My Two Minute Face...

Hey Dolls :)

A little while ago I posted my 5-10 minute face, however of late this has been substituted for my two minute face...

Literally a dusting of MAC MSF Natural, MAC Hang Loose blush, MAC Smoulder in the waterline, Max Factor False Lash Effect and Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream...talk about lazeeee! Ha also I'm wearing the same t-shirt two posts in a row...is that a faux pas? I feel it may be (I promise it's clean ha!)

I've been having a brainstorm for coming posts and I was thinking of doing a one week lipstick challenge! Basically I would need to wear a different colour (not shade) lipstick for seven days to lull me out of my baby pink comfort zone...so fuchsia, red, mauve, nude, orange, plum etc. Does that sound remotely interesting? Let me know!

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

Loose Waves and Beauty and the Beast!

Hey Dolls :)

Just a quick snap of how I've been wearing my hair lately. I curled my extensions using my babyliss concial wand the night before and let the curls fall out into loose waves...

I genuinely love my conical wand, I use it almost everyday. When I was in boots the other day I saw that babyliss had brought a new wand, it looked square rather than round and can be used to produce waves - has anyone tried it? I'm rather intrigued!

I do apologise for the terrible grainy photobooth photos, it wasn't even light outside when I was getting up and ready boo!

And just because it wouldn't be a photo booth post without one, here's a cheesy thumbs up pose...

Lorra Love

xxx

Important Advice!

Hey Dolls :)

The most important advice my mum ever gave me was LOOK AFTER YOUR SKIN! Wise words Mamma Carr or else I'll end up looking like this...

I'm off to slap some more Kiehls creamy eye treatment on!

Love Nic

xoxo

Budget Beauty Five

Hey Dolls :)

I recently realised that I haven't done a budget beauty post in a while and there has been a a little collection of amazing products that I have recently discovered (or re-discovered) that I wanted to share with you all...

1. Me Me Me Blush Me in Rouge

There's been so much talk surrounding these blushes that I don't need to say very much...I picked the rouge over the others as it's a little different to other blushes I have in my collection - on the cheek it creates quite a healthy, peachy glow...
It has become my perfect everyday blush!

2. N.Y.C Blushable Creme Stick in Big Apple Blush and MeMeMe Shimmy Shimmers in Pink Shimmer

These two products have created my other perfect cheek combination of the moment - a rosy pink glow. The NYC creme stick is a really light and dewy product and with a swish of mememe's shimmy shimmer (HATE the name) leaves my cheeks with a natural flush...

3. Barry M's Lip Paint 146

I absolutely love this lipstick! It's one of the brightest colours I've found that I actually feel suits me. I do find the formula of Barry M's lip paints to be a bit hit and miss - I'm happy to report that 146 isn't drying or chalky - HOORAY!

4. 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Bee-Hive

I am not a lover of nudes, in fact I think they make me look down right ridiculous. However, because bee-hive goes onto the lips almost like a gloss it's a really flattering and lovely lipstick to wear. I especially love pairing it with a dark smoky eye, a look I could never pull off with all other nude lipsticks I had tried!

5. Sleek Ink Pots

I much prefer gel eyeliners as opposed to liquid but I'm always a little irritated at my fluidlines only lasting a couple of months at a time before drying up. Enter the Sleek Ink Pots - where have they been all my life? Honestly, I like this equally as much my fluidlines - in fact on me the ink pots are actually longer lasting, but for a fraction of the cost!

6. Topshop Khol

Apart from the skin glow, the Kohl pencils were the only product that I really liked from the Topshop line. I have this one called Thistle which is a light lilacy-blue and a black. The pencils are so smooth and long lasting and pretty much don't budge once they're on - I completely recommend them for just £4!

I hope you've all had a good week - it was my first week back at uni and already my head is buried in restoration plays and dissertation notes GAH!

Lots of Love

Nic
xoxo

OOTD

Hey Dolls :)

I was recently requested via formspring to show the kind of things I wear to uni...here's the first, I'll try and take some more snaps but I'm normally running about late in the morning ha...

T-shirt - Truffleshuffle.com

Cardigan - River Island

Skirt - Diesel

Leggings - Topshop

Boots - ASOS

Bag - River Island

Scarf - Alexander McQueen

See how pretty River Island cardigans are just now? I love the lace detail at the back! And of course I love Edward Scissorhands! This outfit probably shows my day to day style quite well, comfy and slouchy!

Love Nic

xoxo

Things I have been enjoying Seven!

Hey Dolls :)

I really love writing these posts as it allows me time to ramble - something that I'm rather fond of! Here are some of the things I have been loving at the moment...

1. River Island

As I'm back to uni this week, I've been furiously attempting to build a uni appropriate wardrobe. Mainly for me this consists of black t-shirts, cardigans and leggings. Not very thrilling I know but I really am not particularly fussed over clothes. However - I am in love with River Island just now! They have the most beautiful selection of cardigans which I'm sure you'll see me wearing in upcoming posts. My favorite thing I have bought is this really pretty lace zip jacket - perfect for throwing over my favorite truffle shuffle tees (I love Truffle Shuffle so much I have an upcoming post scheduled dedicated to it)

2. Primark Earrings

I recently went on a Primark jewellery splurge and my absolute favorite things I got were these earring multi packs. The flowers were only £2 and the hearts £1.50 - Bargain!

3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Ya'll should know I'm a sucker (har har) for vampires and hands down thee best vampire series ever made is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I still remember watching it first time round on Friday nights, BBC 2, 6:45 and falling head over heels for Angel. I've lost count of the number of times I've watched all seven seasons and I'm about to start all over again!

4. Chloe Eau de Parfum

My absolute favorite perfume of the moment - described on the Frasers website as 'young, fresh and romantic' - it's notes include rose, magnolia, lily, amber, cedarwood. I think it's quite an unusual fragrance as it is quite fresh (that's the exact word Nick used to describe how I smelled when I wore it) however as it's an eau de parfum it's really quite strong. If you haven't smelled it before, definitely have a sniff the next you're at a perfume counter - it's beautiful!

5. Amazing Snacksss

Galaxy Cookie Crumble, Petits Filous Vanilla Little Dessert, Fanta Fruit Twist....nuff said!

Love Nic

xoxo

Famous by Sue Moxley

Hey Dolls :)

I was recently browsing in Superdrug with Mamma Carr when she started swatching loads of shadows in the Famous by Sue Moxley line. In all honesty I had never paid much attention to any of the Famous products but when I saw the beeee-utiful colours on the back of my mums hand I had to have a look. I picked up three shadows and honestly I can't stop looking at how pretty they are! The three I picked up are all shimmer colours, I wasn't particularly impressed with any of the matte shades. The shimmer shadows are unbelievably buttery soft. They blend like an absolute dream and also have beautiful contrasting colours running through - exactly my kind of shadow!

Shade 17

Shade 17 is a really lovely brown with a copper shimmer running through. I think this would look beautiful blended into the crease with a really neutral colour on the lid like naked from Urban Decay. It has an almost metallic appearance when you catch it in the right light.

Shade 14

Oh my days I love this shadow! What I love most about is the fact that it looks really quite dull in the pan - it isn't until it is swatched that you realise how lovely it really is. As you can see there's a really lovely purple shimmer running through the shadow with the base being a browny-plum.

Shade 12

This was the shadow that originally caught my eye - of course it's a purple! It has a beautiful electric blue running through the shadow - my favorite! I just could not get a good photo of shade 12 that shows the shimmer so here's a blurred one where you can see just how bright the blue is...

I am honestly so impressed with the quality of these shadows, they are only £4 each which I think is a great deal for how soft and pigmented they are. I should of said that each swatch is taken after only one swipe. There are also shadow quads for £9 that look beautiful which I want to go back and have a look at.

Have you tried any Sue Moxley products?

Love Nic

xoxo

I want to be a Kardashian!

Hey Dolls :)

I've talked about this lots before but I bloomin love Keeping Up With the Kardashians. I love Khloe, Kourtney and Kim's style so much - they always look so lovely and glamorous - I'm rather jealous. After watching old episodes of KUWTK I decided today to channel my inner Kardashian and sport some long wavy hair and dark eyes...

Face - DiorSkin Sculpt/NARS Laguna/Illamasqua Bronzing Duo/Models Own Cheeky Pink

Eyes - Two Faced Shadow Insurance/UD Creep and Sin/MAC Smoulder/MUFE Smoky Lash

Lips - MAC Angel/NARS Orgasm Gloss

I didn't want to go all out and layer loads of blush/highlight a la Kardashian as I'm going on a wee trip to seaside today but I do love dark eyes!

Have a good day loves!
xoxo

FOTD

Hey Dolls :)

After being on an unintentional makeup spending ban I finally gave in yesterday and purchased the Naked palette and one of the mememe box blushes. The Naked palette really is every bit as lovely as everyone claims. It's been the first morning in quite a while I've been excited about doing my make up...

Face - MAC MSF Natural Light/Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer/MAC Fix +/Mememe Blush Me Rouge

Eyes - UDPP/UD Virgin, Naked, Dark Horse, Creep/UD Zero 24/7 liner/Covergirl Lash Blast

Lips - NYX Tea Rose/Gosh Darling/MAC Florabundance

I do apologise for the rather terrible side on photos, today was not a photogenic day! My first impressions of the Mememe blush are really positive, it's a lovely colour - very pigmented so a light hand is needed.

Hope you all have a good day - I'm spending the evening after work tackling my brows, 'citing!

Love Nic

xoxo

A Daily Mini Facial...

Hey Dolls :)

Image Credit: We Heart It

I'm on a proper skin kick of late - now that my skin is looking better than it ever has I'm on a proper mission to try and keep it that way. Recently I've indulged in some proper pamper sessions by getting a professional facial. However, on a recent google sesh I happened across some brilliant tips to get the feeling of a facial at home - the most beneficial to me being a daily facial massage.

This particular massage technique is promoted by facialist Vaishaly Patel . She claims that daily facial massages can firm, smooth and sculpt whilst increasing circulation to the skin which in turn creates a healthy flushed glow. These are the steps I've followed for the last month...

1. Using alternative hands, sweep up the neck - always in an upwards movement briskly but gently. Repeat x 3



2. Using your fingertips and starting from the chin and jaw line moving upwards, massage the face using circular motions - Vaishaly claims that this boosts circulation and lymphatic drainage whilst helping to disperse any congestion under the surface of the skin.



3. When you get to the eye area, sweep your fingers along the brow bone, moving outwards and then underneath the eye towards the nose.



4. Complete the massage by massaging the forehead working from the middle outwards towards the temples.

I normally use a little amount of moisturiser so as not to stretch the skin. Also use quite firm and smooth movements trying not to drag the skin. After doing this massage daily for a month I have definitely noticed a change in the vitality of my skin - it looks really fresh and bright! I also hope I see the knock on effect the older I get. I've also found it really easy to fit into my daily routine as I do it in the shower in the morning whilst I give my conditioner time to work its magic.

I'd love to hear any of your skincare tips!

Love Nic
xoxo

Snow White...Kind Of

Hey Dolls :)

This is a FOTN from a couple of days ago - I hadn't intended on going out so hadn't bothered to straighten my extensions or tanned. However, earlier that day I had watched Snow White and at the last minute to decided to give myself a quick (fake) bob and red lips...

Face - Revlon Photoready/MAC Prep + Prime Powder/MAC Harmony

Eyes - Two Faced Shadow Insurance/MAC Saddle/MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack/MAC Zoom Lash

Lips - Illamsqua Strumpet/Maybelline Colorsensational Ruby Star/MAC Love Alert Dazzleglass

It felt a bit odd going out with a matte face, I'm usually all about the glow. Also no blusher eek! However I really do love how red lips and pale skin look together - how amazing are ruby star and love alert together?

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

Review: Natural Classic Henna Treatment Wax

Hey Dolls :)

I sometimes feel really quite guilty about what I put my hair through - I'm a seriel dyer, I blow dry and straigten/curl it daily and probably don't get it professionally cut as often as I should (I need to let go of my hair razor ha). My one solace is I am in quite a strict deep conditioning routine. For the past year my treatment of choice was the TRESemme Deep Conditioning Treatment Masque. However, when browsing in bodycare not too long ago I found this huge tub of shiny hair goodness...

I've been using it for two weeks now and absolutely love it! Firstly as it clearly reads on the bottle despite containing henna - this conditioning treatment will not colour your hair and is suitable for all hair types - although it will be particularly beneficial for those with bleached, tinted and permed hair.

Consistency wise it appears quite thick in the tub, however to the touch it's quite wet...

The best way I've found to use the treatment is to apply it to the hair after shampooing whilst soaking in the bath and leave it on for as long as possible (about 20 mins to half an hour). According to the back of the tub the steam from the bath will help to activate the reconditioning process - not too sure if this is true but it sounds good! Another good way to do this is to wrap hair in a warm damp towel. The bodycare lady told me a lot of people wrap their hair in cling film whilst using treatments like this - if you've ever done this I'd love to know if it was beneficial!

As to how it leaves my hair - amazing! So soft and shiny and honestly after only using the treatment wax four times I have already noticed an improvement in the condition of my hair! It also smells quite nice, quite floral, nothing exceptional though. There is one very important point I have not discussed...you get all this product...

For 99p!!!!!!! Say Whaaaaa?? To be honest I didn't really have high hopes for treatment at that price, however as usual my snobbery was proven to be wrong. Honestly, if you're near a bodycare give it a try, you can also get it from Amazon for £1.99.

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo

When good lipstick happens to bad skin tones...

Hey Dolls :)

I've had my beady eyes fixed on MACs St Germain for an age and whilst in town the other day I gave in and bought it - HUGE MISTAKE! It looks appallingly bad, Nick actually did a double take when I came through to show him ha! It's such a shame as when cropped like this, I love it...

However in reality, it looks like this...

Sadly, it completely washes me out and makes me look a little ill! Looks like I'll be pawning it off to one of my friends boo! Have you ever been so excited to try something and then been really disappointed with how it looks?

Lots of Love

Nic

xoxo