Illamasqua; Unrequited & Fable.

Illamasqua is a brand that I find myself being drawn to, not only because of their lovely products but also their whole ethos and the values they uphold. They describe their products as being 'make up for your alter ego' and I love that. I do think that make up should be fun, like it is when you're little and you find your mums make up bag & you end up with lipstick on your forehead!

Illamasqua is for the bolder person hiding inside all of us. It is an act and an attitude. A symbol of tolerance. A celebration of idiosyncrasies. A confident statement of self-ownership.

They have done a lot for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation which you can read about here. As a tribute to Sophie this beautifully made yet incredibly sad short film was commissioned and they are hoping to reach over 1,000,000 hits on it to help raise awareness.

♥

This morning the postman knocked on my door and handed me a parcel full of loveliness! Last week I was feeling pretty rubbish & not my usual self so my lovely boyfriend offered to buy me a little something to cheer me up. Bless him, he's a keeper for sure! ♥

There was a 20% discount code at asos.com floating around so we used that and the cheap supersave delivery option. I have to say I won't be using that delivery for anything other than clothes again. I understand that it's the cheap option but a little bit of bubble wrap or tissue paper wouldn't have gone a miss. I am super lucky that the blusher didn't break, it was rattling around inside the box so much! Eek, not what I wanted for these beauties!

My Illamasqua wish list is ridiculously long and I didn't really know where to start! But I picked out one lipstick, Fable, and one blush, Unrequited, both are pretty 'safe-ish' pink shades that I knew would work on my skin tone. I love the names of these and I think the packaging is super pretty.

Illamasqua describe this shade as a soft baby pink, which when blended on to the skin, it absolutely is. I'm actually in love with it. Smooth, easy to blend & a beautiful colour - what more could you want!

This is the most pigmented blush I own. I am very pale but the lightest touch of my brush on to the product and I have enough to do both cheeks. This is going to last me forever so is absolutely worth the price and I'm definitely going to invest in some more shades. I have a feeling this is the start of a beautiful, but expensive friendship!

Fable lipstick is described by Illamasqua as a bright rose pink. I almost picked a more neutral shade but I'm so happy I didn't because this is lovely. It's a matt lipstick which I really like because I find that they last longer on my lips & if I fancy a glossy finish I can always pop a gloss on over the top. Simples. Matt finishes can be quite drying in general so I'll see how I get on with this one. On first impressions though it's one of the least drying matt lipsticks I've tried and my lips aren't in the best condition (thanks alot freezing cold weather!) so I was expecting not to be able to wear this at the moment.

Please excuse the state of my lips. Even copious amounts of lip balm isn't helping at the moment. Some warm weather now please? But anyway, this is how Fable looks on me. As with the blusher I've used the smallest amount here. I think this is going to last a long time too. Love it!


Here's a quick face of the day. It's nothing special!

My face was not co operating today at all. My Revlon ColorStay was cakey and it refused to blend so I took it all off and went straight for my trusty Lily Lolo minerals.
♥ Lily Lolo mineral foundation.
♥ ELF Concealer.
♥ Illamasqua Unrequited blush.
♥ Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara.
♥ Illamasqua Fable lipstick.

Have you tried any Illamasqua products? What are your favourites?
xoxo

Style Crushes.

After seeing this post on the lovely Victoria's blog it looked like a really fun one to do so I thought I'd give it a go!

This post started off as a completely style based one, but I think it's slowly veered into a mixture of that and women that I think are just generally really quite amazing and who I really respect & admire. My first mention definitely falls into the latter category, but I think she looks fabulous too!

Alecia Moore / P!nk.

Through my teenage years I went through many phases, most completely ridiculous, and looking back on photos I looked like a complete tit. But hey, that's what growing up is all about right? I discovered P!nk when I was about 14 and a total wannabe rock chic, so naturally I loved her and after seeing her recent performance at the Grammy awards I've realised that I still love her. Her 'I'm going to do whatever the hell I want & have fun doing it' attitude is something I wish I had a little bit more of. She works hard and she looks blimmin' incredible I think. Plus, I'm a tiny bit obsessed with glitter in the air now; I sure want to throw a fist full of it in the air!

Florence Welch.

Whether it be floral patterned, ruffled, tailored or flowing Florence knows how to work it. She has a beautiful figure and stunning red hair as well as such an eclectic style, which makes her such a style icon in my eyes. Plus, how nice does she seem?! She's the kind of person you really want to be friends with so you could go and have a rummage through cute vintage shops together & have a good ol' natter!


Lady Gaga.

I couldn't do this post and not mention the Gaga. I mean look at her, she's fabulous! She's one of those people who makes me wish I could ever be in the position to wear something completely outrageous and totally pull it off. I hadn't funny appreciated that she has such a good voice until recently either. She gets a lot of negative press which is just ridiculous. Love her!


Lauren Conrad.

This lady has her own post a little way back on my blog but like Lady Gaga I simply can't not mention her again here. She rocks the natural look and always looks polished with her perfect hair and Chanel handbag. What a beauty!


Leighton Meester.

I'm going to admit first that I've never really watched Gossip Girl and I'm fairly sure that I'm the only girl that hasn't. However I can't help but notice this lady is gorgeous! She always looks preened and her outfits are super cute. That short grey dress with puffed shoulders is my favourite, it shows off her figure to perfection.


Mary-Kate Olsen.

I feel as though I've grown up with the Olsen twins, watching them back in the day in Two of a Kind on the Disney Channel, those were the days! I can remember wishing I was an Olsen, or at the very least wishing I had a long lost identical twin sister somewhere. Neither of those things came true.

Mary-Kate has always been my favourite and I'm not really sure why exactly. I think when I was little I just preferred her name, oh my simple thought process back then! But I do feel she's the more edgy twin who seems to be able to work anything she's wearing - which I think is completely unfair! The Olsen's will forever hold a place in my heart, and I think deep down a little part of me will always wish that I were an Olsen.


Nicole Richie.

Isn't she just adorable?! My favourite outfit there is the white maxi dress with long wavy locks & headband. She wears maxi dresses like no other. Blonde, brunette, electric blue - I'm fairly sure she could pull off anything!


Scarlett Johansson.

Ever since I saw the film Lost in Translation I've been fairly obsessed with Scarlett. I just can't get over how beautiful her face is, I think she has lovely features and she has hips - brilliant! She looks especially lovely in 50's inspired dresses that emphasise her waist; that floral dress in the centre is my absolute favourite!


Whitney Port. 

After Lauren, Whitney was my second favourite Hills character. She was portrayed to be just so, well, nice! I've always said she looks like an edgy doll. Look at those legs! I'd be a very happy lady if I could have those legs, but it's just not going to happen because I'm too lazy & I like ice cream too much, and I'm fine with that. You win some you lose some, eh?

Who are your style inspirations, or who are the people you just love?
xoxo

Face & Outfit of the day; Seeing the boy!

As I type my boy is driving the hundreds of silly miles that separate us to visit me for the first time in over a month, I am so excited! I've been doing my make up nicer than normal and cleaning up my room so he never finds out how much of a mess I make (he knows this already) but I like to make an effort. Plus it takes my mind off the butterflies in my tummy. I always feel a little nervous & excited before I see my boy again - good nervous though, they're those good butterflies!

Here's my face today:

♥ Revlon ColorStay - Ivory.
♥ Benefit Erase Paste - 01.
♥ Benefit Boi-ing - 01.
♥ Beauty without Cruelty loose powder - translucent.
♥ The body Shop blush trio - Cool Dusk.
♥ Gosh Darling with Revlon Pink Pout over the top.
♥ Benefit lip gloss - Kiss you.
♥ Sleek Storm Palette.
♥ ELF mascara.

This is my first foray into the world of bright pink lips and I think I like it although I'm not entirely sure that it suits me.

Aaand here's what I'm wearing, my favourite dress & cardi combination. My dress is from Joe Browns, the cardi I picked up in TK MAXX & I'm just wearing simple black leggings from Primark. Excuse the strange pose!

This birdcage necklace is my favourite, love the super cute blue birdie! And I'm dead proud of this ring, I made it myself and I didn't mess it up. Hooray! ♥

Hope you all have a lovely weekend lovelies! ♥
xoxo

Sweet dreams Mr McQueen ♥

 British fashion has just lost one of the best.

   Sweet dreams Mr McQueen, sweet dreams.
♥

xoxo

Eye, face & outfit of the day.

Hello lovelies. This was my face today. I look a bit...vacant in the photograph, I think that best describes my mood today. Outfit wise I think I'm sporting my favourite look; granny chic. My dress is from ASOS and it always makes me feel a bit like a doll when I wear it. With the dress I have a purple cardigan from George at Asda and some plain black leggings; Primarni specials.

I thought I'd have a little play with the Sleek storm palette. I'm definitely not a dab hand at eye make up but I did love experimenting. Oh dear, I think this may be the start of something expensive!

Just using an ELF eye shadow C brush I put a wash of colour 1 all over my lid. I deepened the look a little with a bit of colour 2 in the crease and finished with a touch of colour 3 in the outer v and blended. This is what I came up with. It's not perfect but a very wearable neutral every day look.

What are your favourite eye looks?
xoxo

January Favourites.

Monthly favourites are one of my favourite kinds of posts to read, probably for the same reasons I like what's in my bag posts - because I'm nosey! But here are my January favourites, a little late, but they made it!

I was late jumping on to the Revlon ColorStay bandwagon but I was at a little designer outlet with my boyfriend and spotted the Revlon store. This little beauty was £7, a price I couldn't really say no to. My shade is Ivory and it matches me perfectly which is nothing short of a minor miracle. Usually most drugstore foundations are far too orange for me even in the lightest shade. The coverage is perfect, I don't find it too heavy & I don't even really mind the lack of pump either. All round thumbs up.

Natural Nymph from ELF has been my favourite lipstick this month. I like the formula, it's not drying and the colour is the perfect nude for my skintone. All that and it's £3.50 which is a complete bargain. I can see me repurchasing this over and over.

This lipgloss set from Benefit was in the Boots sale after Christmas & because I love Benefit products I couldn't resist. The colours are super pretty too. In the top right picture we have from left to right - Zone Out, Friends in High Places & Fresh Squeezed. In the bottom right picture we have also from left to right - I'm with the Band, Kiss You & Almost Famous. I've been wearing Zone Out the most paired with Natural Nymph lipstick. They smell really nice, like Peaches, & they're just the right amount of sticky. My love of Benefit products continues!

I'm not really a huge eye shadow wearer but with the upcoming release of the Alice in Wonderland Urban Decay book of shadows (which I so desperately want probably more so because it's Alice!) I've told myself if I really think I'll use it then I can have it. It's also given me the opportunity to show some love for this eye trio from the Body Shop which I actually think is a really lovely product. It's quite shimmery which I really like & the colours are beautiful and really emphasize my blue eyes. I definitely need a decent eye primer - another reason to pick up the book of shadows me thinks?

Another ELF product I really rate are the studio range of brushes. This is the powder brush that I use for applying blusher. For me it's the perfect shape and it's flat top allows me buff my blush in which is especially useful when working with loose mineral blushes.

The cold winter months call for bubble baths more often! I've raved about Naked Bodycare products before and this bath foam is no exception. Gives lots of bubbles, smells gorgeous, leaves my skin feeling soft & it's got no nasties in it. Perfect!

My boyfriend's lovely parents bought this for me for Christmas. I was so excited opening this as I'd been lusting over it for ages! How gorgeous is that bottle?!

Eyeko's lilac nail polish has been injecting my life with a little bit of spring/summer a few months early. I ♥ it. I think it's the most beautiful colour and it only takes 2 coats which suits my lack of patience when it comes to waiting for my nails to dry.

So those have been my favourites over the month of January. What products have you been loving?
xoxo