Brand Focus : Live Love London

Brand Focus : Live Love London

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Over the past few days, I have been thinking about a bringing a series to my blog - one that I know I will be able to manage and keep going every month. Being a huge beauty lover, I thought that I could potentially focus on a brand(s), at least one post a month, and give my honest opinions on all the products I own from them. I'm planning to showcase brands both highly recognised and upcoming, whether it be telling to guys about my favourite highend brand or expressing my love for an afforable brand that not many know about. Who knows, I might incorporate some fashion brands in the future if this goes down well?

The first brand we are going to zoom into is Live Love London - a company that have recently released a new beauty range exclusive to BHS. From haircare to makeup, Live Love London offer it all beauty-wise with affordable prices attached! However, the products that particularly intrigued me were their face palettes and lipsticks. Here is how I got on...

Bronze & Light Palette £6.75

What we have here is one of the most aesthetically pleasing bronze,blush and highlight palettes I've seen on the high street side of the spectrum. Encased in a sleek, black compact, 6 beautiful shimmer shades are arranged. Each shade is extremely diverse - something hard to find in any palette. I find that a lot of companies produce cosmetics that are TOO similar in the same palette, making me question whether it is worth the buy. Also, most shades are EXTREMELY pigmented (the bottom row and the white highlight), although I wouldn't count this as a negative point simply because I prefer blush shades to be sheer. This helps me to apply the shade subtly and not end up turning into a toy doll. 

Top Row (left to right)

~ A peach/coral toned pink with tiny golden glitter particles ~

~ A muted, mauve pink with a metallic sheen ~

~ A pure champagne white enriched with thousands of silver glitter ~

Bottom Row (left to right)

~ A salmon pink layered with a metallic, iridescent glow ~ 

~ A muted, mustard brown with flecks of golden glitter ~ 

~ An intense orange-copper with high metallic overtones ~ 

My personal favourites are two highlighting shades - the white and salmon pink will both look incredible on the cheeks for summer because of their glitter intensity. I just LOVE glitter!!! 

HD Contour Expert Palette £10

Contouring is a huuuuge thing in the beauty world. Therefore, I like to 'jump on the bandwagon' and try things out too. I already own a lot of high end contour products but nothing from the drugstore. I'm only used to working with powder contour, so was thrilled to find out that Live Love London contained 6 powder contour shades for me to work with. The palette is accompanied with a practical mirror and a small guide as to where the shades work best on the face. I am yet to venture into this crazy, intense contour look but I will let you know when I finally pluck up the courage to do so. 

Each of the powders are finely milled, feel silky on the skin and are highly pigmented. There are two highlight shades and four contour shades; the contour colours cater for all skin types which makes the palette versatile and universal. Despite being suitable for all skin types, I would like to say that I feel 5 shades would still be able to work on my skin - if not, I will be able to fit it into an eyeshadow look somehow.

Lipsticks £2 each

Lip products are one of my favourite things about makeup. I cannot begin to describe my excitement whenever I go lipstick shopping; trying different branded lipsticks is something that I enjoy and I would love to share with you my experiences.

First of all, the price is INSANE! I love affordable lipsticks, especially when they leave an impressive result. These are relatively long-lasting, considering their pleasing value - I wore them for roughly 3 hours before reapplying and this time scale is no different from the majority of my drugstore lippies. 

Secondly, Live Love London offer a wide range of lipstick shades. For me, these will be worn and cherished; pinks and reds are my thaaang. Both are wearable and are not too striking, making them perfect for everyday use. I also love the pigmentation and hydration these lipsticks offer - my lips are super sore after the winter months have passed and need a lot of TLC. These leave a moisturising coat on the top of my lips, which makes my lips feel soft and hydrated. Oh, and let's not forget...they smell like sherbet!!!

Have you tried anything from the Live Love London beauty range yet? What is your favourite drugstore brand?

Lots of love

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The products mentioned were gifted from Live Love London, however all opinions are honest and my own.

Coconut Lane Goodies

Coconut Lane Goodies

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Coconut Lane are a wonderful brand that offer an array of qwerky phone cases, wall art, jewellery, home accessories and much more. Fortunately, I was able to work with them and review some of their beautiful products from their range of insanely popular items. 

Prior to receiving my goodies, I was overwhelmed with excitement; I fell in love with everything I chose before I purchased them. When I say excited...I mean EXCITED! This is why....

Wall Art and Prints are probably one of my favourite products Coconut Lane sell. They look super qwerky and fit perfectly in my room. The shabby-chic frame was already mine, as I waiting for a quote like this to put inside. However, you can order a pre-framed print for a small added cost. 

Beyonce is literally my goddess - she is my favourite pop artist! I am in love with her voice, her songs, her style, her figure & life. Hence, I could pick no other quote than this for my wall. Saying that, I am now looking forward to building a collection of Coconut Lane quotes for my wall. I think they have picked a fabulous variety of wall art - including confidence pick-ups, sassy one-liners, famous movie quotes and phrases that simply make you laugh. 

~ What Would Beyonce Do? ~

Next on my list are jewellery pieces. Jewellery, in my opinion, is something that can complete an outfit - from a small pair of studs to a large chunky statement necklace. When browsing the jewellery section on the Coconut Lane site, I was immediately enticed by the anchor bracelet and adorable elephant studs. 

For certain, the anchor bracelet will be my Summer go-to accessory - I chose a white band as I feel that it would compliment tanned/sun-kissed skin. Also, the white and gold colours are extremely  versatile, enabling you to wear the bracelet with almost every outfit. This is something handy for me as I always seem to be in a rush.

Additionally, I am also loving these cute little elephant earrings. I cannot stop seeing elephant-themed jewellery all of my Twitter and Instagram so it was about time I purchased something of my own. Silver-coated earrings are my favourite to wear so this was an added bonus - I know I will be getting lots of use out of them! Next on my wishlist...the ELEPHANT RING!!!

Coconut Lane are well-known for their flashy, vibrant and fun phone cases. Being a follower, I know, I had to try out one of the crazy all-over-glitter covers. This looks incredible in sunlight - it was so difficult to capture the beauty of this case as my camera just couldn't quite pick up the stunning reflections of the glitter particles. Phone cases are an accessory for me, just like jewellery, so I love to match them with my outfits. This means I will probably become a hoarder of their phone cases - just like my friend Abi Hunter from Lady Hunter blog.

Recently, Coconut Lane have released a stunning range of product - the LUXE collection. I am in awe at their new classy phone cases and sunglasses; my hands will definitely be on those in the next few weeks! 

USE MY DISCOUNT CODE FOR 20% OF  COCONUT LANE : SCARLETSLIPPERS20

Lots of love

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This post is in collaboration with Coconut Lane - all opinions are honest and my own.

Festive Nail Polishes

Festive Nail Polishes

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Nail polishes become one of my favourite things around Christmas time. During the rest of the year, I usually find painting my nails an irritating chore but when Christmas arrives, I can't help feeling completely happy as I spruce up my nails with a red, green or glitter polish. 

At the beginning of the month, I attended Clothes Show Live with my best friend, Jess, and I received tonnes more nail varnishes to add to my winter/Christmas collection - a few of which will be included in this mini top 5 post. Enjoy! x

*FROM LEFT TO RIGHT*

Models Own - Scarlet Sparkle (a rich, Christmas red with thousands of ruby sparkles)

Models Own - Catherine Wheel (flecks of gold/red glitter strands that simply sum up Christmas)

Mint London - Hyper (cool green,blue tones with glitter to enhance those winter vibes)

Barry M - Silver (perfect for winter events to add some class to your outfit)

Barry M - Watermelon (a deep, sultry green to match your Christmas tree)

Lots of love 

Make Yourself Sparkle This Winter!

Make Yourself Sparkle This Winter!

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We all know that winter is truly here: the cold weather has swiftly approached, it's already the final month of the year and everyone is putting up their Christmas decorations. I am so excited for Christmas this every year, and love to find new glittery beauty products to make my face sparkle all winter-round. 

This year I finally purchased one of many beauty bloggers favourite highend highlighters - the infamous Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Powder in AURA!!! I couldn't resist adding another gorgeous highlighter to my collection and even better, it completely unique to any that I already own.

Encased in a chunky, champagne coloured compact, this peachy, golden baked glitter ball had me in awe; it was definitely my favourite shade out of the three on offer (Lit + Luminous)! There is soooo much sparkle through product and the formulation is insanely pigmented so a little goes a VERY long way - using the contour brush from the Real Techniques Bold Metals range provides precise application to the cheekbones followed by a fluffy brush to thoroughly blend and avoid that 'glitter ball mess' look. 

The peachy tone in Aura majorly contributes to the overall Christmas vibe to the product - without that peachy glow, my complexion would be completely washed out and their would be no colour on my cheeks to give any depth to my makeup look. Something I have become really fond of in the makeup world recently is the definition you can form by applying different colours to areas of the face. Contouring has impacted insane amounts in the makeup industry this year - it is the highlighters turn to take the limelight in 2016, does anyone else agree?!

Being a performer, I also bought this product as an added bonus because it states that you can use it to illuminate your body too. This would be amazing on the collarbones/arms for my dance/theatre shows - I can imagine it would catch the stagelights wonderfully.

Sorry for my lack of posts and absence over the past month. I will try and stay posting as much as possible - A levels are the worst!!! 

Comment below if you love wearing glitter/sparkle in Winter just like me!

Lots of love

Born Pretty Store // Review

Born Pretty Store // Review

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When ever a new makeup brand arises, I am always hesitant to try them out incase they don't quite meet my expectations and I feel like I've wasted my money/time. This is where Born Pretty Store comes in handy - an online, EXTREMELY affordable brand that sells cheap makeup for those who are sting-y like myself or who don't want to splash their cash on expensive beauty products.

Complementing their makeup related items, you can also find handy beauty tools for an amazing price too (brushes, tweezers, nail accessories etc). Shipping is surprisingly good, considering the low-priced items; there is free international shipping within 24 hours of your purchase! Pretty good, huh?

Let's indulge in the pretty pieces I picked out to show you guys...

Eyeshadow Trio #4 ~ £2.75

With the option of three different mini shadow palettes, I opted for this cool-toned, intense glitter trio.

The cool tones are perfect for the A/W season, suit my dark hazel eyes and the countless tiny sparkles are very flattering when caught in sunlight. Also, I'd like to mention how impressed I am with the high pigmentation and longevity of the shadows - for £2.75 I was, of course, shocked.

Fluorescent Liquid Lip Gloss #4 ~ £3.25

Despite not expecting the shade to be a powerful, vibrant pink, I am overall glad to have picked shade #4. There are an array of 12 fluorescent lippies to chose from and I picked something very 'out there' - away from comfort zone, for once. This appealed to me particularly because I love pink lippies with blue-undertones (they make my teeth look whiter)! This would 100% be perfect for anyone dressing up as Barbie for halloween - especially as it stays on the lips for a solid 2-3 hours which you can't find much when looking for the idea gloss.

If you would love to purchase a few cheap makeup products to try out, you can use this coupon code (giving you 10% off your overall order) MTH10.

Lots of love

Evening Makeup Look // Collab w. MollyIsabelSmith

Evening Makeup Look // Collab w. MollyIsabelSmith

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First off, I'd like to let you all know that today's post is part of a collab with Molly Smith from mollyisabelsmith.blogspot.co.uk. Alternatively, she has created a daytime and more natural look - the complete opposite of my intense eye makeup and bold lips. You can also find Molly on @mollyisabels on both twitter and instagram. It has been lovely working with her and I would be so grateful, as would she, if you went over to her blog and checked out her post.

Creating a bolder, intense makeup look is one of my ultimate past times; I love indulging in deeper lip colours and throwing dark shades onto my eyes. I just so happen to enter my own little bubble of serenity when I alter my makeup to something more dramatic than the regular day time face. Starting with the face, something I don't drastically transform, I opt for a full-coverage foundation (MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC15). This works well when faking a flawless complexion as well as lasting the entire evening, whether you be going out to a fancy restaurant or partying all night long, this foundation will stay put. The only other change in my face makeup is contouring. Personally, I like to contour my face A LOT when I'm wearing evening makeup. I apply my Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess in the hollows of my cheeks, my temples, under my jaw and sometimes on the tip of my nose; contouring is a great way to dramatise your makeup from day to night. In the look above, I also used Mac's Soft&Gentle to highlight, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer to eliminate appearance of under eye cirles/highlight my T-Zone and Mac's Fleur Power for a subtle hint of blush. 

The primary focal point of the look comes down to the eyes. Maybelline's Colour Tattoo in Eternal Gold was perfect for creating a base on the eyelid. This helps to avoid creasing and maintain the eyeshadow applied on top. Next, I turned to my trusty Naked 2 palette and applied SNAKEBITE through the crease until fully blended. If you aren't comfortable using black eyeshadow, then skip the next step - I decided to increase the intensity by defining my outer corner. This was easily done by adding the darkest, opaque shade in the Naked 2 palette - blackout. Little by little, I tapped this onto my outer corner and blended thoroughly to ensure no harsh lines were present. To finish the eye look, I added some golden liquid glitter from Essence and painted on some winged liner. My lashes were lengthened and volumized using Smashbox's mascara; I also went under my eye with snakebite to define my eye shape.

Deciding on a lip colour was the final challenge. Owning many a dark lip, it was a difficult decision but in the end I chose Maybelline's Colour Drama Lip Pencil in Berry Much. Rich purples look undeniably fabulous with dramatic eyes and definitely a go-to of mine. Also, I think a ruby red lip would look equally as gorgeous with this eye makeup - gold and red are a great combo!

Thank you for reading and don't forget to check out Molly's post!

Lots of love