OOTD: New Winter Coat & Romwe Leggings

Hey guys!
Just a quick OOTD to show you my new winter coat. I love it!

Isn't it lovely? It was from H&M, only £39.99, but I can't seem to find it on the website. It was in my store though so if you live in a city with a one-floor H&M it should be there too. I just love how simple it is - often with winter coats I get charmed and distracted by cute additions like ruffles and faux fur when all I really wanted was a classic, simple coat. It's warm and the nipped in waist is nice. I just can't say how much I love. this. coat.

Shirt - New Look (£19.99, here)

Bandeau - Aerie 

Shorts - Forever 21

Leggings - Romwe (£13.05, here)

Shoes - H&M

Don't know why I look so sad!

Ring- Romwe (£6.52, here)

Rings - H&M (£3.99, here)

Bangles - New Look (part of this £5.99 stack)

Hope you enjoy!

S xx

Haul: Lush, Sleek, Romwe, H&M, E.L.F & more!

Hey guys!
I thought that today I'd share a haul with you since I've bought quite a few little things over the past week or so. I've got a more full review coming of the E.L.F polishes and H&M makeup, so watch out for those. Some of the products should be appearing in my FOTDs and OOTDs soon!

So, first things are my new Lush things. I don't use Lush skincare products just because I've had breakout issues in the past, but that doesn't stop me loving their bath products. I picked up two bathbombs, a bath melt and a shower gel.

Snow Fairy Shower Gel (£3.25/100g) - I've heard about this everywhere but never tried it! I'm not sure about it yet - it's very sparkly and pink, and smells like fruity sweets and candyfloss. It might be a bit too full on for me, but having smelled it in the bottle I thought I might give it a go. Have you ever tried it? Any thoughts?

Candy Mountain Bath Melt (£2.35 each) - this is quite girly too; it smells of vanilla and candy floss, and apparently gives you pink bubbles! I think it will be quite sweet but should soften up when diluted with water, and I love the smell of vanilla too.

So White Bath Ballistic (£1.90 each) - I have since since reviews on the website that the smell of this dissipates once it is put in water but I loved the smell of this the minute I picked it up. Hopefully it lasts at least a little in the bath. It just smells so clean and apple-y, it almost reminds me of my clean smelling DKNY Woman perfume. 

Abominaball Bath Bomb (£2.95 each)- this was so cool that I had to get it when I saw it. Checking back online I've heard that it turns the water a couple of different colours which sounds cool. It smells of peppermint, vanilla and orange which is a lovely warm wintry combination. It did break apart on the journey home, but as you can see with how I store them (see below) that wasn't a problem.

I store my Lush bath bombs and melts broken up in little jam jars. This way I don't need to worry about crumbling them up while I run the bath, and I can use as much or little as I like. I never use a full bath bomb or melt for just one bath - some can last for two, some for four. It depends. This way is easier for me, plus it looks pretty.

Rimmel Fix and Perfect Pro Primer 002 (£6.99 - I got it from Superdrug but can't find it online). I was looking for a cheap alternative to my NARS Multi-Protect Primer, which I love but have run out of. It turns out that not many primers kick about in the drugstore department. I wanted something fluid, not mousey as I find my dry skin drags with mousse products. This primer was light yet not watery, it certainly smooths out my skin, helps makeup apply more evenly and last longer. While I can't exactly do a side by side NARS comparison I would say that for the price, this is a great drugstore primer. I would repurchase for sure.

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder (£6.99, here) - I finally gave in and decided to try this super talked about bronzer. I ended up going for the darker of the two available shades, 52, as against my skin 51 looked a little orange. 

Ok, who couldn't love the packaging and display of this bronzer? Looks like chocolate but not in a gimmicky, tacky way. Smells nice (although I don't get the idea that it smells very chocolatey - it's not a very strong chocolate smell to me). And it's a lovely bronzer! Buildable, brightening, non cake and not glittery. I love it! I tried to swatch it but my pictures came out terribly - I'm sure you can find swatches all over the internet. It would seem I'm as hooked as everyone else.

Sleek Brow Kit in Dark (£7.99, here)- I'm a Sleek fan, I have to admit, and when I saw this new release I was quite excited. I haven't shown it on my brows yet because I'm going for a wax next week and until them they are of Wolverine proportions - but this looks like a match for my dark brow colour. I've also been looking for something like this as an alternative to matte shadows or pencil liners. 

As you can see, the mirror's a decent size, and you get a pair of tweezers, an angled brush and a shader brush, as well as your dark brow wax and setting powder. 

Here are the colours swiped three times to show you availability of pigmentation - although it is build able so if you want lighter it can be lighter. The left is the powder, the right is the wax. Perfect I think! I'll use them in a FOTD once my brows and de-haired. 

H&M Eyeshadow Palette (£5.99, not online) - I got this as part of a couple of posts I was thinking about doing about high street store makeup lines (in the vein of whether or not they are terrible). First impressions of this are that it's pretty and has some nice colours in it - I even like the 80s shell pattern of the eyeshadows. I suppose the true test will be pigmentation - is it something you guys would be interested in reading? Leave a comment! I also picked up a nail polish which would be part of the same post:

It's £2.99, here (the shade is No Mambo Jambo) and I love the colour in the bottle. I suppose it just matters if it turns up right on the nails!

These rings are £3.99, although this particular colour combination is sold out online. The colours - a reddy brown and mustard yellow - echo the 70s theme of the season and they are also massive - a recurring theme in my ring collection.

These leggings are from Romwe (£13.05 here) and they'll be in my next OOTD. I love them! They are panels of mesh and polyurethane (not leather) and they look so amazing on the site. I hope they look as good on me! They are currently sold out on the site.

This ring, and 'homage' of sorts to the infamous YSL version, was £6.52 also from Romwe. Again it's sold out currently, and I've put it in a previous OOTD. I haven't taken it off since I got it. Again it's oversized like most of my rings, and I love the big faux turquoise stone.

I also bought a LOT of E.L.F polishes! This will be part of an upcoming post on E.L.F polishes, so look out for that post for swatches and a review. Especially since I can paint over the top of my Gelish nails and remove the polish without removing the Gelish, I'll get on this ASAP. In case you are wondering I got: Matte Finisher; Golden Goddess; Black; Dark Navy; Dark Red; Red Velvet and Dark Glitter Purple. In case you are wondering, the Matte Finisher is £1.50 here, and the other colours are £1.50 here.

So lots more coming soon!

:)

S xx

OOTD: Merci Beaucoup

Hi everyone :)
Thought I'd post a quick OOTD from the new flat. I think you'll agree the lighting (and therefore clarity) is better here, but that I need to go and pick up my tripod. I'll get the hang of it soon, I promise, but I've done my best here!

This is just for hanging out around the house this morning and I'll throw a heavy jumper on later for heading to class.

T-shirt: Urban Outfitters
Red jeans: New Look
Boots: Oasis
Watch: Red Herring
Ring: Romwe


S xx

Gelish Nails Review

Hi everyone!
I promised a Gelish review was upcoming and so, here it is. Yesterday I headed out to my local salon to get Gelish nails. I wanted something long-lasting and hard wearing that would allow my nails to grow, especially as they have become extra weak this past little while what with redecorating and bleaching and painting.
I didn't want to get acrylics - they may work for some but I have heard they leave your nails in less than perfect condition, and since my nails are already pretty soft it's a no-go for me. Then I heard, simultaneously, about Gelish and Shellac.
Gelish is by Hand and Nail Harmony, whereas Shellac is by CND. They are both hard-wearing applications that differ from fake nails. Shellac mixes polish and gel, whereas Gelish mixes gel and pigment. Both claim to last two weeks or more without chipping. The main differences are in price (Gelish was cheaper in all of the salons in my town), availability of colours (I think Gelish has more) and application and removal times. Shellac takes longer to apply (both must be cured with a heat lamp, but Gelish has a shorter curing time) and Gelish takes longer to remove. Both cost money to remove if you go to the salon, but you can also do it at home if you don't mind having slightly less well-done removal.
In the end, I decided to go with Gelish mainly because of the price. I had a gift voucher for my local salon that covered the price of Gelish so I used that. And I'm pretty happy with the results.
The main thing I wanted Gelish for was to give my nails time to grow. Because they are strong and non-chip for up to three weeks, I should be able to see some growth. Unfortunately, I have fan shaped nails which are hard both for application and for strength, but I hope when I go to get this removed to get them shaped and tapered simultaneously. I don't want crazy long nails, but when you see how short mine are you'll understand why they need to grow!

These are my nails prior to the treatment. As you can see they are short, raggedy and stained for a red polish I forgot to put a base coat on before.

In the salon, I picked the dark blue colour 'Caution' - a navy with a shimmer. First, a base coat was applied and my hands cured under a lamp. Then two coats of blue, each cured under the lamp, and finally a top coat, also cured. My nails were dry and shiny right away, meaning I could rummage in my purse to get my keys and my purse without worrying about ruining the manicure. And the shine! It's insane.
I'll post a weekly update as to how my nails are progressing so you can see growth and durability. Another cool thing about these polishes is that if you get bored with the colour, you can apply an ordinary base coat and polish on top of the Gelish and then use a non-acetone remover to take it off, and the Gelish will remain underneath!

Here are my nails post-treatment. It really shows how short they are, right?

This picture shows how shiny they are, I think. Hopefully they will continue to grow over the next couple of weeks.

You can check out Gelish and find out if there is a salon near you here. You can look at Shellac, and find out if there is a salon near you here.
This post was not sponsored, I just genuinely wanted my nails done and had a voucher.

S xx

Makeup Storage: Muji, Kilner, John Lewis etc.

Hey guys - I'm back!
It's been a long couple of weeks, getting the new flat together. We repainted every room, including glossing everything. We stripped the bathroom of woodchip and plastered it. We're still waiting for lino to be laid in the bathroom but other than that it's all done.
I moved the last of my stuff in last night. And now I have my makeup set up the way I want it, I thought I'd show you how I store my beauty products. Lots of other stuff is planned for this week, so expect OOTDs, FOTDs, a review on Gellish and a couple of haul posts, as well as my October favourites (my first ever monthly favourites post!). It's nice to be back.

This, on the far left of my dressing table, is how I store my brushes and jewellery. I keep my brushes in a Kilner jar with the lid removed (the bottom of it is filled with glitter shapes). Next to it is a pink box I use for storing jewellery, with a candle and an owl bank on top. I keep hair ties and kirby grips (or bobby pins) in the mug next to it. In front are two ring boxes where I keep the rings I wear most often (shown are my Lorraine Law, Romwe, ASOS, Primark and Accesorize rings).

This is my nail polish storage. I'd love tiered acrylic storage for them but it's pretty expensive, so in the meantime I've arranged them by colour (the front row being base coats, nudes and golds, and then going backwards darker) in a Models Own box with the lid cut off.

This is my No7 makeup mirror. It lights up - Boots had a deal on where it was only £19.99 so I snapped it up immediately. Next to it are some skin products I use most often - Benefit Dear John Moisturiser, L'Occitane Hand Cream, No7 Cleanse & Care, a Witch Blemish Stick, Rimmel Primer (I'm testing this out as my NARS favourite is currently out of my price range), Mitchum deoderant, Soap and Glory Heel Genius and Scrub Your Nose In It, Lee Stafford Argan Oil, Taylor & Taylor Nail Polish Remover and No7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser.

These are my stackable acrylic drawers from Muji. You can pick them up in sets of two (so I bought two and stacked them) for £10.95, here. On top is a picture frame from Paperchase with a photo of me and Boyfriend. The top drawer hold blushes, bronzers and powders; the second drawer eyeshadow palettes and mascara, the third eyeliners and single shadows, as well as false eyelashes, and the last drawer lip glosses and pencils.

Sorry for the sun reflection. This is my lipstick organiser from John Lewis. You can get it here for £11.50. I have my foundations, concealers and eye primer in the large left part. Cotton pads go in the back, and at the front, my lipsticks (if I buy any more I'll need more storage!). 

On top of my chest of drawers I have an old typewriter, plus my perfume collection. From back left: Marc Jacobs Lola, DKNY Woman, Stella McCartney Sheer, Ralph Lauren Ralph, Marc Jacobs Daisy, Dior Miss Dior Cherie and Dior Pure Poison.

On the other side of my typewriter, I keep my hairbrushes in a Kilner jar, and my Lush bath products in little jam jars. These are from a haul that I will post soon, so check back!

So, what do you think? How do you store your beauty products? Any other ideas would be great to hear about!

S xx

Giveaway WINNER!

Hey guys, it's finally time for me to announce the winner of the giveaway. Here's a little reminder of what the prize is:

And the winner is:

PENNY!

Penny, if you could get in touch (seonaidbee@yahoo.co.uk) within the next 24 hours to confirm your address so I can send you your prize, that'd be awesome. If you don't I'll have to pick someone else :(

Congratulations!

Also - for those of my lovely followers who didn't win this time don't worry - Christmas is coming!

S xx

Giveaway CLOSED

Hey guys just a quick post to remind you that the giveaway is now closed. In other new, my MacBook has stopped working. I'm taking it to ge t looked at tomorrow, and don't worry, the winner will still be announced tomorrow, just via Uni library computers.
S xx

This Week.

Hi everyone!

Just a quick note to say hello to all of my lovely new followers! I'm now in the double digits which is a really big deal for me and I'm so chuffed. So thanks so much for your support, it's lovely.

This week: 

Image Source

Moving. So many boxes, so much cleaning, and now we are moving on to repainting. Blog posts have been less forthcoming than I would like because we have yet to get internet in the flat (and it could take up to 3 weeks!!) but I've been trying. Next week we'll be painting and moving the rest of our stuff in, but I will be here to announce the winner of the giveaway on Tuesday.

If you haven't already, enter the competition by clicking here, or over on the sidebar >. The competition is international and ends tomorrow at midnight GMT. So this is really your last chance-ish! 

Good luck, thanks for being patient, and I'll be back properly soon.

S xx

Lovely Lipstick: YSL Rouge Volupte in Sensual Silk (#2)

Hey guys!
Sorry - I know I've been a bit absentee. I was supposed to be able to still blog this weekend as we moved in to the new flat but...well, the new flat is a mess. We're subletting, so we have to move and store all the previous occupant's things, and then we realised that most of the stuff in the flat (cooker, kitchen cupboards, walls, everything) was dirty. Like, I had to clean the oven 3 times with industrial strength oven cleaner dirty. So while we bleach and shampoo-vacuum and repaint (as well as stripping the bathroom of carpet and wallpaper!) I've been feeling a bit harassed. And exhausted. And disheartened. It's turning out to be a lot more work than I imagined, and I have an essay due on Monday and I haven't been able to shower for two days...So as you can see, blogging until we are totally sorted might be a bit of a problem.
HOWEVER, I do have a quick post today on this lovely, gorgeous lipstick that I bought prior to moving in because it is so pretty and I may have fallen in love with it a little. I will also still be around over the weekend and next week to announce the giveaway winner (Tuesday!) although I have to come back to my mum's to use the internet.

This lipstick is beautiful. I'm sure you've seen them all over the blogging community, but every time I see the packaging I am reminded of how nice it is. Shiny and feminine and just...pretty. Something to display on your dressing table, for sure.
I picked the colour Sensual Silk (#2) - I'd been dithering about whether to get the popular Opera Rose or not, but I loved this colour at first swatch.

It's just such an easy, wearable pinky-nude. I feel that maybe on some skintones it might be too light and look like foundation-lip, but it works fine for me.
The formula is lovely to feel. It applies so smoothly, and has such a creamy texture, that it's just a case of swiping on. It's not incredibly pigmented so a couple swipes is better for colour but really the formula just makes it no fuss.
However - the one downside of such a creamy texture is that it does wear off and you have to reapply. I also feel like this colour will get used up pretty quickly - which is a bummer because of the price (£22, here). I guess the point of buying nice things is to use them, though!
Here it is on my lips. What do you think? Are there any colours from the Rouge Volupte range you'd be willing to pay for?

Wish me luck with the moving in!

ALSO- Don't forget to enter my giveaway! It ends at midnight GMT on Monday the 17th, so there's only a few days left. Click here to enter and don't forget to leave me a link if you tweet or blog about it :)

S xx

EOTD: MUA Pearl Shade 12

Hey guys!
Just a quick update-type post. I'm busy this weekend as I'm moving into a new flat (exciting!) but I have a bunch of posts queued up and planned to share with you while I'm doing that. I will also be showing you my makeup storage as soon as everything is set up in the new flat.
Today I wore some eyeshadow that I have fallen in love with and I wanted to share it with you.

This is the MUA Pearl Eyeshadow in Shade 12. On it's own! It costs £1, from Superdrug, but the pearl effect means that it has lots of different colours in it. The way I applied it was as a wash over the lid and slightly above the crease, and then layering it up in the centre of the lid to bring up more of the gunmetal colour. It has beautiful silver, grey, and brown tones in it with a bit of shimmer, and means that if you are really in a hurry you only need one eyeshadow!
Also sorry that you can see my contact edges in this photo - I think it looks a bit freaky.

Loads more coming up for you soon, including a haul and obviously my makeup storage.

FINALLY- Don't forget to enter my Halloween Makeup Giveaway - including Barry M, Sleek and Models Own. Click here to enter!


S xx

L'Occitane Magazine Freebie: First Impressions

Hello my lovely readers!
Just a quick update to let those of you who haven't seen it yet know - in this months UK edition of Marie Claire you get a 30ml (travel size) L'Occitane Shea Butter Dry Skin Hand Cream (usually £7.50, here) - or you can also get one of the limited edition hand creams.
I chose to pick up the original - I've always wanted to try it and it's a great freebie for right now since the cold weather can do terrible things to your hands.
On first impressions I'm really impressed - you get quite a bit of product. I have to confess I love the smell of Shea Butter - it's just light and elegant and warm. The texture of this is thick but not oily or overly creamy. It spreads pretty well - I find that this is enough to use for both hands:

My hands instantly feeled soothed and softer after rubbing it in. And they smelled great. Obviously it's early days so I can't tell if they do anything to improve the skin but I'll certainly be using the travel size until it's done. Right now I'm doing my hands once in the mornings and once in the evenings, although I'll probably use it after work as well. I like that it's not scented with anything flowery or anything, as I sometimes find that heavily scented hand creams cause a bad reaction in my hands (feels like swelling?).
This is really lovely, and if it keeps being as good as it is now, I'll definitely repurchase. Also, don't you just love the packaging? Something about it just really appeals to me. It's not too clinical and medical looking, but it's not all floral and ultra-girly either. Sophisticated and classic, I think.

Don't forget to enter my Halloween giveaway, which ends on the 18th October at midnight GMT. Click here to enter. Don't forget that you have to subscribe to my GFC feed AND comment the post with your GFC name and 'enter me'. Unless you do both it won't count. Go on and enter for the chance to win Models Own, Sleek and Barry M products! 


S xx