Westfield Shopping Haul

Westfield Shopping Haul

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Over the weekend, my boyfriend and his family took a trip to London for a shopping day at Westfield Stratford. I hadn't been shopping in while so ended up splashing my money on a few things, alongside raking in some of the best January sales.

MAC Blush - Melba

A soft peach blush which I was in great need of. I really wanted a natural blush shade for everyday use and the subtle coral tones make this perfect for the upcoming spring season.

Forever 21 - Striped Top

A basic, but staple, wardrobe piece which I was unfortunately at loss of; thus, I picked one up on my shopping journey as I thought it would be a perfect addition to my sixth form wardrobe.

American Eagle Outfitters - Red Suede Boots

Just by looking into the shop windows, I knew the items were right up my street. After taking a quick stroll around the gorgeous clothing pieces, I caught my eye on these set of Heeled Suede Red boots. There was a huge sale on this pair - I got them for £12 from £30!!! Just my luck, they were also in my size, with only two pairs left on the shelf.

Parmar ShoeCare - Black Knee High Boots

An absolute fashion craze at the minute is shirt dresses with a pair of beautiful knee high boots. I am in love with this current trend and decided to pick myself a cheap pair (£20) up just incase they didn't quite suit me.

VS underwear, CK underwear, Topshop Underwear

As I hadn't been shopping in a while, I decided to treat myself to some pretty new underwear. Some may think I went a bit too overboard considering I bought some from three different places but a girl has gotta treat herself every once in a while, right?!

Swarovski Vittore White Ring

My boyfriend's mum was so so lovely and bought me this stunning white, Vittore ring from Swarovski; I cannot stop staring at the embellished sparkling chatons circling the entire ring. I was so grateful and extremely lucky to be surrounded by such loving, generous people.

Tiger (Random Purchases)

I came across this shop called Tiger, of which I had never seen/heard of before in my life. Being drawn to the pretty pastel colours in the window, I had to enter and pick up the most random bunch of items ever. I bought a 2kg weight to help with my fitness (one of my new years resolutions), a notepad because you cant have enough, a little silver bucket to put cute little things in and some cotton buds. Such a weird combination - I know...

Thanks for reading!!


Lots of love

What I Got For My Birthday 2015

What I Got For My Birthday 2015

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On Friday the 4th of September, it was my birthday and indeed was spoilt again by my wonderful family, friends and boyfriend. I'm very appreciative of all my gifts and this post is not in any way boasting about my fortune; I just wanted to share with you all my gorgeous new makeup bits and bobs, some fashion items and other things I received over the course of my birthday weekend. Some of the presents below, I bought with birthday money as I preferred going to London and chosing some things I wanted myself. Let's get started...

Makeup

My bestfriend is an honest God for buying me Urban Decay's latest Naked Smoky Palette release. I was so happy and overwhelmed that she got this for me, as they are pretty darn pricey. I'm in love with the colours and names, as always! Cannot wait to review this in the near future; URBAN DECAY are an honest blessing to the makeup world.

The left purchase was one I made my own in London; I've been wanting to try the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils for too long now and I'm so glad to finally have my hands on one. The pigmentation is insane and I'm a sucker for crayon-styled lip products - they really aid appliance, I think. My boyfriend was so sweet and bought me this Nars Eyeshadow that was out of stock a couple weeks back when I wanted to buy it in London. Nars Callisto is a gorgeous icy silver/pink shade that will perfect in the winter months.

Mac's Mehr seems to be a new craze recently?! Well, from what I've seen over instagram and youtube, a lot of people are hyping of this MAC number. I thought this would be great for sixth form as it is a neutral, classy pink/mauve shade. This is also another purchase of my own from Selfridges, I just couldn't leave it, could I?!

Another friend, Karis, was absolutely fabulous and gifted me these two Urban Decay products. Urban Decay are possibly my favourite high end brand, along with Mac and Nars, and I was so happy to receive these beauties for my birthday. On the left is a recent want of mine - Daisy from Wild Flower Makeup uploaded a review on this and I couldn't help but swoon over this popping purple colour (BITTERSWEET). Additionally, I've become an avid lover of these eyeshadow (see my recent purchase here. A pretty space grey silver with glitters running throughout (MUSHROOM).

Jess, another close friend of mine, obviously listened well too when I mentioned my lust for Mac's Nightmoth Liner. I didn't have any dark lip liners so I struggled to pull off dark lips all night long. Thanks to Jess, I don't have to worry about my dark lippies smearing/cracking over my lip liner throughout the night. 

When in Superdrug, I noticed many a deal so what other can one do but to take advantage?! I decided to nab this very wanted foundation when it had been reduced to £10 this week. The finish of this is amazing and very good for people like me who love a full coverage.

Jess very kindly bought me this second gift too. She was very thoughtful and matched Revlon's Miami Fever Lip Lacquer to my very bright Mac Lady Danger. These would look incredible together; a hot glossy lip would look insane in the evening. 

Other Beauty

Aidan also bought me this Body Shop product from one of their new ranges. A woman wiped a bit 
on my hand outside the store and I was woo'ed at the scent and softness. This is a fabulous moisturizer for both the face and body; I can't wait to be using this throughout Winter when everything seems to dry up.

Garnier Micellar Water and Eye Makeup Remover minis were extra additions to my superdrug basket. Everyone always talks about the micellar water so I thought I would give it a go - makeup wipes really irriate and redden my face. Time for a change, eh? I will be sure to let you all know how I get on!

A long-term friend came round on my birthday and gave me a present which I thought was super sweet. She gave me the loveliest set of Jack Wills fragrances..looking forward to trying them out!

Fashion

GREY JUMPER - H&M 

PINK SATIN BLOUSE - H&M

BLUE AND WHITE PINSTRIPED PINAFORE - URBAN OUTFITTERS

LONG TUNIC WHITE TEE - URBAN OUTFITTERS

BURGUNDY TURTLE NECK DRESS - URBAN OUTFITTERS

As seen in the first image of this post, I also bought a new school bag from Wallis in BHS. I loved the basic colours, making it universal, so it is very easy to match to every outfit. Ironically, I adored the grey snake print, considering I'm absolutely terrified of snakes - I HAVE A PHOBIA!!!

Miscellaneous

Another thoughtful idea from my very-loved boyfriend were these two books. I love how qwerky and different the books are in Urban Outfitters and these two were the best picks. The one on the left sounds so interesting and I can't wait to read all the different feelings and hopefully relate to the author. 'THE GOLDEN RULES OF BLOGGING' will be a great late night read to keep my blog posts in ship shape. Thank you Aidan <3

Megan thought up this great idea to buy me a brownie baking mix in a jar. If you didn't already know, brownies are my absolute favourite and the jar just makes it so much better; who knows what I'll store in it once I've made the delicious treats?!

Finally, my boyfriend's mum was so so kind to buy me a new pandora charm for my bracelet. This has my birthstone - Sapphire - in it and I can't love it anymore that I already do!

My final thing I couldn't quite photograph was the main present from Aidan. He bought me a MUJI aroma diffuser with wonderful scents to fill my room with and help me relax. The beautiful smells could easily send me off to sleep and most definitely will help me with the stress of A levels over the next two years! Oh, I'll also start my driving lessons soon as I've just turned 17..aaarrghhh!

Thank you for reading, sorry it was a long one today :-)

Lots of love

Collective Makeup Haul

Collective Makeup Haul

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Hey everyone..

Over the past couple of months I have been buying, and also receiving, some lovely new makeup products to add to my collection. I managed to pick up a couple of offers on the way, which was obviously great! There maybe a couple of reviews lurking in the middle from the products I have owned for a longer period of time too. 

Let's get started...

Benefit Watts Up Highlighter

Starting with the higher end products, I received a lovely email from Feel Unique in early October. There was a sale on all Bare Minerals and Benefit products - 20% off everything! Therefore, I took advantage and bought this beautiful highlight that I've been wanting for what seems like decades! I had already tried this previously so I knew that I wasn't going to be wasting £20.83. Anyway, overall this product is gorgeous - the creamy texture really glides onto the skin. The gorgeous champagne shade really brings out a natural glow. The only downside is that the blending applicator on the other end is useless, so I just apply it and then blend it with either my finger or a beauty blender.

Mac Paint Point

Yesterday, I was spoilt, once again by my boyfriend, on this stunning Mac Paint Pot. I have heard soooo much about these, constantly seen Youtubers using them in endless tutorials and have wanted Bare Study for absolutely ages. I can't wait to try it out this week (comment below if you want to see a full review of this on my blog in the next few weeks?!)

Balmi Lip Balms

Very recently, I picked up a couple of these Balmi Lip Balms in Boots. I got them in the flavours Mint and Coconut and they are very strongly scented. My favourite is the mint, not just for the mint green packaging, but the scent just seems longer lasting on the lips than the coconut. The formula is very hydrating and moisturizing for the lips and I am interested in collecting the whole range. 

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick

These little beauties are relatively new to the Bourjois stand. Fortunately, they were on sale for £4 cheaper, so I got this for only £5, which is crazy! I decided to pick up PEACH CLUB, as I don't own any matte lipsticks in brighter colours, such as this pretty peach/coral shade. Fingers crossed these don't ruin my lips, as I have been having a problem with matte lipsticks drying the HELL out of them.

Essence Volumizing Lash Powder

This product is lash-changing - excuse the awful pun. I am not even lying, my lashes are almost touching my eyebrows AND look like false lashes when I wear this. My cousin used eyelash fibres on my eyelashes before and they worked wonders, so I decided to buy something cheaper first just to double check it wasn't a fluke. The only downfall is that it can get quite messy, as show in the photo, but who cares when you can get this for only £1.50 at an Essence counter? I certainly don't! Anyway, this mini set also provides you with an applicator. I apply my Benefit They're Real mascara, then a coat of the lash powder, then a final coat of your chosen mascara to paint the white fibres black. I will be doing a single review on this in the near future, so if you are interested in this, then definitely stay tuned to find out more details!

L'Oreal True Match Foundation

Throughout the entirety of Autumn (so far), I have been using this wonderful foundation to keep my skin looking flawless everyday. This gives a light-medium coverage, however I prefer heavier coverage so tend to layer it up to create my desired look. I would say the finish is quite satin-y, which I like, and my shade Vanilla Rose is almost the perfect shade for my skin. One of the best drugstore foundations I've used, along with Rimmel's Wake Me Up and Bourjois' Healthy Mix Serum.

L'Oreal Super Liner

Super sad that this eyeliner is already coming to an end, but I have gotten the best use out of it than any other eyeliner I have EVER tried. The small nib is perfect for accurate precision and really helps to create that cat flick on a night out. Definitely one to repurchase!

L'Oreal Color Riche Serum Lipstick

My mother brought me this autumnal lipstick whilst in France with her school. It is in the shade BRIGHT BURGUNDY and is a blue-toned red. Can't wait to be wearing deeper colours throughout Winter now, as well as Autumn - exciting!

MUA Matte Lipstick 

Finally, I bought this bright purple lipstick from MUA called LILAC BELLE. I've wanted to buy some slightly crazier lip colours for Halloween and I really wanted to be doing a tutorial or two over the next week or two. This may be out of my comfort zone, as it is not the sort of berry-toned purple I usually go for, but I've been feeling more daring recently in the makeup front so I'm giving it a go. 

Thank you for reading. Any questions? Then you know what to do..just leave a comment and I'll be sure to reply :-) Love you all X

Char Xx

Mini Dior Shopping Spree...

Mini Dior Shopping Spree...

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Here's a little post to show you how carried away I got at the Dior stand I found in Ireland. I bought a couple of items and would love to show them to you... HERE GOES!

Firstly, I picked up this gorgeous Dior Addict Lipgloss in the colour SEAFARER.

Dior Addict Gloss 642 Seafarer RRP £22


I have fallen in love with this bright coral coloured lip gloss, which has been perfect over the summer months. Seafarer accentuates your lips by creating a medium colour payoff - it is in the middle of sheer and opaque. I adore the glossy moisturizing feel this leaves on my lips too; I am very happy with this purchase.

Afterwards, I looked at the eye products. I spotted the eyeshadow palettes and may have fallen in love with this one called SUNDECK.  

Dior 5 Couleurs Transat Edition 564 Sundeck RRP £41


To begin with, the packaging is incredible - a deep blue compact lined with silver. It even has a cute little pocket with the CD initials on! I love how luxurious this palette looks, inside and out. There are five powder eyeshadows, three shimmery and two matte. I love the one in the centre as it is engraved to look like rope; it is a gorgeous muted orange with golden flecks scattered all over. All of these are very everyday wearable, in my perspective (most probably because I always stick to neutral eyes). I cannot wait to try out all the colours!

Finally, I picked up a little summer nail polish duo in two amazing colours, a shimmering sea blue and stunning mint green. This is from the Summer Bird of Paradise Collection called SAMBA.

Dior Bird of Paradise Summer Nail Lacquer Duo 001 Samba RRP £22

I decided to pick up this duo because 1. I am completely obsessed with mint green and collect mint green nail polishes and 2. I have wanted Pacific from the Barry M Aquarium collection for ages now and this is an exact dupe. However, if you are on a tight budget, I would obviously recommend getting the Barry M one, as they are only £3.99. I cannot wait to see how these nail polishes apply.



I hope you enjoyed this mini haul. If you wish to see any of these reviewed in a future post then make sure to leave a comment! Don't hesitate to comment some constructive criticism; tell me what you like and dislike about my posts, give me suggestions to improve etc. I want to make y'all happy:-)

Char Xx

HUGE Beauty Haul

HUGE Beauty Haul

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I have a very exciting post for you all today; hauls are my personal favourite type of posts to read! Last week, I went away to Hemsby, a little town about ten minutes from Great Yarmouth, with my family and my best friend Megan. We took quite a bit of money with us because we knew we wanted to have a massive make up splurge considering we are both incredibly obsessed. After searching for hours in different drugstores and having a colourful hands full of swatches, we ended up spending almost all of our money on beauty items...oops! Prepare for a long post....

Face

Rimmel BB Cream (RRP £6.99)

I have wanted a BB Cream for absolutely ages now and when I saw that this beauty balm claimed to have 9 in 1, I was obviously intrigued. This Rimmel BB Cream claims it: primes, moisturises, minimises pores,conceals, covers, smoothes, mattifies, brightens and helps protect. It also has SPF 25 and is in the shade 'MEDIUM'. I have only tried this a few times since I've purchased it and I'm loving it so far - I really wanted something light to wear on my face for the summer because foundation can sometimes feel to heavy and cakey. So far, I totally agree with 6 of the 9 things the cream supposedly obtains but I still have yet to get into this little beauty so I will let you all know how I get on with it if you are interested.

MUA Blush in Bon Bon (RRP £1)

 There is no specific reason for buying this MUA blush, except for my love of the brand and that it is really inexpensive at a bargain price of £1. I chose the shade 'Bon Bon' because pink blushers are my favourite and I didn't own any subtle candy pink blushes. The packaging is obviously quite basic, but I wasn't really expecting anything amazing from a £1 priced product. 

Rimmel Lasting Finish Soft Mono Blush in Santa Rose (RRP £3.99)

Even since I bought this blush, I have been using it as a highlighter. It is an EXTREMELY subtle matte peachy colour and looks so pretty on the cheekbone. Rimmel had a clearance stand, which held this product, as I believe this is the old packaging for the mono blushes. I ended up picking another bargain blush for £1.98! I had to take advantage of this and I'm sure I will be getting great use out of this product, especially in the Summer period.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion (RRP for full product £30)

I haven't got much to say about this product because I haven't actually tried this out yet. I received this in a GLAMOUR magazine; they are also giving away mini Clinique chubby sticks and mascaras. I intended to get a chubby stick but they had all been taken so I went for this. I have heard amazing things about Clinique skincare so I'm hoping to fall in love with this product.

Eyes

L'Oreal Colour Infaillible Eyeshadow Pigments (RRP £6.99)

Swatches from left to right: Endless Chocolat, Purple Obsession, Naughty Strawberry, Innocent Turquoise, Burning Black

I have absolutely fallen in love with L'Oreal products recently.Their eye products have impressed me the most though; their eyeshadows, pigments and mascaras are incredible and I would highly recommend them to you all. I bought 5 different colours: 012 Endless Chocolat, 005 Purple Obsession, 036 Naughty Strawberry, 031 Innocent Turquoise and 013 Burning Black. My favourite has to be Innocent Turquoise because of how unique it is to anything in my collection - it reminds me of a shade I want from Mac (Steamy). I haven't used these a great deal but am very excited to try them all out - they are incredibly pigmented, as seen in the swatches above.

L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Mono Eyeshadows (RRP £5.49)

601 Levant Soleil

502 Quartz Fumé

These are so beautiful!!! The photos don't even capture the beauty of these, which is really sad. I believe these are part of the new L'Oreal eyeshadow range and I love how gorgeous they look in their packaging. I just NEEDED to buy them.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Stick in Bad Girl Bronze (RRP £4.49)
Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Paint in Golden Bronze (RRP £4.99)

Rimmel's Scandaleyes range is incredible and after trying out their Retro Glam mascara I had to pick up some other Scandaleyes goodies! The swatches prove how amazing these are going to look on the eyes, I can't wait to try and recreate some looks with these products!

Calvin Klein Tempting Glimmer Cream Eyeshadow (RRP £15.50)

Recently, I have been loving cream eyeshadows because they are so simple to use whilst till looking so pretty. I chose a deep purple called 'GOLD VELVET' and a brown copper colour in 'RETRO BRONZE'. I have three other of CK's tempting glimmers and they are equally as pretty as these colours.

Bodyshop Baked Eyeshadow in Copper (RRP £7)

To begin with, I picked up an absolute bargain because I bought this for only £2 - it was in the reduced section. Neutral eyeshadows are my favourite so I tend to get drawn to browns, coppers, bronze and gold colours. I chose this eyeshadow clearly for that reason, but another plus is that I luuuurve baked eyeshadows; they last FOREVER! 

Rimmel GlamEyesMono Eyeshadow (RRP £4.49)

Essence I Heart Stage Eyeshadow Base (RRP £2.29)

Finally, to end the eyes section of this VERY LONG haul post, is this Essence I Love Stage eyeshadow base. I have used this quite a few times since I bought it. The application is easy; I just pat it into my eyelid with my finger which creates an even, smooth base,and primer, for my eyeshadow to be applied onto.

Lips

Tanya Burr Lipgloss in Aurora (RRP £6.99)

Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya (£7.99)

Revlon Colourburst Lacquer Balm in Vivacious (RRP £5.99)

MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Funk (RRP £3)

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in Silky Red (RRP £2.29)

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers in Big Bang and Apocalyptic (RRP £6.49)

Bodyshop Born Lippys (RRP £2 each)

Bomb Cosmetics Lipology Balm in Chocolate Jaffa Orange (RRP £1.99)

I've decided not to write anything about my lip products for three reasons. 1. This blogpost is already way too long. 2. If any of you have any questions about the products then you can just comment below asking me and I will respond very quickly. 3. I tend to do Lipstick reviews fairly often so I don't want to write too much about these products in case I write a review in the near future.

Nails

Tanya Burr Nail Polish in Little Duck (RRP £5.99)

MINT GREEN! I have been wanting this for ages and am so glad I finally have it. I've already painted my finger nails in this, it is the most gorgeous mint green colour and also has the cutest name. Can't wait to hear the new cosmetics Tanya Burr is releasing this year!!!

If you aren't asleep yet, well done and thank you for reading. Sorry for my lack of commitment recently, I've just been very busy, my internet has cut out and I've been on holiday and I'm going on holiday again on Sunday. Write to me in the comments and I will respond to you all :-) Love you all x

Char Xx