MAC's Club

Hey Dolls :)

I posted a few months ago of my new found love of MAC's Club shadow and it wasn't until I watched a recent video from Pixiwoo that I remembered how lovely it was. I wore it yesterday, here's how it looked...

Face - DiorSkin Sculpt, MAC MSF Natural, NARS Laguna, Milani Luminous, Dior Amber Diamond

Eyes - MAC FluidLine Blacktrack (as base) MAC Club, MAC Satin Taupe, MAC Brule, MAC Smoulder, 17 Wild Curls

Lips - 17 Bee-Hive

I previously had used a NYX jumbo pencil as a base though I felt it creased as the day progressed. However using a fluid line meant it didn't budge the whole day and the colour was much more amplified. I also really liked using Satin Taupe in the crease to emphasise the duo chrome of the shadow.

Let me know of any other nice duo chrome colours!

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

August Favorites

Hey Dolls

It's official - my monthly favorites are CURSED! Every time I settle down to take photos of my favorites I drop something and it shatters, why oh why am I so clumsy!?! Anyways, here are the products I've been loving in August...

1. Bourjois Smoky Eyes Trio in Rose Vintage

As you can see my poor bourjois trio was the victim of the monthly curse (ie my clumsiness). I only bought this trio last week and have used it constantly since. The three shadows compliment one another perfectly and create a really pretty and quick dusky pink eye...

The shadows themselves are very soft though the two lighter shades aren't as pigmented as the darkest, meaning you do have to pack them on - however as I've been wearing this to work the pigmentation isn't particularly a problem.

2. 17 Wild Curls Mascara

I forgot to bring a mascara with me whilst staying at home so had to dash out and buy a new one - the thought of being mascara free makes me feel a little naked! I didn't want to spend too much money as I have a million mascaras hiding in numerous drawers in my flat - after reading about wild curls I decided to give it a go and I really like it. I'm wearing it in the above picture - on the tube it claims to add 6x more volume and while I do think it adds volume to my lashes it also lengthens really well.

The formula is quite wet but doesn't flake and is extremely long lasting. Again, the tube claims that it is the brush that creates the curl, I'm not quite sure how it does this but in the above eye pictures you can see a definite flick in my lashes. I also love the leopard print raaaaaaarrrr!

3. L'oreal Colour Riche 254 Kiss & Blush

The point of the colour riche lipsticks is that they are 'made for me' and this particular shade is made for blonde's...I have black hair ha but I love this lipstick! It's a pretty pink that adds a lovely shine to the lips. The formula feels really quite moisturising however it's scented really quite heavily and at times I can taste perfume which isn't pleasant...

As you can see it's lovely and natural but adds a nice sheen - I suppose I can put up with the taste!

4. Milani Luminous Mineral Blush

Ohhhh luminous how I love you. This blush is such a lovely light pink with a gold shimmer running through - it actually provides more of a rosy glow as opposed to an opaque colour...

Love. Love.Love. It also comes with a mirror and brush in the base...

As for the formula, the colour lasts a good length of time on the cheek and applies lovely and smooth!

5. Revlon Eyeliner Brush

I feel I may have spoken about this in a previous post but couldn't locate it so I do apologise if I'm repeating myself. I bought this liner brush ages ago and have recently realised how useful it is. I rarely use it to apply liquid liner as I prefer an angled brush however, for pressing shadow into the lash line and for filling in my brows, the brush is perfect...

Previously I had always favored using an angled brush to fill in my brows, however through some cheeky experimentation I have discovered that using this flat topped brush gives a clear and defined line. The one drawback is the handle is far too long, I have poked myself in the eye several times due to poor mirror/distance judgement ha!

After writing this post I realised that each one of these products is available for £8 and under which is always a good thing!

Have a good week my loves!

Lots of love

Nic

xoxo

FOTD

Hey Dolls :)


I'm staying at my mums for a while and in the process have left pretty much all of my make up back in my flat - I do hope it still knows it's loved very much! I brought NO eye shadow with me at all - I don't really know what I was thinking when I was packing, however I did randomly bring a MAC 224 and 217. Whilst borrowing my sisters straighteners I found some abandoned eye shadows hooray!!!! Here's what I'm wearing today...

Face - DiorSkin Sculpt/MAC MSF Natural/NARS Laguna/Benefit Coralista/Dior Amber Diamond

Eyes - Urban Decay Half Baked/ Bourjois Noir Precieux/Dior Amber Diamond/Benefit Bad Gal/17 Wild Curls Mascara

Lips - 17 Mirror Shine Bee-Hive

Considering I only had two blending brushes it could of looked a lot worse!! It's such a sunny day today (well it was it's a little dull now) however all my lovely twitter chums say it's all rainy where they are. See....?

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

Things I have been enjoying lately six

Hey Dolls :)


After having a rather horrid last couple of days I thought it was time to bring some much needed positive vibes back into my life. Here are the things that have been making me very happy...

My beautiful friends

I love these girls the most! LOVE


Reading for Pleasure

The whole year I have to read lots of brilliant books but have to look at them analytically which really does take a lot of fun out of reading so I love the summer as I can read for pleasure. I've just finished Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates which is unbelievably beautifully written whilst being horribly tragic. Also, love for my charlie and the chocolate factory book mark!


Drake

Not only is Drake rather attractive I love his music, particularly his collaborations/remixes like this with Lykke Li.

Alex Reads Twilight

Britains Next Top Model

I have been loving the new series of BNTM - I think it's so exciting that we get to pick the winner! I love Charlotte and Alisha - if you've been watching it let me know who your favorite is!

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

OOTD

Hey Dolls :)

As my ladt OOTD was quite a success I decided to take a quick snap of todays outfit. I spent the day with my friend Lynsey wandering around Edinburgh Festival - it was such a lovely day! My outfit isn't very exciting though it shows some of my favorite items that I've recently bought...

Dress: H&M

Cardigan: Next

Leggings: Topshop

Shoes: New Look

Necklace: Topshop

Ring: H&M

Satchel: Next

This brown satchel is by far the favorite thing I have bought in a while - it's so beautiful, really well made and has lots of nifty pockets to hide things in. I also love this cardigan from Next, it's really light so perfect for the last wee hints of summer though cosy enough to be able to layer it up for winter. Next is never a shop I typically browse in and just popped in on a whim - I'm so glad I did!

Lastly, my wardrobe is composed mainly of basic black dresses/tops that I can dress up or down as I wish (unadventurous I know) and this little dress (current stock) from H&M is perfect - so prefect in fact I have three of them ha! I hate my arms and so the three quarter length sleeves are perfect!

Have a good weekend beauties!

Lorra Lorra Love

Nic

xoxo

MAC Prep and Prime Transparent Finishing Powder

Hey Dolls :)

I've had MAC's Prep + Prime powder in my face drawer for quite a few months which I purchased after reading many positive reviews. However at first, I really couldn't get it to work for me. Initially, I used far too much product and didn't ever buff it into the skin properly - hours later I'd notice big white marks on my skin where the powder was sitting on the skin rather than being buffed in. Secondly, I first tried the powder at the height of my bad skin break outs - disaster. I didn't realise that the main ingredient corn starch, actually feeds the bacteria in your blemishes causing your break outs to worsen.

However, now my skin is back on track I've started using Prep+Prime powder again and so far I love it! It's a white translucent powder that has quite a mattifying effect on the skin, though it does allow some of your natural shine to emerge - on me it keeps any oil at bay for quite a long time: I do tend to sweep a tad more product over my skin later on in the afternoon as a touch up...

I use P+P as the final step in my make up routine, even placing it over my bronzer and blush. It dramatically reduces the appearance of pores and imperfections - I've noticed also that it photographs really nicely which I was quite surprised at as I'm used to` transparent powders leaving that icky white cast in photographs. In the photo above you can see just how white the powder is - it's a little scary using it for the first time but it does go on translucent. You can also see the one major downfall of the packaging, there may as well not be a sifter in place. This causes it to be a little messy to use, I'm always surrounded by a little white cloud of powder after using it!

Learning from my earlier mistakes, I only ever use a tiny amount of powder for my full face and would never use P+P if I was mid breakout. It has became a firm staple in my make up routine, I'm glad I persevered!

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

Hair Decoration!

Hey Dolls :)

I had a play about with new babyliss tongs this morning and it was the first time my hair actually held the curl. I was a little annoyed as I spent £30 on new tongs and within half an hour the curl had previously fell out. I've never ever had this problem before with other tools - my hair pretty much just stays where it's put. I'm not quite sure what made today different, but I'm glad I could finally use them...

The tong I used was the Babyliss Pro Curl 200 - they're quite thin tongs so the curl was a lot tighter than I would normally have - my conical wand still remains my number one styling tool!

Also I wore one the bows I bought from Georgie's etsy shop...

The charm in the middle reads 'I love Paris in the Springtime'. I love it so much - it's rather unusual and I've found it to be quite a talking point. If you love your hair accessories, definitely have a look at Georgie's shop on etsy, even if you don't like wearing bows in your hair it would be a brilliant way of jazzing up a plain cardigan. I bought a few other things which I'll show you soon.

I would be much obliged if you could leave any recommendations for good tongs - for any hair experts, how does Elle McPherson get her amazing waves??

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

NYX Round Lip Gloss in 008 Doll Pink

Hello Sweets :)

In my recent swap with Tiffany I received two NYX round glosses - these are my first NYX glosses and they are really lovely. My favorite of the two is number 8, Doll Pink...

I'm a wee bit in love with this colour! It's so pretty and bright - I think it will go really well with petals and peacocks. The formula's really nice, it's quite fluid, not at all sticky and smells lovely. It's not the most long lasting gloss but the colour remains a fair amount of time.

I definitely want to try more round glosses - do you have any recommendations?

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

The Wonders of Witch Hazel

Hey Dolls :)

About a month ago I introduced distilled witch hazel into my skin care routine and I think enough time has passed for me to blog about it.

Witch hazel is an astringent derived from the leaves and bark of the witch hazel shrub - I don't think you can buy essential oil from the plant (it doesn't produce enough oil to make this viable) so instead distilled witch hazel is produced. Distilled witch hazel has multiple uses which I will quickly talk about later. Firstly I want to talk about the biggie - the skin care benefits.

Whilst I was browsing the beauty aisles of Sainsbury's I came across this huge bottle of distilled witch hazel. As you all know I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do about my skin and thought it would be worth a try. I've been using this twice a day as a toner before moisturising. The first immediate noticeable thing about witch hazel is it has quite a distinctive smell. I can't say it's enjoyable but it doesn't linger on the skin and you do become acclimatised to it after a while.

I keep mine in the fridge so it's really quite refreshing to use. As it's a natural astringent it has really reduced the amount of oil produced in my skin which has had a huge impact on the number of break outs I've had. Also if there has been the occasional break out the witch hazel also helps to reduce any inflammation.

So after a month of using witch hazel twice daily this is how my skin currently looks foundation free...

Compare this to how my skin looks here. I am so pleased! The elements that make witch hazel so beneficial to the skin are:

1. A natural disinfectant
2. A natural astringent
3. An anti - irritant (has a slight numbing effect on the skin)
4. Anti-inflammatory properties
5. Protects the PH balance of the skin

I have also seen a noticeable reduction in the size of my pores!

Quickly, the other uses for witch hazel include: the reduction of eye bags, quickens the healing and fading of bruises, soothes sunburn, treat dry skin (use after a shower to lock in moisture) and it can be used to refresh tired eyes.

If you want anymore information about witch hazel, I found these websites really helpful (here and here) - they go into a lot more detail about everything I've spoken about here!

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

Topshop Glitter

Hey Dolls :)

I recently bought the two glitter pots from Topshop after talking to one of my favorite ladies in the whole blogging land Abbie ages ago about them on Twitter. I picked Lagoon (a bluey purple) and Gilt (a dusky pink).

I finally got the chance to use them last night and they look so pretty on! As with all glitters it was a total faff, I got glitter everywhere and by the end of the night everyone I was with was covered in glitter, all part of the fun I say! Here are some snaps...

I'm sorry that photo is a little wanky - it was the only one I had that showed the glitter properly! All I did was use NYX Jumbo Pencil in Slate all over the lid, placed a shimmery purple dazzle dust over the pencil, patted gilt over the whole lid and lagoon in the outer corner. Sounds easy but as I said it was a bit of a faff about.

Also, some love for Sarah's Girls Aloud Lashes, I'm normally a Cheryl kinda girl but loved Sarah's very much...

The glitter is a lot finer than the MAC pots which I'm used to - I thought I'd prefer a finer glitter but I actually got in a bigger mess ha! Also I should point out the pot does say to keep away from eyes but I was totally fine!

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

P.S. At the time of writing this post I was listening to Clubland Classics...and I loved it :D

Sable I love thee

Hey Dolls :)

For me, MAC's Sable is a completely fail safe shadow, if I'm not sure what I want to wear make up wise, I swish some sable through the crease and I'm happy. I think it just looks so pretty!

Sable is definitely in my top 5 MAC shadows. Being honest it's probably because on my part it involves little effort and I know it well ha! Today I've teamed it with MAC Rice Paper - a look I've been favoring lots lately - it's quick and easy and perfect for work days!

Also quickly, I re-dyed my hair last night, I LOVE how shiny your hair is the day after dying, I only wish it would look like that all the time!

Let me know your 'go-to' eyeshadow!

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

Todays Face and Some Ear Candyy!

Hey Dolls :)

I wanted to use some of the things Tiffany had sent me in our swap and having been eyeshadow free for quite a long time felt the urge to try the Maybelline eye shadows.

Face

L'oreal Studio Secrets Primer - MAC MSF Natural - MAC Superdupernatural Blush - NARS Laguna, MAC Shimmer Time Pigment.

Eyes

Two Faced Shadow Insurance - Maybelline Eye Studio Quad - Give me Gold - L'oreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss - Covergirl Lashblast.

Lips

EOS Lipbalm - WetnWild 903c.

I honestly love the colour of the WetnWild lipstick - it reminds me of a slightly less peachy Nars Barbarella! Also the maybelline quad has such lovely browns and golds. I love quads as they indulge my lazy side- they put together perfect colour combinations so you don't have to!!

Also quickly, I just wanted to show you some new ear candy I've been loving...

Lady Gaga HeartBeats and Vivienne Westwood Pink hearts - Love love love!

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

Petals and Peacocks...Continued

Hey Dolls :)

I knew I'd prefer Petals and Peacocks with a smidgen of tan...

What do you think? I know most of you lovely ladies wrote that you thought it looked nice with my pale skin - maybe I prefer it like this as it's not so BAM in your face? Let me know what you think!

Whilst getting ready this morning I watched Dating in the Dark - have any of you watched it? I love it - it's my new guilty pleasure. I know it's mean but I think the light reveal is hilarious when they don't like one another! If like me you thought you would hate it, give it a chance!

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

MAC Petals and Peacocks

Hey Dolls :)


I recently bought MAC's Petals and Peacocks lipstick from a blog sale and I wore it for the first time today. I'm not too sure about how it suits me I feel it might look a little better with a tan, what do you think...?

Hmm I really am not too sure that it suits me when I'm milk bottle white! I shall try again when I'm Xen Tanned up! Also, if you own Petals and Peacocks, how do you wear it? And if anyone has a good lip liner recommendation to go with it, I would love you long time <3

Also, I found the most beautiful flower clip from Accesorize the other day...

Honestly, I am in love with Accesorize at the moment - I've never seen a purple and gold flower before, I especially love the gold glitter!

Lastly, I do hope the post below made me laugh a little bit like this...

Hello man hand (Nick caught me unawares and made me laugh mid photo sesh ha!)

I think I might of scared quite a few people away oops, I don't normally look as scary!

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

How to look like Uncle Fester

It's very easy....

....Just forget to take your make up off after drinking several glasses of wine

If this is your first time ever reading my blog I promise I do not normally look like this and in normal circumstances am rather strict with my skin care routine. And in case you're wondering, yes I still currently have eyeliner all over my face....

xoxo