The perfect red lips

Evening all, today i wanted to talk about red lips and how to get the perfect one for you. I have been on the hunt for the perfect red lipstick for my skin tone for a while now and i think i have found the right one for me. In this post i will do two quick reviews on my favourite reds.

The first one i have  will talk about is the Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in the colour Rouge. This for me was a very bright red and it has a slight blue undertone. This was the first red lipstick i bought and i fell in love with it right away. It is a very bright and pigmented colour with amazing moisture and depth. It is the kind of red that i think suits fancy occasions and certain looks because it is very much the iconic bright, in-your-face red lip that was worn in the good old days. It has Shea Butter and Vitamins A, C and E in it and you can definitely notice this because when you apply it to the lips it simply glides right on and keeps your lips nice and moist. One of the best things about this is that it doesn't have that drying effect that other lipsticks can have, i expect that this is due to the Shea butter in it and it really does make it all the better. There is nothing worse than having to layer your lips with lipstick, lip balm and lip gloss.

One of the very few cons to the Elizabeth Arden lipstick has to be its longevity. No sooner am i having to reapply it after i have just put it on. The moment you eat or drink anything you will find your lips have smeared either over the lip lines or have completely worn off. It's not a good look so i do recommend applying this lipstick right before you leave the house and after you have put your clothes on! It transfers like bitch.

Overall i love this lipstick. The texture and consistency is good, it's only downside is the length of time you can wear it before having to do touch ups. If you want a long lasting lip however i would recommend my first favourite lipstick and that would be the Cheryl Cole one.

I have been thinking alot about investing in a lip top coat. I think this particular lipstick would benefit with having one and i would probably wear it alot more if i knew i only had to touch up once or twice throughout the day. I bought this lipstick a while back and it cost me £19. If you are like me and think that this can be an expensive product to use for trial and error then i would recommend going in store and asking them to help you find the perfect red. I did this when i visited a Liverpool Debenhams and this is what the outcome was. I am thrilled with it but i think i reserve this for fancy dos rather than the everyday casual red lip.

You can purchase this lipstick online from Debenhams just now and it is on sale for £17.10. I would really consider buying this lipstick in a different colour as i really do love everything about it and i would love to compare it to see if it was just the Rouge that had trouble staying put. I should also note here before i move on how pretty the packaging is. It really is gorgeous and that is one of the best features i like in lipsticks, the packaging makes looking good all the better!

My all time favourite red (for the moment) has to be the L'Oreal Colour Riche 297 Red Passion Cheryl Cole limited edition lipstick. It is the perfect rich red colour and again has a blue undertone. I find the undertone is best suited for me because i find it makes my teeth slightly whiter rather than yellow looking like other brands i have tried in store.

As you can see from the below picture the lipstick looks a bright shocking red. These picture where taken in natural daylight and next to my white bedding. What you can't pick up from camera is the sparkles and chunks of glitter that it has. When you apply it it is noticeable however not in a very young girly unappealing sort of way. I am not usually a fan of glittery lip products but i think in this lipstick you need it to add depth and tone to your lips. The blue undertone really sets off my skin type/tone and the glitter adds to the look whether it's day or night. This is the type of lipstick that can be worn throughout the day and i don't feel like it is out of place.

I found it difficult to get my hands on this product because i jumped on the band waggon quite late. I ended up having to wait until i saw a seller on eBay selling it but the wait was worth it. I paid £5 including P+P which is a bargain!  The packaging on this is also nice. I like that it is gold and L'Oreal is a really good brand in itself so i find that this Cheryl lipstick has been the best lip product i have bought in a while and it wasn't even that expensive! Sometimes cheaper and drugstore products are better.

The colour on the left is Elizabeth Arden and the one on the right is the Cheryl Cole lipstick. Both look pretty similar and this is due to the undertones. Again i prefer a blue one due to my skin type. The one on the left is a brighter and more vivid red, like a letterbox whereas the one to the right is darker and more wearable. Unfortunately you cannot see the sparkles in this picture due to the lighting however they do add to the colour of Cheryl's one and give your lips a little something extra.

So all in all it depends how bright you like your everyday red lips to look. If you like them quieter throughout the day i would go for Cheryl's one but if you like loud and in your face red then Elizabeth is the way to go.

I'm sure you all now how to apply your red lipstick but if you don't here's a quick rundown of how i apply mines:

• First exfoliate my lips, i use Bubblegum flavour from Lush.
• Then i apply lip balm to my lips once i have done my foundation and set it with powder. I then apply the rest of my makeup before i do my lipstick.
• Next i rub in the remaining lip balm if it hasn't all soaked into my lips and then i apply a light layer of foundation and then set it with powder.
• I then apply my lip liner onto the lines of my lips and then lightly fill in the rest of my lips using it.
• Then using a lip brush i apply my chosen lipstick and then blot it off with a tissue.
• Reapply and do the same process again.
• Then for the last layer i apply and leave on my lips.
• Normally my lips will be moisturised enough however if it is winter or i have chapped lips i will apply a very light layer of lip balm or add gloss if i fancy it. Now you are good to go.

These are the basic rules to get a long lasting lipstick no matter what the colour. I hope this review and guide has been helpful and if you have found any better red lipsticks out there please leave a comment!

Removing Gel Nails

Gooday bloggers! :) I wanted to do a quick post about how to remove gel nail varnish. It doesn't matter if you have applied it yourself, like me, or had it done professionally, the method i use has worked with both. I hope this has been a helpful post and let me know if you have a different way of doing it.

I would like to share with you that i have only had my gel nails on for 5 days, i was too impatient to wait 3 weeks before i tried out a new colour, but here is what my nails looked like after 5 days:

I think they still look really fresh and due to the bad lighting you cant see just how shiny they still are but they still look like day 1 manicured nails. I normally notice that i have light chipping around day 3 and by day 5 i have major chipping and nails in dire need of repainting so i think gel nails are going to be a god send!

First things first, you will need the following:

Nail varnish (with acetone)
Nail file
Cotton pads
Tin foil
and a wooden nail stick or a professional gel nail removing tool



Some things are missing from the picture, i noticed this AFTER i took it :( lol

There are several ways to do this and I am going to talk you through the best and easiest way for me.

First of all you can only do one hand at a time but luckily this is only a 15 minute job on each hand so it wont take too long.

Start by filing lightly away the shiny coating of your gel nail varnish. This is the only part of this process that can damage your nails so be careful not to file away too much.

Then get your tinfoil prepped by tearing it in to roughly 1 inch thick strips. Then soak a cotton pad in acetone nail varnish and cover the nail with the cotton pad securing the pad in place with the foil, just like in the picture below.

It doesn't have to be neat just as long as acetone nail varnish is touching the nail and the gel will soak it up. If you do not file the shiny top nail coat away first it will take longer for the acetone to take affect therefore remember to do it! :)

Leave your hand like this for 15 minutes and then remove one gel nail at a time using the wooden stick or nail tool. You want to gently scrape the gel in motions away from you. It should just flake off however if you have applied too much gel nail primer then it can be slightly harder in some areas to scrape the gel off, if you find this just pop on your cotton pad again (put more acetone in it) and leave until the very end - you should find it much easier to come off now.

Once you have removed the nail varnish your nails can feel a bit rough, just use a nail buffer to smooth the nail down and your nails should feel as good as new.

I apply cuticle cream to my nails and a heavy dose of moisturiser to help revitalise my hands and nails after having them soaked in acetone. Acetone does not damage your nails or skin in any way but it can dry them out, but it's nothing a bit of moisturiser can't sort out!

Thank you for reading and i hope you have found this quick blog post helpful!

NOTD - Gel Polish #2

So a quick NOTD post for today :) I took off my gel nails the other day and opted for a days lying time to get them back to normal and then i decided to try the Purple Orchid on my nails by SensatioNail.

It turned out like this:

The colour is very strange. It looks like the above picture when you look at it in person in natural day light, however when the light hits it it changes colour. In some pictures it looks blue and then in others a deep purple. I love dark nails but i don't normally opt for purple so i feel the colour is too dark. My darkets nail colour is usually black and then it varies in shades of pink sofor me i feel it is a bold colour and i am really undecided if i like it or not. I would love to hear your thoughts on it so please leave me your commets in the box below.

You can see from this picture above that the nail varnish has small blue glitter particles and the colour of the nails look completely different in this picture than from the one at the beginning of this post, it looks almost navy blue.

Anyway thank you for reading! :)

Forever 21 Haul

I have just received my online order from Forever21!! I was sooo excited to get it as it was my first ever purchase from this store. I have heard so many amazing things about it and i have watched so many hauls on YouTube which has involved people buying jewellery from here and so i have finally joined in on the action.

I bought mostly Jewellery but i also bought a blazer. I am simply in love with it! I have been on the lookout for a plain everyday black one to replace my badly worn one that i have had for about 3 years now. My new one fits like a glove and really does my curves justice. I ordered a size up as i thought i would need it being that type of store and i definitely done the right thing.

The below picture really does not do it any justice what so ever but here it is:

It is a really pretty black, one buttoned blazer with a stripey sleeve lining. It also has light shoulder padding which really does give you the most amazing figure. I paid under £25 for this. To purchase this please click here.

I also purchased a top  however i didn't like it on and i will be returning it nut if you want to see it hen click here. It looks amazing on the model and for this top i never went up a size i ordered my own therefore i think if you went up a size it would fit a treat, however the material for me is the biggest et down. It is very clingy and i prefer tops like this to be tshirt material rather than silky soft and clingy. I was really disappointed as i really did love the whole look of the top, again the picture they have does not do it justice, it looks much better in person.

Moving on to my jewellery..I purchased quite a few pieces and that was due to the 30% off sale they where having when i placed my order. I'll add now that i also got free shipping because i spent over £50, I did really well for only spending £54!

 

 

 

The first thing i saw was the peach and gold stone ring. I had actually seen Elle (all that glitters 21) show it in one of her haul videos and when i seen it i fell in love with it. The jewellery itself is so ridiculously cheap that you would think it is horrible quality and cheap tat but i can assure you that it's not! It's anything but! I was so surprised at how it looked. It looked like all the other jewellery i have previously bought from Accessorize.

 

I then fell in love with the cross necklace. Both that and the owl are long chain necklaces and both are gorgeous. The cross necklace in particular looks expensive in person. I would have paid about £15for it rather than the £4.90 it was. The owl necklace has a pretty white lace bow on one side of the chain but it has been cut out of the picture due to my shoddy camera work - sorry!

 

I am also loving the earrings. Both the ring and the earrings are perfect for setting any plain black outfit off. I wore both today with jeans and a black sheer lace blouse. It really set it off and added something to an otherwise boring outfit.

 

I purchased the pyramid peach and gold stretchy bracelet to go with my new Michael Kors watch. My mum has bought me it for my Christmas and i am preparing for some layering arm candy and have started buying nice gold bracelets.

 

I really cannot wait to buy more things from Forever21. I wanted so many more things but i really had to limit myself lol. But now i am returning the top i will work in a few extra goodies!

 

So all in all i am so pleased with everything i have got and it really doesn't look as cheap as you would imagine it to be!

 

Thank you for reading and i would love to read any reviews or hauls you have done with forver21 so please link them to me in the comments below! :)

 

 

Haul

I love a bit of shopping and when i went on my yearly Christmas shopping date with my mum and auntie i couldn't help but pick up a few things up for myself.

 

The thing i am most in love with is my YSL lipstick. I have been wanting one for ages and i finally caved in and spent the £23.50 on it. It is a Rouge Volupte Lipstick in the colour #29 Rose Opera. It is the perfect girly pink shade that can be built up and left for a vivid pink or played down to an everyday light pink shade. I am in love with it!  

 

I also bought the Masterpiece mascara (which is not in the picture) along with the Creme Puff powder from Max Factor and because i spent over £15 i got the free gift which consisted of a lipstick, nail varnish, mini mascara and a brown eye shadow that all fit into the cute square box in the picture.

 

I also had to buy some essentials such as my face cream and my cleanser from Clarins but i also treated myself to the coconut hand wash by TreacleMoon. It smells amazing! I love any coconut scent and had to buy this when i seen it.

 

The last things i bought where from Tesco. They where doing 3 for 2 on hair care products and when i seen the hairspray i use was in it i snapped it up. It is normally £6 to £7 for 1 of these but it was only £4.80ish for 1 and it was 3 for 2!! Absolute bargain! I even opted to try the new heat protecting spray because of this bargain :)



 

I bought many other things in this shopping trip but unfortunately they where all Christmas presents :( But i do look forward to sharing my online haul with you guys when it arrives, i bought everything on the same day and i will do an online haul as soon as everything turns up :)

Thank you for reading!

Skin Care Routine

Hello lovelies,

Today i have decided to talk about my skin care routine. This is a very hard subject to cover for me because i have mostly used the same products for about a year and a half however i have recently been adding new products to my daily skin care routine.

The brand however that i have not faltered from for the past year and a half has been Clarins. I have previously tried Clinique, No 7 and many others however i think i have found the brand that is for me. Clarins has such a great, wide range of products that no matter what i need they seem to have. Whether its Tinted moisturiser mixed with my favourite daily moisturiser or beauty flash balm that helps to reduce spots and blemishes.

I will start by showing you a picture of the products i use from Clarins on a morning and night daily routine:

I use two cleansers. The first is the Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Shea Butter (this is for sensitive skin/dry skin - i have both). I use this to wash my face with. I use my Clarinsonic with this before aplying the Cleansing Milk, again for dry/sensitive skin. I apply this with a cotton pad. The Clarins lady said this could be washed off or left on to give added moisture. I leave mines on as i wash off the first product. I follow this up with a toner again for sensitive skin. Before finally applying the Hydraquench daily moisturiser for normal/dry skin. The moisturiser for very dry skin is awful! I have previously tired this and it is more like a nigh cream. It is extremely thick and cloggy and i broke out in a lot of spots when i accidentally bought the wrong one.

This is my typical day and night routine however within the past few weeks i have been trying a variety of different products because i have broke out in a lot of spots, some of which i think may be acne as the are lumps under my skin and have not came to a head or reduced in size for 3 weeks. I have never previously suffered from acne nor had any spots like this. I am 20 and have only ever suffered from the odd whitehead or red itchy spot that has lasted 2 days max. In light of this i have tried Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant after i have used the face wash with my clarisonic. I thought that using the Clarisonic would open up my pores and allow the microfoliant to work and at first it appears to be but i wont be able to give a full review for a few weeks yet.

Clarins however is a great brand, the Hydraquench moisturiser is a god send as it really is moisturising but not greasy and doesn't make your skin oily throughout the day unlike other brands i have tried. I first moved to this brand as i suffered from terrible dry skin. I would be flaking all around my nose as soon as i put my make up on, it was a very horrible look and since switching to them i have had very little problem with dry skin. I also suffer from Psoriasis and this product has not affected me in any way, it doesn't irritate it.

The only draw back to Clarins is the price tag, everything except the cream is about £17, the cream is £35. I find it cheaper to buy some of the products on eBay as they can be up to 70% cheaper if you can find the right sellers at the right time. If not then i have to pay full price. It's not ideal but the product itself is a miracle worker for me so i do advise at least giving it a go for one round of everything.

Even my friends have asked me what skin care products i use because normally (up until about 3 weeks ago) i have a very clear complexion so i have converted them to Clarins.

Thank you for reading.

Essie Top Coat

Hello my lovelies!

I have been dying to write a post on this top coat for a while. I have tried to many and i have read how so many other people swear by Seche Vite however i have to say for me Essie has been the perfect top coat. It really hads such an amazing long lasting shine to my nails and it helps to prevent chipping.. Ordinary nail varish that doesnt state that it can last days without chipping can stay on my nails for 5 or 6 days without the hint of a chip however without it and when i used OPI's top coat my nails would chip within 2 to 3 days.

For me the chip factor is a major thing when choosing a top coat. The shine it gives is just a bonus. I havent tried Seche Vite but when i run out of Essie that is next of my wish list.

I couldnt tell you more how horrible the OPI one is. It gets very thick and clumpy and takes hours to dry properly. It's nothing like Essie. The Essie one helps to dry your nails faster and it is very runny. A little goes a long way.

 

As you can see i have used a lot of this product.

 

But if you are unsure, like i was when i first purchased this, of what top coat to try next then i would recommend this, it helps to dry nails faster, provides a great shine and doesnt dry out and become clumpy even when you are halfway through the bottle! :)