espana!

there won't be many posts until i'm home on august 1st! but i'll make sure i take lots of holiday outfit posts to update you all with. xox

Teen Choice Awards 2012; The Best Dressed of the Bunch

Yesterday was the 2012 Teen Choice Awards, and after seeing lots of tweets about particular outfits on the red carpet (or pink in this case), I got my google on to have a nosey at what everyone wore. I've picked out my favourites, which was tough as there were so many outfits to choose from, but these are what I feel were the best of the bunch. I know a lot of people would do a worst dressed post to accompany the best dressed, but I hate picking up on negativities in outfits, especially when most people were dressed by their stylists for their events! There's some absolutely stunning outfits and I now have a bad case of clothing lust for thing I will never be able to afford, and a few potential new girl crushes!



1 // Lucy Hale; 'Pretty Little Liars' actress

Dress; Wes Gordon // Shoes; Brian Atwood // Bag;  Jimmy  Choo // Earrings;  Bang Bang // Bracelets;  Giles & Brother

I love this different, and slightly edgy take on the cut-out trend around the shoulder area of this dress! The deep coral colour looks fab with her glowing skin, and gold accessories were perfect to top this off with. And look at those platforms, she has got to be rocking some killer heels!!

2 // Lea Michele; 'Glee' actress

Dress; Versace // Shoes; Versace // Jewellery; Stephen Webster

This is such a simple outfit, and the detailing on the dress really steals the show. I'm glad she's gone for very subtle acessories aswell with some dainty earrings because I think that would look too much with the dress! (And her hair, give it to me!!!)

3 // Demi Lovato; singer, actress, and Teen Choice 2012 host

Dress; Falgunni & Shane // Shoes; Christian Louboutin 

Any regular readers of my blog will know that I'm a huge fan of Demi's style and this was no exception! This is such a statement dress with so many eye-catching details that this is another outfit that I'm glad has toned down the accessories. Teaming it up with black is spot-on rather than trying to match the mustardy/yellow tones, and silver would have looked too much with the feather detailing. I'm gutted she's got rid of her dip-dye though and gone for some super sleek extensions, I much prefer her with her beach wave look!

Unfortunately I don't have any deets on this outfit and the one below as they were worn during the awards and not on the carpet, but I'm a huge fan of these aswell. I'm glad she went back to her natural look aswell (and where did that blue dip-dye suddenly come from?) as it sets off her rock/biker look that she always manages to pull off!

I'm in love with this dress aswell, god help me! I'm a sucker for a beautiful maxi as it is, but the cut out section on the bust has sold it for me! 

4 // Carly Rae Jepsen; singer

Shorts & Blazer; Lisa Ho // Shoes; Aldo

This is possibly my favourite outfit of the night. I love the short suit look, but it's personally something I don't think I could pull off, so seeing people style it in different ways is always tempting me to give it a try. I love the print too; it's really summery without being very bright and the tailoring is stunning aswell!

5 // Kat Graham; 'The Vampire Diaries' actress

Dress; Mara Hoffman // Shoes; Gio Diev

Double trend alert - aztec AND pastels! I love the high neckline of this, and a chunky necklace really finished off the look. Again, a minimally accessoried look, but the bursts of colour on the shoes and bag tie the outfit together. 

6 // Chelsea Kane; actress

Blouse; French Connection // Shorts; Alice + Olivia

I'm loving all the shorts that were about last night! The unique print on this is the main focus of the outfit and I love the subtle lemon shade on the blouse picking out the yellow hints of the short. I'd be terrified I'd lose all the beads off the sleeves though!

7 // Ashley Benson; 'Pretty Little Liars' actress

Top; Monique Lhuillier // Trousers; Balenciaga // Shoes;  Jimmy Choo

Another stunning tailored look; I love that people have been moving away from dresses for this event. The corset/top really shows off her figure, and the high waist of the trousers really accentuates her waist. Her make-up looks really fresh too and I've always been lusting over her hair!

Enjoy
xoxo.

Review // NYC New York Color Smooch Proof 16H LipStain in Champagne Stain

Just another of my lip splurge purchases and another lipstain too! This was on offer for just £2.49 in Superdrug, so I had to snap one up and try it! 

This was originally £3.99, and I've bought it in shade 'Champagne Stain'. It comes in ten shades on the NYC website, but I can't remember if Superdrug had all of these in stock! It again has a precision pen, like the Rimmel one I've reviewed, but no balm this time. This is a much more daring shade than I'd usually go for if I'm honest, but as it was so cheap I thought it was about time I started experimenting with new colours.

Ignore the shade on the far left! It wouldn't budge! The shade on the left (or middle) is original application and the right is once blended in.

When swatched on my hand, the colour looks nowhere near as bright as in the tube, which put my mind to ease a bit about testing a new colour, but once I applied it to my lips, it was a whole different story! 

It's not as evident in the first picture, but in the second, you can see how awfully it applies to the wettest part of the lip! It leaves an almost tidemark effect which is not at all appealing, and this was just from smacking my lips together a couple of times. It's such a shame as the colour looks really lovely on the rest of my lips and is such a subtle pink after I was scared it would be too bright, it's a really good, girly shade! When/if I wear this again, maybe I'll try applying the balm that comes with the Rimmel stain or just use a regular balm to see if this stops it happening! it also really does stain! The swatches have refused to come off my hand even after scrubbing with a make-up wipe and three hours after applying it (and eating dinner!) the colour hasn't budged. This wouldn't bother me if it hadn't applied so poorly, but it has evened out slightly through wear. I don't usually buy NYC products, but this has really knocked my opinion of the brand. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be going back to their stand anytime soon!

Enjoy

xoxo.

Review // Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream

i'm starting to feel like my whole life is spent reviewing things, but here's a new one anyway - Maybelline's BB Cream. This is the second BB cream I've tried now, after reviewing a free sample of L'Oreal's Nude Magique BB Cream (which you can see here!) and I think I'll definitely be purchasing one in the near future. 

Maybelline's BB Cream comes in 4 shades - light, medium, dark and universal glow - and is available in Superdrug and Boots for £7.99, and is also in a 3 for 2 Maybelline offer in both stores. Again, I am reviewing a sample in the shade 'Light'

'Thanks to its oil-free, water-based, gel formula, Dream Fresh BB is lighter than other BB creams. And with four shades to choose from you're sure to find one that's perfect for you. No fussing, no caking, no tide marks. Just bare 8-in-1 perfection - with SPF 30 protection - in a single step'

Maybelline promote their BB Cream as an 8-in-1 Skin Perfector

1 // Imperfections look blurred

2 // A natural looking glow

3 // Fresh feel

4 // Compliments skin tone

5 // Skin looks smooth

6 // Hydrates

7 // Protects with SPF 30

8 // Oil-free, non-greasy

As it claims to do all 8 of these things, I've decided to compare my experience with the BB Cream to each point.

1 // Imperfections look blurred; I'm 50/50 on this point. I have some blemishes on my chin right now, and yes, it did blur them, but I find that foundation is better coverage for such blemishes. It did apply better round my eyes than foundation sometimes does, so this did impress me.

2 // A natural looking glow; This is a definite your skin but better product, your face doesn't look caked in foundation, it just smooths out the skin and does look very natural, but seeing as this is the point of a BB Cream, I wouldn't expect anything less. 

3 // Fresh feel; It hasn't left my skin feeling heavy like foundation, so it definitely feels a lot fresher.

4 // Compliment skin tone; I'm really impressed with how well the pigments blended into my skin tone. I'm quite pale, so finding the perfect foundation can sometimes be a nightmare, so this definitely makes BB Creams appeal to me a lot more as it does very much compliment my skintone.

5 // Skin looks smooth; Definitely! Aswell as looking smooth, my skin feels smooth and fresh aswell.

6 // Hydrates; I don't tend to suffer from dry skin so I don't have much of an opinion on the creams hydrating properties!

7 // Protects with SPF 30; This is perfect! It has a much higher SPF protection than L'Oreal's aternative and I think BB Cream's are perfect for daytime on holiday as they are so light and fresh, so high SPF protection makes this product a better contender for holiday use. 

8 // Oil-free, non-greasy; I can occasionally suffer with oily skin, often depending on the product I'm using, but this Cream hasn't brought a breakout with it! 

Overall, I agree with all the 8-in-1 features that Maybelline provide. One thing I disliked about the L'Oreal BB was that it had a very thin consistency to it. Compared to this, the Maybelline BB is a much thicker consistency and more likened to that of a foundation, so I actually felt like I had better coverage on my face than with L'Oreal. This is a plus for me, as I really am not a fan of the bare-skinned feel.

Initial Application

Once rubbed into the skin; a brilliant match!

I'm much more impressed with this BB than with L'Oreal's and I think this is mainly because it feels more like a foundation to me and I'm a nightmare for not being able to leave the house with no make-up. I think I'll be snapping this up at the airport for days around the pool and on the beach as foundation can feel thick and heavy in the sun (and just melt off anyway!) and it really sinks into the skin and feels fresh and natural. I'll pop in a photo of myself wearing the BB Cream at the bottom of this post to give you a better idea of its appearance.

Enjoy

xoxo.

Review // Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lip Stain in 'Nothing But Nude'

Another purchase from my lip product splurge! I didn't intentionally go out looking for one of these, I was actually after one of Revlon's lip butters, but after testing out most of the shades I found that they all seemed very harsh and bright. I saw this as I was paying at the tills and added one to my basket!

I bought mine in Superdrug where it was on offer for £5.99, and it's £6.99 in Boots, but both stores are currently offering 2 for £10 on selected products. It comes in 7 shades, and I picked up the most natural looking of the collection. 

The product claim from the Rimmel website:

'1000 Kisses Lip Tint gives your lips a royal flush of intense, vibrant colour that stays on duty and ready for action for hours - leaving no trace, so your kisses never tell.

The speedy two-step application delivers a fabulously flawless finish that is totally on trend and just begs to be kissed. A precision pen-tip delivers the mistake-free colour you're looking for and a caring balm seals the deal, giving lips the extra moisturising they've been waiting for. 

There are 6 must-have shades in a translucent colour-matched design that gives you the freedom of being able to re-invent your look every day.'

The fact that it comes with a colour sealing balm is what really sold it to me (aswell as it being on offer, of course!) as long-lasting lip colour is a must - I don't have the time or effort for reapplying lip colour constantly.

Left; Initial Application     Right; Once blended in.

If anyone has seen my recent review on Collection 2000's Cream Puff Lip Cream, you will see that this is very similar in colouring, just in a stain version - very much another 'your lips but better' shade. It's very moisturising and has a pleasant fruity smell to it. The balm is my favourite part of this product! I imagine that without it, the lipstain would really leave my lips feeling dry after a while, but the balm helps keep my lips feeling hydrated aswell as locking in the colour. I did find that the precision pen can dry out quite quickly, but if you stand the pen on its end for a while, it is soon ready to use again! This is much more affordable than the original lipstains that seemed to hit the drugstore brands, and I'm glad I decided to get this instead of settling for a Revlon lip butter in a shade I wasn't 100% keen on. The colour range, although small, has a good selection, with pinks, and much deeper shades to suit individual personalities and skin tones. This is definitely worth trying out - it's the first lipstain I've personally tested out, and I'm glad I tried it! For me, the bonus is that it really does last on the lips, although maybe 1000 kisses is quite ambitious? 

Enjoy

xoxo.

Review // Collection 2000 Lip Cream Cream Puff in Fairy Cake

I had a little lip product splurge this week, and this was the first of my purchases. Collection 2000 is now supposedly just called Collection, but that just feels wrong so it will remain Collection 2000 in my eyes! This is the second lip cream that I've now bought from this range, and this time decided to get Fairy Cake

Fair Cake is the middle shade in this photo.

The Cream Puff's retail at just £2.99 and can be found in Boots and Superdrug (who had 2 for £4.99 when I snapped this up). Rather than being a gloss, I find that they are more of a liquified lipstick - they are much more pigmented and matte in appearance, and are more moisturising and less sticky than a gloss. It comes in 4 different shades (including this one), one is a lot pinker, one is a nude shade, and one a brown.

Left; Product Sample Right; Once rubbed in.

As you can see from these swatches, it's a really rich coral colour (I'm not sure where the name Fairy Cake comes from?) and even though it looks a little daring when it comes out the tube, it is a much more natural and subtle shade once blended in.

I'm sorry this picture is such horrendous quality, but the shooting conditions in my room with todays horrendous weather was not on my side! But hopefully you can tell how natural the shade actually looks on the lips. Another 'your lips but better' shade, which I really feel just brightens the natural tone of my lips. The pigmented look also makes the product last longer on the lips without drying them out - and it smells gorgeous! A very sweet, cupcakey kind of smell. Maybe this was the inspriation for the name? As someone who isn't particularly a lipstick fan, this is a great alternative for me as it achieves a look similar to that of a lipstick without being heavy on the lips. It's an absolute bargain aswell, so how could I resist? Go and snap one up, Collection 2000 products are great value for money for a drugstore brand!

Enjoy

xoxo.

perfume oils; the ultimate alternatives?

this week i think i've come across one of the best money saving alternatives; perfume oils.
i'm going away on holiday next week and didn't want to take a full bottle of perfume with me, so i hit ebay to buy myself some smaller samples of my regular perfume as I have done for the last few years (marc jacobs daisy, if anyone is interested!). but whilst I was browsing the sight, I came across one particular seller whose ebay store consisted of perfume oils.

Her listing consisted of far too many scents for it to be easy to pick out a favourite! Aswell as dupes of some of the best selling designer fragrances like Marc Jacobs, Chanel and Armani, there's some unique scents that are said to remind you of holidays and lots of other favourite scents. There's also some fun ones like jelly beans, ice cream and play doh!!
This is a link to her listing, and as you can see, they are an absolute bargain at just £2.99 each. You also get combined postage the more you buy aswell, so of course I had to snap some up!
I am instantly in love with anything that smells of coconut, so I initially placed an order for a Caribbean Coconut scent, which arrived within just 2 days of ordering.

 

For anyone who loves the fragrance of coconut, I'm sure you'll have tried the Bodyshop's Coconut Body Butter, and this is an exact dupe of that scent! It smells very strong when initially applied, but is a much more subtle smell once is has been absorbed into the skin. I was so impressed with this that I went back to get some more and snapped up a dupe for the Daisy scent and another Coconut scent with hints of lime and verbena (which is a flower, I had to google it!)

 

When I first opened this to smell, I didn't think it smelt all that much like the original, but once it had settled on my skin it is the perfect Marc Jacobs dupe and would fool anyone into thinking you were wearing the more expensive version!

 
 
This is a much more subtle coconut scent, with the lime and verbena taking control of the senses. I'd say it has an almost aftershave-y scent to it, and really reminds me of one of the Lynx sprays. It is very strong when first applied, but again settles down very quickly. If you're a fan of more feminine fragrances, then this probably isn't for you, but I have been known to love a good aftershave!

You might be wondering how these apply, and they have a simple roll-ball mechanism

Although they are oils, they don't apply in a thick consistency and make the skin sticky; if you rub them into the skin it just feels like a regular perfume spray.

Why are they the perfect alternative? There's so many reasons! The bottles are just 8ml, but you use a LOT less than with a spray; all the perfume goes directly to the skin aswell, you don't waste any that misses the skin when spraying. They're also a lot more portable and are easy to throw in your handbag, and as I bought these for my holiday, it now means that I can take three fragrances with me rather than one larger bottle. The price, of course, is also a huge temptation. A regular bottle of Marc Jacobs Daisy costs around £40/£50 and I only tend to get it for birthdays and Christmas and always find myself running out before it's time for a new one, so these oils are perfect for that period when you can't afford a new bottle! I would highly recommend that you head over the this lady's ebay store; she's incredibly polite to deal with and may well leave you with one of your new favourite products! 

Enjoy

xoxo.

Review // Boots Natural Collection Sheer Natural Lipstick in Sand Castle

Today brings my first purchase of a Natural Collection lipstick! I've read a fair few reviews on these now and they've all been positive, with lots of comments on how pigmented they are and how vast the colour collection is for such a cheap drugstore brand. 

Seeing as this was my first try of these lipsticks I decided to go for a neutral everyday shade and settled on Sand Castle

This picture really doesn't give the shade justice. It doesn't look this dark in person, but no matter what setting I had my camera on, I just couldn't get the right picture; it's much more nudey.

Unfortunately these photos make the lipstick look a reddy/orange shade when it's actually more of a nude/coral (sorry if I sound like I'm throwing colours all over the place!). Hopefully this swatch will make this a lot clearer! 

I'd describe this as a 'your lips but better' shade, as it doesn't appear to coat the lips with much colour, but really gives them a natural sheen. I also found that the lipstick was also very moisturising in contrast with how heavy and matte some feel; it almost acted as a lipbalm and stick all in one. I love the shade aswell - it's really hard to find the perfect nude/natural lipstick without suffering from the dreaded foundation lips look. 

Sorry this photo is tiny, but it's horrendous! 

Overall, I'm super impressed with this for a drugstore product that cost me just £1.99. I'd much rather spend   £20 on ten lipsticks from cheaper collections than one more expensive one, when they all work just aswell and when there's so many dupes for higher end cosmetic brands on the high street. 

Cost // £1.99

Availability // In all good Boots stores or Boots.com

Rating // 8/10; a really lovely natural shade, but could do with a little more lasting power!

Enjoy

xoxo.

currently coveting #1

Michael Kors Tortoise Jet Set Watch // $225 (£144)

Owntherunway.com Dip Dye Fringe Crop Top // £24.99

Funkydivaa.com Insert Mesh Bodysuit // £7.99

Boohoo.com Molly Galaxy Print Shirt // £20

Revlon Colouburst Lip Butter in Sugar Frosting // £7.99

Floral Duvet Set // £13.80

Miss Selfridge Flock Burnout Maxi Dress // £45

So this is my first 'currently coveting' post, and I decided to do one after falling in love with far too many things whilst having a lazy day on the internet. Half of these things will definitely remain to be lusted over forever (*cough* the watch *cough*) but I think three of them will be definite purchases in the next week. The bodysuit I'm thinking of getting to wear for a night out on Friday as it's an absolute bargain, and a little different to the sort of thing I'd normally wear. I've been wanting one of the Revlon Lip Butters for weeks now after reading so many good reviews on them, and I think I'll be snapping one up when I go shopping tomorrow. The duvet is the last thing I'm hoping to get my hands on, and I know this isn't usually the kind of thing I'd blog about, but I'm finally getting round to decorating my room when I get back from holiday in a couple of weeks and this matches the wallpaper I've picked out!

Sorry there was no post yesterday, I was far too hungover to even comprehend what I was doing; all I know is that vodka is a no go for me!

Enjoy

xoxo.

OOTD; Motel Rocks 5 items for £5!

If anyone follows Motel Rock's facebook, then you'll know that every afternoon they offer 5 items in their sale for just £5 each. A couple of weeks ago, this cardigan was part of the offer and I was quick to purchase one, especially as there's the option of free super saver delivery on the website (link here).

Cardigan - Motel Rocks (no longer in stock)

Vest - Primark

Shorts - Boohoo.com

Belt - Primark (very old!)

Plimsols - Primark

Bangle - Bijoux

On the website, the cardigan is advertised as navy, but it's a very deep shade - put it next to navy and it looks black, put it next to black and it looks navy, so I've soon learnt to wear it with neither navy or black and instead team it up with a lighter denim. I've tried to pick out the nude/creamy shade in the cardigan instead and matched my vest top to this.

It looks so big as it's a 'boyfriend' cardigan, but it's so warm and snuggly that it's perfect for this style. The wool isn't itchy at all, and I have rolled the sleeves up a couple of times as they were pretty long on me.

I'd describe this as the perfect outfit for a day trip. I'm hopefully going to Thorpe Park at some time during the summer, and this is definitely the sort of outfit that I'd wear!

Enjoy

xoxo.

a girl can never have too much floral; OOTD

Another OOTD post with a new purchase from the Dorothy Perkins sale (available here!). It already had over 50% off, and I snapped this up when there was an extra 10% off sale items and then got 15% student discount on top of that so it cost just £9.18, so how's a girl to resist?!

Top - Dorothy Perkins

Trousers - Dorothy Perkins (old)

Shoes - Ebay

Cross Bracelet - Matalan

Pearl Bracelet - Topshop

Cross Ring - Ebay

I wore this out tonight for a few drinks with friends. This is a definite leggings top, but I paired it up with the trousers to smarten it up a bit. When I ordered it, I didn't realise it was as draped as it is, which makes me look even shorter than I am, so I'd wear the front tucked in and leave the back to drape. I love that there's so many colours in the top to pick out to match to whatever I wear on my bottom half - it looks fab with light jeans and tan leggings too! I went for a neutral shade on the shoes (my replacement pair are finally here!) and matched my accessories to the gold studs. A chunky cardi adds a casual look too.

Enjoy

xoxo.

braving the leather!

i have finally got round to getting some outfit photos taken for my recent purchases, so i'm sorry i've taken a while! this is based around a primark cardigan (which is mentioned here) which cost £14 and is currently in store.

Cardigan - Primark

Vest - Primark

Leather Leggings - Miss Selfridge

Shoes - Ebay

 

Stone Ring - Primark

Cross Ring - Ebay

Skull Bracelet - Topshop

Ear Cuff - Ebay

Boo for the missing stud on my new shoes! It fell off after only wearing them twice, so I'm in the process of getting a refund. 

So here I've gone for a casual, everyday, popping-to-the-shops look which is easy to throw on and still comfy to sit around the house in if you can't be bothered to get changed once you get in (this is me all over!) The leather leggings bring it more on trend with the current disco pants look and stop the look from being too casual. A plain vest that is neutral with all the shades in the cardigan pulls it together and makes it easier than trying to pick out an individual colour. 

Jewellery and accesories always add interest to an outfit, and I think it's the easiest way to make it look like you've put effort into what you're wearing even if you've just thrown it on. I've gone for gold here to match the cardigans autumny tones. 

The shoes, again, are an autumny neutral tone and match the accessories. I am so, so gutted that a stud has come off so I hope I'll be able to get an exchange. Luckily I'd already ordered a second pair as I loved them so much, so I'm still hoping I'll have two pairs in my wardrobe!

I'd go for a neutral nail polish here, particularly Topshop's Threadbare (seen heree)

Enjoy

xoxo.