It's a running joke with my friends.

I'll be honest it's not something I would usually go for but I quite liked it. It didn't have me on the edge of the seat but it was an easy read that made me turn each page. I would read something from Christopher Coake again but the book itself doesn't make my Top 20 list, it's good, it's well written but it's just not a genre I'd ever pick up. 

Have you read this book? What would you recommend from Christopher Coake? 

Sleek Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette | Review

I know I'm probably very late to the party but I finally bought something from the Sleek Make up range and boy am I happy! I bought the Face Form Countouring and Blush Palette in 373 Light.

I was having a wander around Superdrug not really wanting to buy anything special but I seemed to find myself looking at the Sleek Make up section. I'll be honest, I'm incredibly new to this whole face contouring stuff, I have seen some amazing pictures and videos where a face can be transformed into something model-esque  with just contouring alone. But I've never tried it myself. 

As my blog grows and I find myself looking at hundreds of videos I realise that actually everyday contouring doesn't have to be something scary and looks sort of easy to do so I've been having a think about whether I should try it or whether I'm going to look like a scarecrow with all these lines across my face that I'll fail at trying to blend.

When I saw the Sleek  Face Form Countouring and Blush Palette tester I was actually pretty impressed, it seemed to have everything that I wanted to try, in one palette and at a reasonable price of £9.99. 

I went for the light shade because I do have fair skin but I do need a bit of colour a definition to my face. I did notice that the Dark palette doesn't have a blush in it, it has a bronzer instead, just to point out to any of my gorgeous darker skintone readers. 

As you will see the highlighter has a pearlescent shimmer to it and the blush is very pigmented with lots of shimmer in it, so if you aren't a fan of a bit of shimmer I'd probably say it isn't for you. Here are the swatches

The highlighter is very hard to detected against my pale arm but I think that's the whole idea right? To just add a bit of light into certain areas of the face, you wouldn't want to look too metallic. 

I will admit I'm kinda in love with this palette. I tried it out when I first bought it and was surprised at how easy it was to use and blend, I only use it around my cheek bones. I will admit I'm not great it it yet but I know the more I try the better I'll get. I will say that the brown countour shade is fractionally too dark for my skin tone but what I like about this product is that you can blend it however you want, if I want just a faint line it blends out really easy. I think it's perfect for the newbies out there like myself who just want to try coutouring.

I do just have to point out that I really like the packaging too, it's very Sleek I like the simplicity of it. I also love the weight of the palette which I know if a bit of an odd thing to like but I really do, it's quite heavy. It also comes with a great mirror that's a really good size. I'm super impressed. 

Have you tried anything from Sleek. 

L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes | Review

One of my earliest posts was about how I do my eye make up which included L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes mascara which you can find here . This month I had to repurchase, and it's something I have been repurchasing for at least a year...probably more, which led me to think I must write a post about this gorgeous mascara.

Trying to explain how much I love this mascara is pretty hard because there isn't a single thing I would change about it. I'm very particular about the way my eyes looks as I feel they are probably my best feature, so I have a set way that I like them to look always. I recently have started experimenting with eye shadows etc. 

I never put mascara on my bottom lashes, ever! I just don't like they way it looks on my eye, I need the drama up top for my lashes 

I love the formula of the L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes mascara, it really is great, I don't have very watery eyes so I don't use any waterproof mascaras but even if my eyes do water a bit I find that this is stays quite well if I pat my eyelashes afterward. 

I get a lot of compliments on my eyelashes, I'm fortunate because I have fairly long eyelashes so I have just to make sure the mascara I use is black and dramatic enough to make them stand out because I do have very fair eyelashes. People has asked what mascara I use because my lashes look separated and defined, which leads me onto my second reason why I love this mascara...The Brush! 

Size definitely matters.

It's a massive brush which means you can get all of your corner lashes which enhances the volume. Another amazing thing about this brush is the way that it separates each individual lash, no big thick spidery lashes for me. 

I have tried the Benefit's They're Real Lashes and I don't even think that comes close to my L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes, it just makes my lashes stand out so much more than any other mascara I've tried. It's one of those mascaras I will continue to purchase until they stop selling it and then I'll have a mild breakdown!

What's your favourite mascara?

It's Christmas at Fortnum and Mason | Sneak peek

It's finally here, Christmas is finally here!!!! Well at Fortnum and Mason it is. 

I know you're probably cringing at the festive C word right now and you know, I'd normally agree with you but when I was invited to have a look at the new Christmas range before it hits the shelves I couldn't resist. 

There's nothing quite like a big department store Christmas is there? 

As we entered the room, they were playing Nat King Coles - The Christmas Song (chestnuts roasting on an open fire) beautifully in the background. There was a table just filled to the top of what can only be described as the best Christmas dinner ever! 

To be honest, it just made me really hungry. The table was jammed packed with all types of food as well as cute little gingerbread houses, you've gotta love a gingerbread house at Christmas. 

I had to pull myself away from the table to have a look at some other gorgeous things such as their Christmas food range. 

Can I just say how much I love their snow flake packaging! It was beautiful, with brands like Fortnum and Mason they always go that extra mile with branding which I love. My favourites were definitely the jams I mean they have edible glitter in them, how could you not want to add this on your toast on Christmas morning?

They also had some amazing gift ideas too.

And well it wouldn't quite be Christmas without a traditional Fortnum and Mason hamper would it?? 

Have you started planning for Christmas yet?