september favourites

Tomorrow is October, and with another month comes another favourites post. Here's my top picks from the past 30 days.

I don't usually include any kind of jewellery in favourites posts, for the simple reason that I change up what I wear every day and haven't got a particular attachment to any specific pieces. Well, I'm about to contradict myself by saying that I have only worn these two pairs of stud earrings for the whole of this month - surely that must signify some kind of love. They both are from Superdrug (I hauled the pair on the right here) and um yeah that's about it.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Lollipop - The hype was right on this product, it just took me a few months to realise it. And besides, I can't say no to a hot pink lippy - especially one that gives such a lovely finish on the lips. But of course I have to ruin that by applying lip balm on top, unfortunately the lip butters aren't hydrating enough for me to wear them on their own.

Skin79 BB Cream - This is just a little sample that I bought from eBay (the seller is genuine, I promise) and as soon as it runs out I'll be buying the full size. I genuinely think it's improved my skin's condition, and it also evens out my skin tone although I still need concealer for under my eyes and any blemishes. I'd like to branch out into the world of BB creams more, does anyone have any recommendations?

Ginvera Green Tea Exfoliating Marvel Gel - This was included in this She Said Beauty box, what disappointed me was that the tube was half-empty when I got it. Nevertheless, this is a great product. It's unlike any other exfoliator I've used, instead of being a scrub, it's a gel that you rub into dry skin and it forms into little balls that are actually dead skin cells - so you can see it working! It leaves my skin feeling really soft and I will definitely purchase the full size in the near future.

Layla D Honey Moisturiser - Another She Said Beauty sample that was in this box, and I've been using this as a night cream as although my skin is usually oily, with the turn of the seasons it decides to throw some dry patches into the mix too - and this moisturiser helps keep them at bay as well as smelling like honey. It's a win-win situation.

I've also been loving Doctor Who, Series 7 started this month and although they're nowhere near as scary as they were when Russell T Davies was the writer, they're still really entertaining to watch. The last episode was on last night, and now I'm counting down the days until the Christmas special!

Oh, and here's what was in my latest Graze box :)

notd | battenburg nails

Apologises for the awful title, my mind has drawn a blank and the only thing I can think of when I look at my nails is CAKES so it'll have to do.

Rimmel Lemon Drop, 17 Pink Lemonade
The nail art brushes that I bought off eBay really came in handy for this look (you can buy them here), I just covered my whole nail in three coats of the pastel yellow colour, then drew a cross with a nail art brush and coloured it in.
As for the "fruity scent" of the Rimmel polish, it's a bit of a faff - my nails smelt faintly of lemon scented washing up liquid for five minutes after my nails had dried, and there was no trace of the scent after I washed my hands.
This was my first time using the pink colour, and it was a lot sheerer than I expected, it took a good few coats to get it opaque. I'm in love with the colour though, it's a lot more orange-toned than any of my other pinks and is just lovely in general.
I didn't fully wait for the look to dry before adding a top coat to make the edges softer and blend everything together nicely - I thought the design looked a bit too harsh otherwise.

I also did another variation of these, and I ended up not liking them and deciding they weren't worthy of a post of their own, but I thought I might chuck 'em into this post in case anyone's looking for some nail inspiration.

Eyeko Saucy Polish, Rimmel Lemon Drop, Sally Hansen Grass Slipper, Sally Hansen Brisk Blue

eyeko liptastik glossy lip pen in lip lover - review & giveaway ***closed***

I own a few Eyeko products due to there being an offer a while ago to get rid of products with the old branding on them and me taking advantage of said deal. Today I have an uber bright chubby lip pencil to share with you!

The packaging is kept simple, the tube is grey with pink accents and has a clear lid so you can easily see the colour inside. The pen holds 4g of product and is retractable, which means no sharpening and wasting product, however once you've been using this for a while you might lose the sharp point and it would be a bit more difficult to apply.

Lip Lover is a bright warm-toned red that leans slightly orange and is really pigmented.  It's basically a lipstick in pen form and is really easy to apply with a smooth formula. It leaves a glossy finish and isn't drying, a massive plus for me!

It's really long-wearing for a lip product, it lasts around four hours on me and it also leaves a stain.

There are three colours in the line, the other two are a bright fuchsia called Hot Lips and Loudmouth which is a rosy pink.

Top photo without flash, bottom photo with flash.

Pigmentation 8/10
Overall 8/10

Unfortunately since this is discontinued I can't find anywhere online that stocks it apart from here! (Bit of a waste writing this review then. Ah well.)

But wait, there's more! I actually ended up with two of these, so I decided that one of you should have one. All you need to do is fill in the Rafflecopter thingy below! Sorry, but this is UK only.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

top 5 autumn nail polishes

I've seen a few of these type of posts floating around recently and being the nail polish addict that I am, I thought I'd add my two cents into the mix - so without further ado, here are the nail polishes that will be on my nails the most this autumn!

It's time to say goodbye to pastel shades and bright colours, it's all about the dark greens, deep reds and navy blues. Essie's Power Clutch falls into the dark green category, it's a very dark khaki with grey undertones - for me this is basically autumn in a bottle. 

Carry On by Essie is one that I haven't got round to wearing yet, but I can predict that it'll become a firm favourite as I always gravitate towards dark plums and reds at this time of year. It's not the most opaque red I've ever used, after two coats it still looked slightly streaky.

My last NOTD featured Calvin Klein Electric Blue (here), and it's such a lovely colour that I couldn't help but include it into this list. Granted, it doesn't have the best staying power but I'm prepared to put up with it as it's a brighter alternative to navy.

I had to include a nude colour, and Nails Inc Porchester Square fits perfectly. I would describe the colour as "mushroom", it's a beige that's more on the grey side than brown and suits my skin colour really well.

Last of all is the iconic OPI Lincoln Park After Dark, and the photos make it look rather similar to Essie Carry On, but in reality Carry On is a deep red, while this leans on the purple side. My bottle is only a miniature size, but rest assured I will be buying the full size the moment this runs out!

What are your top nail polish picks for autumn?

forever 21 haul

My blog's been fairly quiet over the last few days, I had a scheduled post that managed to upload itself (wehey!), but my excuse for being absent is that I was in London, and with London comes shopping. Naturally.

I managed not to buy anything at all until I stepped through the golden gates of Forever 21, then my plan to leave with as much money as I came in with went downhill. Ah well, at least it makes for a blog post.

I think I may have found my perfect denim shirt, the cut is really flattering and doesn't look baggy at all, not to mention the studded shoulders - to be honest I think the studs are what drew me in, they really add an edge to the shirt, and transform it into a statement piece. What's not to love?

In an attempt to wean myself off wearing hoodies, a beige cardigan made it's way into my basket - but not just any cardigan, oh no. Two words: elbow patches. I've no idea why I love this little feature so much, it's just so damn adorable.

Another hoodie alternative, this time in the form of a sweater with a bunny rabbit emblazoned on it. I can see this getting a lot of use when the weather starts to get chilly as it's so soft and perfect for lazy days.

The last time I was in Forever 21, I picked up a pair of jeans that soon became my favourite and most comfortable pair, so I thought it'd be well worth it to get another pair, especially for the price. I couldn't get a decent full-length shot of the jeans, but they're basic skinnies that almost look like jeggings. If you ever find yourself in Forever 21, I urge you to try on some jeans - I love mine to bits.

I couldn't go into Forever 21 and not get any jewellery, and the pieces I chose were some stackable rings (£3.90), a pair of triangular navy earrings with gold accents (£2.40) and a black and gold bracelet with small spikes that was on sale for £2.99.

uk magazine freebies - september 2012

This post doesn't really deserve the same title as all my other magazine freebie posts, namely as I only have come up with one free gift to share with you - and you can find it in the October issue of InStyle, which costs £3.80. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a single magazine with the sample I wanted attached (I had my eye on the mascara) so this post is photoless.

You have a choice of four different mini Clinique products, there's a 7ml sample of the Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle & UV Damage Corrector, a 4g tube of the High Impact mascara, a 2.3ml Long Lasting Glosswear SPF15 lipgloss or a 7ml sample of the Turnaround Overnight Radiance Moisturiser - quite a good selection in my opinion!

Did you pick up this month's InStyle?

notd | electric blue

Calvin Klein's makeup range is a brand that I've never seen at full price, it always seems to crop up on discount websites and stores and I always assumed the products were bad quality if they can afford to be discounted so much. To test this belief, I picked up a nail polish in a gorgeous electric blue colour - aptly named "Electric Blue". Props to the person that named this, bet they're a real creative type.

  I wouldn't say this nail polish has the best formula in the world, it chipped slightly after a day and after two days it really was looking worse for wear.

The shade itself has a slight shimmer to it and took two coats to become opaque, but I still could see my nail line (which bugs me more than it should). I also added an accent nail by applying one coat of Sally Hansen's Dive Deeper.

Calvin Klein Electric Blue, Sally Hansen Dive Deeper

Oh, I just noticed that I hit 200 GFC followers, thanks so much!

today's graze box

I was pleasantly surprised by a Graze box in the mail today - I usually post-pone the boxes for a few months (as I think they're too expensive for me to be treating myself with one every week) so when the date comes around for them to be shipped again, my only warning is an email the day before.

I wrote a post explaining Graze in detail, so if you want to learn more about it you can do so here.

The four om noms included in my box were:
Summer Berry Compote - It consists of bits of shortbread and strawberry jam for dipping (and yes, it did taste amazing).
Scrumptious Blueberry Swirl - This one is a mix of blueberry yoghurt raisins, raspberry cranberries and blackcurrants, I've had this a few times before and it's one of my favourites!
My Thai - This was the best of the bunch, it's baked soy bites with sweet chilli sauce for dipping, I always like the slightly spicy ones the most.
Rustic Marble Bread - The breads are made fresh, and since the Graze box arrives the day after it's sent they almost taste like they're fresh out of the oven! It has smoked paprika, garlic and thyme and as with everything else, it's truly scrumptious (that word reminds me of Mary Poppins teehee).

If you live in the UK and would like to try Graze, you can get your first box for free by clicking here.

Would you like me to post little updates as to what was in my box every time I receive one, like add it on to the end of another post or something?

ebay purchases #3

I'm doing these eBay posts more regularly than I first anticipated (you can view #1 here and #2 here) - I just seem to be sucked into the jewellery listings and always find something really pretty for such an affordable price.

 To kick things off, let's have a lovely photo of my ear. I never realised how strange ears looked until now.
I was rather cheesed off when I received these as they didn't come with earring backs, which isn't too much of a problem for me as I have loads of spares (they tend to congregate on the floor) but this may not be ideal if you aren't as avid a collector of earrings as I.
That being said, I think these are really pretty and are on the rather classier end of my earring stash, polar opposites to my neon green star earrings and my beloved rainbow cat studs.
You can find the black bow earrings here.

Up next is a ring, and a sparkly one at that. I adore jewellery with wings on it, and when you add some rhinestones into the mix, my magpie sense comes over me and I have to have it.
I've tried my hardest not to say "wing ring" through out this paragraph, but the urge is too much. Wing ring wing ring wing ring.
You can find it here, also available in gold, and here's a multicoloured gold version.

I very highly doubt these earrings are real Betsey Johnson, but I bought then for the design, not the label.
I don't own another pair of asymmetrical earrings, but I'm warming to the look, and I just think these are adorable, alright? That's the sole reason I bought them. They are just too freaking adorable.
And you can look at (and buy) the adorableness here.

Oh look at me. I've got a guitar. But it's not a guitar. It's a necklace. What? That's right. Your brain just exploded. Someone call a medic.
On eBay here.

Last but not least is some more fuel for my winged jewellery addiction. I specifically bought a smaller size so it would fit my pinkie and look really delicate, but as the listing I bought mine from has ended, I'm not entirely sure what size the listing I'm linking is selling.
It's also available in copper, here.

What was the last thing you bought from eBay?

notd | ruby elephants

I've never really experimented with the world of nail stickers, so when I stumbled upon hailthenails.com where they had water transfer decals for around £2 with free postage I thought I'd give them a go!

You get 20 stickers in a pack (5 large, 10 medium, 5 small), along with some instructions:
Apply to clear or coloured nails

Cut the decal to size
Pop the decal in water for 30 second
Slide off backing paper onto the nail
Allow to dry and coat in clear varnish

The first few nails didn't turn out so well (see pinkie finger), but by the time I'd moved on to doing my middle finger I had got the hang of it and although you can still slightly see the edge of the sticker under a bright light, it isn't too noticeable - I also found it easier to apply a thin layer of clear nail polish before applying the decal as it acts as a glue and there's less bubbling.

Orly Ruby was a dream to apply and only needed two coats to become opaque.

Orly Ruby, Black Elephant Water Transfer Decals

she said beauty box - september

Another month, another beauty box, and what a winner this one is! There are no less than four full-size products in the box, and all the boxes contain the same items so no-one misses out on anything - and there's a little snack thrown in too! 

The colour of the actual box has changed slightly, it's now a more vibrant version of it's signature duck-egg blue.

Ginvera Green Tea Whitening Marvel Gel - I used a tiny sachet of this ages ago and although I liked it, there wasn't enough product in the sample for me to establish a proper opinion of it. Recently I've been considering buying the full size as I've heard some rave reviews on the product, so I'm so happy I get to try this out! Are She Said Beauty mind-readers or something?

The tube contains 10ml and is worth £3.67.

Collection (2000) Fix Me Up Long Lasting Make-Up Fixer - I never really have a problem with my makeup vanishing throughout the day, however my foundation does tend to look a bit ragged after six hours, I'm interested to see if this will change anything.

This is a full size product and retails for £5.99.

Collection (2000) Primed & Ready Smoothing Make-Up Primer - Two Collection products? Not sure how I feel about that. Ah well, at least they're full-sized.

I've never ventured into the world of face primers, the only one I have is a miniature Benefit Porefessional and I think that's only been used once. I'm planning on using this in conjunction with the Fix Me Up and see if they give my makeup extra-longlasting super powers. Take that, Superman.

Also a full-sized product, it's worth £5.99.

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil - If I'm not mistaken, this was in last month's Glossybox, where it was described as "the best cleanser you've ever tried" or something along those lines. I'm intrigued to see if it as good as it claims, especially as it's fairly cheap.

Another full size, this is worth £3.50.

Popchips Barbeque - This is a lovely little extra and I've already devoured the packet - I can confirm that they were delicious!

Amie Spring Clean Cooling Clay Mask - I haven't used a clay mask in a while, and this one looks as good as any - the sachet says it contains 10ml, but the card claims it's a full size and holds 15ml (and retails for £1.50)...mysterious *strokes chin*...

You can find me on the She Said Beauty website here, and you can subscribe to She Said Beauty here.

So the total value of this month's box was £20.65, pretty impressive! Are you subscribed to any beauty boxes?