Getting Opi...

So I've been getting Groovy with some Opi nail polishes lately, and I just thought I'd do a quick post to show the colours :)


First one is Rosy Future, which is a lovely rosy sheer pink, that has a sort of purple hue to it. Sorry the pics don't do it any justice, I think I'm in need of a new camera, plus the lighting in my room is rubbish, so could be that.
I believe this polish to be from the 'Soft Shades" collection.

Sorry about the next pic, I don't want to show my toes, but this combo is so pretty that I had to show it.


I popped two coats of Parlez-Vous Opi?, which is a lovely, beautiful, gorgeous colour described as a smokey violet.
I'd say its a sort of smokey, grey'ish purple colour.
I just really love this colour, and I need to add it's from the 2008 "France" collection.
I popped the 2 coats on, and I then popped Rosy future on top, to bling it up a bit with some shimmer, and it turned out pretty well.

I'm actually happy to see my toes now, when they pop out of their socks.

I love getting Nude!

So recently I have noticed in magazines that the trends for Spring/Summer 2010 is NUDE!!
I really love this trend, everything is toned down, clothes are floaty, lacey and chiffony!
Then the makeup is totally natural.
Such as from Valentino.
(see pic below)


This is all good for me as I like a more subtle makeup look, as when and if I apply too much I look like I'm in drag or something.

So the other week I ordered Paul&Joe's Moisturizing Foundation Primer in Dragee 01, which is for skin tones with pink in them.
There's also Miel 02 for yellow toned skins and Creme 03 for all skin tones.



(Paul&Joe Moisturizing Primer in Drage 01)




I fancied a nice primer which could be worn on its own without foundation, that would give my pale, winter skin some colour without being, heavy or obvious to pull off the whole natural thing.
Well this primer does just that.
It hides pores nicely, and minimizes the look of fine lines (which I'm now getting :( ) and it keeps my skin pretty luminous for hours.
I've worn it most days for 2 weeks now, and it is a really nice primer, I'm quite smitten with it.
It doesn't feel at all siliconey like other primers e.g Philosophy's Supernatural and GOSH primer. It's kept my skin feeling nice and moisturised through this harsh, cold weather we've had here in the UK recently, and it doesn't feel oily either.
If I need a bit more coverage for a night out or something I can apply Bobbi Brown's Skin Foundation on top and it will go just perfectly :)

So here's some pictures of me wearing the Primer, so you can see what it's like.

This is me from Wednesday

And this one is of me from today (Friday).

In both pics I used Paul&Joe's moisturizing Primer, YSL touch Eclat and Mac's Pink Swoon Blusher.
On the eyes I used Mac E/s in Chamomile and Modelette (Chamomile all over and Modelette just on the lid and lower lid).
Maybelline's Colossal Mascara on Lashes.
And just Lip Balm on the lips.

It takes under 10mins and it's an easy look for when you really have to rush out.

To add to my nude obsession I've been wearing nude nail polish, I've been using OPI's 'Tickle My France-y' from Opi's French collection.
It's quite an old collection, but I love it. I have a few nail polishes from this collection, it probably has to do with my love of all things French.



To further my current obsession I have also bought a nude Shrug :)


To keep myself optimistic after having all this Cold weather I thought I'd buy something ready for Spring/Summer and this Shrug from Topshop was perfect.
It's Nude, lacey (on the sleeves) and floaty.
It will be really nice to wear when the weather is hot, but not hot enough.
I can't wait to wear it!! Bring on Summer!!!

Mac Warm and Cosy with a tiny bit of lace loving.

Today my Mac order came, despite all the snow (think I need to have a big white van to get through this snow).
Anyway the other day I got carried away with Macs Warm and Cozy collection and bought quite a lot, the most I've ever bought from one collection, usually I buy one or two things.
So here's what I bought, plus one Love Lace item.

I think I'll leave the eyeshadows and lip products to speak for themselves as they are gorgeous, natural, warm, understated colours, which is what I totally love.



I bought both Care Blend Essential oils, as I really love essential oils I think they have so many benefits physically and mentally. The oils come in: Sweet Orange and Lavender and Grapefruit and Chamomile.

By candlelight has got to be my favourite MSF, its a gorgeous dusky, golden pink. It's very frosty, but looks more glowy and natural'ish when on.

And here's me wearing the new products, trying to be warm and cozy in my grey jumper as it's freezing out.
I just went for a very natural look with just some YSL touch eclat under the eyes, and maybelline colossal on the lashes, and my new Mac stuff :)

Last but not least is the Love Lace eye kohl in Sense Of Style.
Its quite an intense marine blue/ black shade.
When you pull the pencil out it looks quite blue, but when applied it's darker than you'd expect.


I have to say I'm really pleased with this collection, I've been leaning more towards Bobbi Brown lately, but this collection has dragged me back to Mac again.

Mondays Boots Haul

I popped to Boots on Monday in need of something, after being stuff in the house from all the snow.
So my dad popped me into the nearest little town, and I bought a few little things :D

First thing I bought was something I'd fancied before Christmas, and that was a Ruby& Millie palette. It was reduced down to £7.50 from £15. Bargain. They're really nice pigmented eyeshadows too, pretty good quality. I can imagine getting a couple of looks out of this palette, I'm excited to play with it.


The colours don't have names, but they range from a champagne gold, to a smokey silvery grey.



I bought the Maybelline Colossal mascara, I've had my L'oreal one for a couple of months and I needed a change. I put some on today, only one coat and it defined all my lashes nicely.

I also bought the L'oreal Elvive Re-nutrition Night serum, my hair is feeling a bit dry from all this cold weather.
I used some one monday night, and last night and it does make my hair feel softer, but I don't really get much shine from it. It is lightweight however, and does make it feel nourished.

Hope you're all ok, and thanks for reading :D

Fave Makeup of 2009

In 2009 my love for natural makeup and sultry looks became stronger, so I liked to look as though I hadn't tried much (even though I had).
So I didn't try much in the way of colour, and I just liked to keep everything simple.


I have quite bad dark circles (it's inherited) and my nose not being the smallest casts even more of a shadow.
So I needed a concealer that covered my dark circles without masking them and making them look more noticeable and for me Macs Moisturecover concealer did just that.
It has a nice, light consistency which can be layered up, and doesn't just lie in fine lines, which as I am getting older seem to notice more :(


Next product was just a bit of a fluke, I was playing around with makeup in boots one day and I tried a bit of Bourjois 10 hour sleep effect on my hand, and it was so soft, light and smooth that I was sold.
I thought that as soon as I'd worn it over a week that I'd get bored of it, but no this one seems to come into my makeup routine quite often.
The colour really suits my skin (I bought it in rose clair 72) and it's not at all heavy and blends easily. It's worth the £8 something I paid.

For my birthday I had Bobbi Browns Skin foundation, which is a really gorgeous foundation.
It's pretty light, but I sometimes mix a little bit of moisturiser with it if I'm having a good skin day, and it still looks good.
It hides the large pores on my nose well, and creates a nice smooth, even complexion.
I know if I'm having a bad skin day I can rely on this.

I like to have a couple of concealers for different things, and I find Bobbi Browns Creamy concealer kit to be quite effective at hiding my birthmark, and the little pot of loose powder on the bottom of the little stacker helps set the concealer to give it staying power.
I do however find it a bit heavy around the eye area sometimes, but saying that it's really good at hiding the odd spot.



Next is my weak spot, BLUSHER!!
If I don't wear any blusher I feel naked, blusher awakens my complexion and makes me look alive.
I do like matching the tone of my blusher to either my lipstick for some reason, it looks more natural.

The first blusher is YSL Blsuh Variation 13, which when you look at it you think "how on earth is that going to look natural", but when you put it on it gives a lovely plum glow, which looks oddly natural.

Mac's Springsheen was a blush I'd eyed up for ages, and in the end I gave in went skint and bought it, and I'm so glad I did.
It gives a really lovely natural peach colour, it contains shimmer and instead of looking harsh the shimmer looks glowy, so you get a nice healthy glow.

The item isn't really a blusher, it's more of a blusher/bronzer. I use it as a bronzer as I have very fair skin and there's enough pink in it to make it look natural on me, and make me look less corpse'ish.
I use this most days underneath my blusher, just to set it off a bit.



My favourite eye shadows of the year were from the Bobbi Brown palettes.
I have the Shimmering nudes palette and earth metal palette.
The shimmering nudes allows you to create a glowy, smokey eye, and the earth metal palette contains golds, a silver, forest green and brown which you can create a more earthy metallic look with.

I love these palettes as they're so pigmented and easily blended, they're a dream to apply.
Plus the earth metal palettes contains lipsticks that are really handy if you can't be bothered searching for a matching lippie, or really handy when traveling.



I have a thing for lipsticks and lipglosses, they can make you look groomed and made up in a matter of seconds.
I don't like drying products on my lips as I like to keep them as moisturised and plump as possible.
I don't like products that are too gloopey or sticky either, and the products I keep in my handbag and reach out for most are the above, which are:
Macs cremesheen shy girl, Bobbi Brown's rich color gloss in dusty rose, Mac cremesheen glass in melt in your mouth, Givenchy's gloss interdit 02 and Macs Mimmy from the hello kitty collection.



My mascara of the year is L'oreal's double extension mascara.
Before this my HG mascara was Mac's Plush Lash, but after trying this I couldn't go back.
It's double ended and contains the famous renewal serum on one end, which is meant to make your lashes grow longer.
It then has a lovely black, liquidy mascara on the other end, which makes it easier to get those lashes in the place you want to.

And they're my fave products of 2009, wonder what products I will love in 2010.

My fave hair products of 2009

I just thought I'd mention my favourite hair products of 2009.

As you all know I suffered from hair loss in 2009, which was quite distressing and seems to have been brought on by stress.
I've noticed that since I cut my stress levels and have been taking things easy my hair has stopped falling (I'm scared if I say it's all good that it's going to jinx it), but yeah I have more strands coming back now and you can see them sticking up, and they're all different lengths.


I think that one thing that really did help with my hair was regular massages with essential oils.

Every night (or every two nights) about an hour or two before washing my hair I'd prepare a blend of jojoba, castor, rosemary, cedarwood, geranium and lavender oils.

I'd mix around (I didn't actually measure the amounts) 1 1/2 teaspoon of jojoba oil, 1/2 of castor oil (as it's very thick) and say 3 drops of each of the essential oils.
I'd mix them all together in a little plastic dish, then apply to my scalp and work it in.
I'd massage my scalp for about 10mins at a time, making sure to give the scalp a good, firm pressure.
I'd then leave it on my head for an hour or two before washing.
I did this for a few months and well my hair has been growing faster than usual, and I've had several cuts and it's grown back quite quickly.

Right, enough of that and to the products I loved in 2oo9.


I've been using Kerastase Oleo-relax serum for about 4years now and it's one of the only serums I've sworn by and keep coming back to.

For my hair it keeps it moisturised, shiny and tame, my hair can go crazy in the rain but this keeps it from looking like a complete frizzy mess.

However because of the lack of hair it could make it look a little lank, so I decided to try the colour version, which is chroma Riche.
It does seem to suit my fine, flyaway hair and protects my colour, but I like the shine oleo-relax gives me.
I'd recommend chroma riche for finer hair though, as it doesn't make my hair all lanky and it's good if you want your hair to have some volume.

To another Kerastase product and it's Chroma Thermatique, which is meant to protect coloured hair from electrical appliances.
As red hair colour fades quicker than other colours I need something that will give my colour staying power, so I don't have to keep putting dye on my hair.
This cream absorbs easily and quickly into the hair, without a sticky residue (you don't even know its there).
I'm not sure how much it protects your hair, I think the scientists would have to prove it, but I've had far fewer split ends since using this stuff, so I'd recommend it.



To yet another Kerastase product now, which is the Bain Miroir 1, which is a shine revealing shampoo for coloured hair.
It's a nice creamy shampoo, which smells nice and lathers up nicely.
It feels moisturising without the build up which some shampoos give.
Best of all it keeps my colour fresh.

I popped into a hair dressers about 2months ago, and explained about my hair loss and lack of volume, and the hairdresser looked and felt my hair and recommended Tigi's Rockaholic Livin the dream daily conditioner.
He understood that my hair needed something that wouldn't leave a residue, and would give volume while protecting the red colour, and this conditioner does just that for me.
It also contains green tea, goji berry, gotu kola and multi-minerals, which was really appealing and it also has a lovely fragrance.

The product that saved my life through the lack of volume I had was Aveda's phomollient.
It's a lovely, light, foam mousse and it doesn't have a stiff feeling, nor a horrible built up.
It smells lovely,because it contains honey (think of The body shops honey water from years ago).
Also I don't like blow drying my hair very often and this mousse gave volume and thickness without having to get out the old blow dryer.

I have two other sections of the products I loved in 2009 which are going to to makeup and skincare, which I will do as soon as.

Hope you're all well, and a Happy New Year to you all :D x

Xmas Pressies: Modalu Bag and Wallet

Hey everyone, hope you all had a great Christmas, and haven't gotten too plump like I have :P

Haven't posted for a while now, but I though I'd do a quick one with my favourite pressies off my parents.

I have a thing about Modalu Bags, I know they're not Chloe, Dior or Gucci or anything, but to me I like them because they're not too expensive and they're excellent quality.

I got a nice black Naomi Shoulder Bag and the Broadway Large wallet, which is really spacey for all that cash I don't have,hehe.

I really recommend that you check out this designer as they do really nice bags.

I have two Broadway clutches from last year, and another clutch that has a bow sort of design (I'll post some pics next time I post). I also coloured my hair back to the old auburn shade before Christmas, as my hair went from ginger to blonde, and even though I'm a natural blonde I don't think it suits me and I feel happier with a dark red, for some reason.

I didn't really get much in the way of makeup for Christmas :(
My mum said I had too much and wouldn't buy me any, dammit.
Never mind, I can get me some of those new Mac collections when they come out :)

I did however buy a Mac Pink Swoon blush before xmas which I totally love (I'm wearing it in the pic above, not sure if it shows though), and I think it's going to be my new HG blush.


I did also get some boots from Dune from my parents, but I'll have to post about them tomorrow, as I haven't a pic of me wearing them, and if I was to take a pic now it would look weird because I'm in my PJs :)

Anyway must get to bed, it's another late one for me,hehe.

New hair colour!

Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing great and ready for Christmas (I'm not ready).

Last week I decided I wanted my hair to be a bit lighter, I felt like the darkness along with the darkness outside was bringing my mood down, so I decided to buy some home kits and do it myself.

Well that was quite a big mistake, I'm not going to lie.
I thought I'd bleach the colour I already had out, and start again but I ended up with patchy blonde and orange hair :/
So I then popped a dark auburn colour on and it kinda turned out how I wanted it, thank god.

So here is the finished product :P hehe.


Sorry I look crap, I only popped some Mac mineralize powder on today.

My hair is now a more fiery, gingery colour. It doesn't look so bright in real life, but the camera makes it look a bit different.

Anyway what I learned from the experience is not to muck around with those bleach kits.

You know you have Problems when...

Well it's almost 5am here in Wales and I'm still up. Insomnia!
You know when you have even more problems when you start looking around your room, and looking at your makeup collection at almost 5am and find a Gorgeous Blush that you've never even looked at :S
Clearly I must be nuts :P

Anyway enough of my weird nocturnal behaviour, look what I found, and I'm definitely going to wear it tomorrow.


Well it's the Yves Saint Laurent Palette Pop Collector Powder for Face and Cheeks from the Spring 2008 collection (I think).
I'll be mixing all colours for a nice medium pink colour.
I love that it gives a little, tiny bit of shimmer and isn't OTT with it, as some blushers can be, which make me look greasy instead of glowy.

Sorry the swatch above isn't that good, my camera is a bit rubbish.
I'm so excited I found this :D

Anyway I'm going to hop back off to bed now, and try and get some kip, though I'll be waiting to get up so I can put my makeup on and try this :)
I'm excited.

Food Post: Banoffee Pie

Hi everyone, I haven't bought much makeup lately even thought I do have some from before I need to post about, but tonight I thought I'd post about something else that I really Love. Food!

I made a very simple Banoffee Pie. I got the recipe from HERE. It's very easy to make, and you don't need all these weird ingredients for it either.

So here's my take on it.


I did try to take it out of the tray tidily, but failed,lol, it might look messy, but it is very yummy, if you like sickly food that is :)

So that's my first post on food. :)


Also, I'm thinking of going a lighter red, possibly the red/blonde colour (below) , so it doesn't make my scalp so noticeable with my hair loss. I always have to make sure I have no blonde roots, because the contrast of my bright white scalp and dark red hair makes it quite noticeable.
You can buy this colour from Superdrug if your interested.(Pic taken from superdrug site)
I'm hopefully going to speak to a new doctor tomorrow about my hair loss, and I'm going to as if a thing called Adrenal Fatigue could be the cause of it.

I was speaking to a lady the other day that lost some of her hair, and it turned out that she was suffering from this. I took a look at the symptoms and seem to have most of them, even the putting weight on the waist symptom :( but it could be from eating too much pudding,lol.

Sorry if my health issues are boring to read about, but it is sort of the reason for a lack of posting, and crap waffling posts too.

Anyway I hope you're all having a good evening, I'm off to eat my banoffee pie now ;)