Saturday 26 January 2013

I've been shopping (again)

This time a parcel from ELF awoke me, another pleasant morning wake up!

Lets get going...


First up, the complexion brush
oh woops i got the price wrong on the picture, it was £3.00 instead of £5.50

















All the links for the product are above the photos, keep your eyes peeled for the reviews!

Lauren
xoxo



Friday 25 January 2013

fonts, every little helps

In my opinion the font that you use with images makes a big difference. I've curently become obsessed with using fonts over images; whether I'm labelling swatches, or just adding a few words or a title over a photo. I am obsessed. 

So i thought i would share with you some fonts i have been liking and where you can get them

1) Anome Ibul (here)  2) Antrokas (here)  3)Brain flower (here)  4)Signerica Thin (here)


My go-to site for free fonts with thousands to choose from is dafont.com. It's a great website with hundreds of new fonts each day and has resulted in me having thousands of fonts in my font book on my mac!

I think I'm going to put together a font folder that i can flip through when I'm looking for a certain type of font. 

The perfect rainy day project!

Lauren
xoxo

did you know

my favourite word is 
procrastinate...

and now to get on with my uni work and stop procrastinating!

one last thing before i head off. I still can't get over how adorable my little pup is, so just one more photo 


love you all

lauren xx

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Snow Time


Hugo has been absolutely loving the snow that the UK has had this last week! Its currently as deep as his belly, he's such a sweetie and loves to chase snowballs and then wonders where they disappear to. 

What a love.

He's currently being hypnotised by The Cleveland Show on E4, like completely focused - at least he has good tv taste.

Lauren
xoxo

Friday 18 January 2013

MUA Lipsticks


Ok, i know i have part two of my late haul still to come, I'm just waiting on one more parcel and some light so that i can photograph everything, the snow is very pretty but it means our conservatory is covered in snow so the natural light doesnt get in. So that will have to wait a while. Meanwhile i have this delightful post on four MUA lipsticks i purchased from Superdrug that arrived this morning, another lovely little parcel to wake up to! 

So here goes, first, the deets. MUA lipsticks are by the brand Make Up Academy (i.e MUA), their lipsticks are £1 each, which is such a good price, and to be honest i would say that the formulas are comparable to MAC ones.

I bought four shades, 3,6,11 & 16, all pink shades because that is something that i am lacking in my lipstick collection, i usually always go for muted tones mainly taupe based ones such as Mink by Topshop and Faux by MAC, which, dont get me wrong i absolutely love, however a brighter lip is always nice. And being at £1 each i thought they would be worth a try. I am so glad i did try them out because they are so lovely, such amazing texture, smooth application and they smell lovely too, slightly vanilla scented. 

Lets get on to the photos!


A breakdown of the colours:

Shade 3
Shade three is a bright, hot pink, incredibly pigmented with a great staying power, this shade reminds me a lot of Ritual's 'Smart' however it is less blue toned and more red/pink. 

Shade 16
This shade is a bright neon apricot colour, alot brighter on than it looks in the tube. It looks fantastic in the centre of your lips paired with shade 11 on the outer sides blended in, creates a beautiful coral pink. 

Shade 6 (sorry i got the labels wrong this is actually Shade 11)
This one is a lovely deep berry pink, quite an understated pink and great for everyday wear, its similar to Mink by Topshop or Faux by MAC but pink based rather than taupe based.

Shade 11 (actually shade 6, sorry for the wrong labels, they're all pink!)
This is such a beautiful colour, if it was a MAC lipstick it would be a frost colour, however as you will see in the swatch below, it is very subtle and a much more modern finish than that 90's lipstick you're thinking of (Posh Spice anyone?)
Here are the swatches:


This photo actually captured the lipsticks really well, as this is pretty much exactly what they are like in real life, some of the other photos, the camera darkened them quite a bit. The only thing i would say is that Shade 16 is a lot brighter in person.



I love the fact that the shades are visible at the bottom, and that they unscrew with a small pot for when you're on the go! However unless you have the shortest nails in the world then putting your finger in them will result in most of it getting stuck under your nail!

A quick note on the packaging before i forget, i really like the packaging, it is plastic - but what else would you expect for a £1 lipstick? I have to say i have no criticisms for these lipsticks, and the price is just the icing on the cake. There are 16 shades in total, and for just £16 you can buy them all! Only £2 more than one MAC lipstick, i think that really goes to show just what great value they are, and the quality between these and MAC isn'd dissimilar.

The lipsticks worn:




Shades 16 and 11 are my personal favourites, which are yours?

Hope that was helpful to anyone on the hunt for a new lipstick,

Buy them online here, but if possible i would recommend you to buy them in store because the colours on the website aren't a good indicator of the actual shade you will get as i discovered with shade 11(it looked much lighter online)

Lauren xoxo







Wednesday 16 January 2013

MAC Freckletone

So this morning i was greeted by the postman with a lovely little parcel from Debenhams, Mac's Freckletone lipstick. It's so nice waking up to a lovely little parcel, if only that happened everyday eh? 



I bought this lipstick because I'm on the hunt for the perfect nude, to me the perfect nude is a colour that  ever so slightly lightens the colour of my lips (mine are quite pigmented so i do like to tone them down a bit on casual days) but still looks incredibly natural. I own Mac's Myth, now when i first bought this product i hated it, and i mean hated it. I bought it a few years back and only last year (late last year, so only really a few months ago) did i  realise my love for it. It is hugely pale, and i cannot just swipe it on and go (i look like a corpse), i have to lightly dab it on and then pat it with my fingers to blend it slightly. I only ever use a tiny amount of Myth because i dont like that ihavenolipsbecauseicoveredtheminfoundationandconcealer look... wow that was a mouthful. 

Freckletone is a warmer version of Myth, maybe two shades darker? When you look at the bullets side by side (for some reason i didnt photograph this comparison....) there is hardly any difference between the two aside from the two being different warmths, myth is significantly cooler, whereas Freckletone is much warmer and therefore works with a much wider variety of skin tones.

I tried to take a photo to get the colour as similar as possible, but my camera just didnt want to co-operate and made it look significantly darker. If you know what colour Myth is, then Freckletone is basically a warm version of that (to give you an idea of what the lipstick bullet looks like colour-wise)

It's more beige/yellow toned irl
The lipstick is in a lustre finish, so it has a lovely natural finish, a slight glossy finish and on your lips it feels like a lip balm. The application of the lipstick is very smooth, it doesnt drag at all, but glides on smoothly. Because it is a lustre it is slightly less pigmented than say a matte or amplified finish lipstick, but this does mean that you can build it up quite nicely. I really do like this lipstick, but because my lips are quite pigmented it doesnt really lighten them that much, instead it works with my lip colour to create a beautiful orange/peachy colour. 

Swatched
And on the lips, im sorry the quality isn't very good, my camera ran out of battery so i had to use the crappy ipad camera, which is such bad quality... also the angle makes me look like a lollipop - my giant head.



This lipstick smells lovely as well, as with all mac lipsticks, however i had never really noticed it before, and then of course when i did notice that this one smelt and thought 'hmm this must be a new thing' i did indeed go around sniffing all my mac lipsticks. Turns out, no, it is not new.... Just me being hugely unaware. Of everything.

Anyway i hope that was useful for anybody who is thinking of getting this lipstick!

Ciao, 

Lauren xoxo




Monday 14 January 2013

Some after christmas shopping.... part one.

Hiiiii, i hope you all had a brilliant christmas, i definitely had a lovely relaxing one! Today i am going to show you a few things that i have bought since christmas in and out of sales. So go and get a cup of tea and a biscuit. This might take a while...


The first thing i bought was the You Beauty advent calendar which was half price after christmas for £29.99, i absolutely loved it! Its full of luxury samples with some being full sized such as the Steam Cream, Yardley body spray, and Mavala nail varnish. Some really great items in it and its a really great way of exploring a whole cluster of luxury brands without breaking the bank! Which is always good. You can still buy it here. I originally said to myself that i would open one everyday throughout January, but that didn't happen... I ended up opening 3 or 4 every hour....What can i say, i have no self-control!



Next up was a mini Mango haul (isn't haul a horrible word?) and possibly the best purchases ever! I had been at the Milton Keynes shopping centre (which i've just learnt has opened a mahoosive Primark!) with mum trying to find her a new coat and bag in the sales, not really planning on falling in love with yet another jacket. i really do have a problem...

Unfortunately the Mango in John Lewis and House of Fraser both didn't have the jacket in the right size, they only had XL. So when i got home i had a quick look online and there it was! I bought it in a size L so that its like an oversized blazer/coat/jacket thing. Its so so warm as its wool and to me seemed like a steal at £29.99! Its the Espiga Jacket which is still available here, they only have a L left in the lighter colour. But to give you an example of sizing I'm a size 10, but usually buy up a size (12) when i buy coats or jackets so that i can layer underneath. 


So as you can see it is oversized, massively comfortable and warm. I also love the fact that you can wear it really casually but also pair it with something dressy and it changes to suit the mood! Brilliant buy in my opinion! It also looks great with a chunky scarf or fur collar.


Next up from Mango was two pairs of earrings, the tassel earrings for £4.99, and the engraved hoop ones for £2.99




The hoop earrings are great, i love the shape i think it makes them look a little bit more chic, and more wearable. The gold engraved detail is a lovely touch and catches the light really nicely. And a bargain for £2.99!




I love these tassel earrings, they are so lovely. The clasp is really nice and just gives it a more expensive look, they are really beautifully made, and would look lovely for a dinner with friends.



The next stop was Topshop, this wasn't in the sale but it was so perfect i didn't really care. When i envision my perfect t-shirt this is pretty much it, i just wish they did it in white as well, fingers crossed they make a white one for summer! It was £16.00 but i got 10% off with my student discount. Its a blue/grey burnout cotton tee, and just the perfect slouchiness. Its so soft and great for layering in winter, or chucking on over shorts for summer. Get it here. I bought mine in a size 12 for the perfect oversized fit.




ahhh, perfect.



And the last thing in this post - though going through everything that i've bought recently makes me realise how much stuff i've bought, and still need to blog about - think Illamasqua, Asos and Debenhams, oh and Daisy Street! That shopping ban is gonna start now...

These were actually a treat to me from my mum, and they are the Henry Holland Superga's, funnily enough when they first came out, i really didn't like them. They were just so tacky. However, when i saw these, they seemed like the perfect spring/summer shoes with a plain outfit. They were half price at £30.00, and i have to admit i love them! They are so fun and will look great with a tan.
Buy them here.



I'll be back soon for the rest of what I bought!



Have a great day guys, I'm off for a dog walk in the snow with Hugo!!



Lauren xoxo

Friday 11 January 2013

Amy's Xmas Presents

Hey guys! So I thought I would share some of my xmas presents with you etc - I'm going to be putting up the ones that I liked the most and that I think you all would like to view etc. Enjoy :) 
Note: Unfortunately I do not know the prices of most of these items as they were all presents. Sorry! Also sorry for the poor state of my carpet which I forgot to vacuum before taking the photos.

Cropped Deep Red Jumper - Topshop
£30
Lady Million eau de parfum by Paco Rabanne
50ml Bottle = £47 (in John Lewis)

Deep Plum/Aubergine-coloured Top
Topshop: £15

Lana Del Rey Paradise Edition CD
Fuel for Life Original by Diesel 
Frizz-Ease Hair Care Products for my Curly Hair
Topshop Bracelet
Clinique Power Lashes Set
We did a secret santa at my uni and these are the presents I received from my friend - I got two lovely decorated notebooks made by her and a cute little animal book mark :) 
Ted Baker Eau de toilette 
These were actually gifts I gave to my sister - I ended up getting her the Diamonds perfume and some body moisturiser - I hand decorated the tags and the wrapping paper - I all I used to decorate was black indian ink and a quill.
Here Is the present I gave my mum which was a new kindle cover - I also hand decorated and drew the decoration etc.

Hope you have enjoyed this blog! sorry it's been a while but I've been very busy with my uni work etc :) Hope you all had a good xmas and new years! 

Amy X