springtime lip colours 2013

Spring is here at long last! Seeing as it's May, some people might think that that's a bit of an unusual statement to make. In Scotland, however, 8 months of the year are winter, 3 and a half are spring / autumn and we get about 2 weeks of summer. It's not the greatest arrnagement but you get kinda used to it.

Anyways, even though there isn't much time dedicated to spring in terms of the scottish weather, we still get to see all of the beautiful and bright colours in the shops. Now that the sun is here, it's so much easier to get away with pink and coral colours. :) Here are a few of my favourite lip products this springtime. :)

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Moisturising Lip Colour Balm
Colour: Roomiest Rose  

I've found that the colour pigmentation of this product is a lot better than that of the normal clinique chubby sticks (that do not have the "intense colour") that I've owned in the past. Roomiest Rose is a beautiful fresh pink colour that isn't too "out there", so it's great for everyday wear.

Sometimes in the springtime my skin gets a little bit mad. In the winter it tends to be very dry and in the summer it gets rather oily, so in the spring and autumn I definitely display combination skin. This goes for my lips too - even when the sun is shining and the harsh winter winds are gone, my lips can still be a little dry. This product is perfect for that - the balm stops any colour from clinging to dry patches on my lips, creating a pretty and smooth finish. :) Not only do I feel that I'm making my lips a little bit prettier, but I'm also nourishing the skin on my lips whilst doing so! You can't beat it! 

The colour lasts quite a while for a lip-balm (although I find it hard to think of this as a balm, for some reason!), so if you are planning of buying one of these be prepared to reapply after an hour or so, and definitely after you've had something to eat or drink. 

No 7 Moisture Drench Lipstick
Colour: Raisin Shimmer

This is one of my favourite lip products this spring - I have been wearing this lipstick non stop for the past few weeks. This lipstick is bright, although that hasn't really shown up in the picture (note to self- take better pictures, Kirsty!) but even so, you can wear it with anything: jeans and a top, a little black dress, anything. I'm kind of addicted to it.

On first application, this product feels a little bit sticky, but that doesn't last too long, and the colour sets into the lips fairly quickly. Again, it's great for lips that can get a little bit dry from time to time. I wouldn't say that it provides a lot of moisture, but the colour is so pretty that I'm not really fussed, and as long as it doesn't cling to any dry areas of my lips I'm alright with it. The colour lasts for hours, so you don't have to reapply it too often, making it a great product if you're going out for the day or night. 

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer
Colour: Celestial

Ok, so I know I went on a bit about these products in my last blog post, but I am in love with these little gems. The colours are absolutely beautiful, and the pigmentation is unreal. Celestial is a beautiful and opaque hot-pink, which is perfect for the months when the weather is heating up a little. The colour will last and last and last for hours, so re-application isn't too much of a worry. I've been wearing a little bit of lip-gloss over this colour whenever I've been going on a night out with the girls, just to provide a little bit of shine to dress up the colour a little. Otherwise the shades are very matte - something I don't have an issue with, but sometimes it's nice to add a little extra sheen if you're headed out. :)

It might be a good idea to slick on a little lip-balm before applying one of these, as they don't provide much moisture for the lips. However (oh jeez, I'm saying this again, but it really is a bit of a problem for me at this time of year) the product doesn't stick to any flaky skin on the lips whether the balm is there or not, which is definitely a plus. 

Sooo, there we have it, some of my favourite lip products this spring! I hope you enjoyed reading about some of my latest obsessions in terms of lip products! What products are you loving as summer is swiftly approaching? :) x

a sneaky little drugstore haul...

I work in a shop which sells, amongst other things, makeup. This is a good and a bad thing.

Reasons why this is a good thing: well! 

1. I get to keep up to date with the new releases of drug-store makeup brands.

2. I get to use my discount to buy said new releases...
3. I flipping love makeup. :)

Reasons why this is slightly less than a good thing:

1. I end up using up my entire break floating about on the shop floor and spending all of the money that I have earned that day... er... in the shop that I work in... If you think about it, they more or less pay me in makeup. My bank is just the middle man. 

I think, and I hope that you'll agree (please agree, it'll help me justify my actions), that the good reasons far outweigh the bad. Nothing wrong with keeping up with the latest trends, is there? :)

So last week I went on my break at work and decided to go a little wander around the shop floor. I promised myself that I would only buy a mascara. But this is me that we're talking about, and I never just buy a mascara... I've taken a little time to post up this little mini-haul / review because I wanted to give myself some time to try each of the products out properly before I write about them!

Bourjois Little Round Pot Blusher
41. Healthy Mix

There are so many things that I absolutely adore about Bourjois blushes. First things first, they seem to be never-ending. Seriously, these things last forever. They're great value for money. The quality of the blusher is great: it's highly pigmented, but is still sheer enough to look like a natural and cast pretty glow on the cheeks. Healthy mix is a pretty pink-peach colour. It's nice and natural - perfect for every-day wear. :)

The packaging for these is actually really handy as well. The little pot is the perfect size for your handbag or your makeup collection at home. The little brush that you receive with each blush is cute and dinky yet still does the job - it is curved so that it fits around the blush which I find is pretty handy if the cosmetics bag that I'm using is on the smaller size. 

Lastly, and this is probably the weirdest thing I have to say about this product, is (oh my goodness) the smell. These smell divine - like flowers! Obviously once the product has been applied to the face the smell isn't really noticeable, but I personally am definitely drawn to items where the manufacturer has thought of the little things... like the smell. :) 

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder
01 - Transparent

The next item that I bought was definitely an item that I needed. My skin can be a pain in the derrière at times - it is very dry in winter and yet a lot oilier in the spring and summer time. It seems like spring has finally sprung (at long last!) and so I figured that I had better invest in a pressed powder to keep oils at bay. I usually use this Lancome pressed powder, which certainly does the job but is a bit pricey for the average student. Rimmel has always been a brand that I've trusted as I've always managed to find something that suits my pale combination skin, so I picked this up at thought I'd give it a go! 


One of my biggest concerns when buying and using pressed powder is how it finishes the rest of the makeup - there's nothing worse than taking care applying a primer, foundation, concealer etc only to apply a pressed powder to set it all and ending up unintentionally looking like a pastry chef covered in flour. 
This powder, thank goodness, doesn't do that. It feels super light on the skin and eliminates any unwanted shine, finishing a completed look rather nicely. It doesn't cling to any of the drier parts of my skin either, which is one less worry: I can quickly sweep some powder over my face and not have to think too much about whether I'm going to look flaky. There's no scent to this product and it last for ages - perhaps not the 12 hours that Rimmel claims it does, but it can't be far off. :) I'm super pleased that I popped this into my basket - and it only cost £3.99, which is a bargain even if you are on a budget! 
The only thing I would really have to say about this product is that the colour selection isn't great. It's ok for pale folk like me, but the range of colours for people with darker skin isn't great. :/ 

Maybelline Rocket Volum' Express Mascara

When I first set out on my little in-store shopping adventure, I knew that I was going to buy this mascara. After hearing rave reviews about it for ages, both online and in-store, I had been dying to give it a go. 

And well... it was ok. But that's all I can really say about it. I don't think it quite lived up to the hype: the brush is a wee bit chunky for my liking, and care has to be taken to not create 'spidery' lashes. Another thing that I've noticed from using this mascara is that it smudges really easily when exposed to any natural oils present on the eyelid, so it might be a good idea to powder up if you're planning on using this. :)

 I'll still use it from time to time, in the hope that it will kind of grow on me in the same way that the Falsies Flared mascara by Maybelline did. You never know! 

Rimmel London Apocalips Lip Lacquer 

101 - Celestial
(please ignore my chubby cheeks)

Oh my golly gosh, last but certainly not least, I purchased some of Rimmel's Lip Lacquers: which are kind of a cross between a lip stick and a gloss. The application is very similar to that of a lipgloss, but the texture of the product on the lips isn't sticky or... er... glossy? (I could't think of a better word, oh dear!)

Anyways, these things are flipping ah-may-zing. Not only are the colours absolutely beautiful, but these are so pigmented and they last for ages. I went out to lunch with a couple of friends the other day wearing Nova and it lasted through all two courses, which I was super impressed with! I've also had lots of compliments on both colours since I've started wearing them, so I'm definitely going to buy some of the others available. 

So that's it for my little mini shopping make-up spree from last week, I hope I haven't rambled on for too long. :) 

the blogging begins...

Okay. Here goes - my very first blog post!

There are multiple reasons for me deciding that I want to start blogging. I guess I could list them for you but it would probably get pretty boring and that's not a great way to entice readers or kick-start a blog... so I guess I'll just say that my wanting to do this comes from a mixture of a love for writing and a weird obsession with reading other people's blogs (aka I'm super nosey). Starting this blog has absolutely nothing to do with me inventing another form of procrastination from exam-prep. Nothing. At least that's what I tell myself. 

I'm hoping that this blog will be somewhere I can write about just about everything - from the exciting things that have been happening in my (sometimes mundane and boring, at other times completely mad) life. But I'll wait and see how it goes and what jumps into my mind when inspiration strikes and so on. 

I also hope that somewhere along the lines people will actually read my blogs and I won't just be a sad little girl writing away to herself on the computer... Again, we'll see how it goes, but fingers crossed this won't be a huge flop. 

Have a lovely day! :) Blog posts will be on their way soon enough!