Monday 29 June 2009

Recent Purchases

It was one of my friend's birthdays recently so i went shopping to get her a present, and also i have a little look for myself after my exams finished!

So i hit miss selfridge as they had a huge sale on, and i managed to pick up a few things.

I bought these shoes for my friend. They are darkish blue patent pumps with a cream bow. They were reduced to £12 which i thought was really good and are a size 7.



I also bought her this ring (it is still on the packaging!) It was half price and was reduced to £3. Its a gold and peach butterfly, and is a size medium. I just thought it was nice and summery, and i know she really likes big 'statement' type rings.



I bought myself this belt for £5. It's a purple and black snakeskin skinny waistbelt with a gold tip and buckle. I've seen these kind of belts everywhere so they are quite in fashion right now. I do know that primark also do a cheaper alternative for about £1.50. Personally i don't think they look as classy but they are a fairly close match. I bought a size meduim cream snakeskin one to wear round my jeans.


This top i got in primark for £5. It's black on cream,a nd the sleeves are those 'slit' type sleeves, which are really wide. The back is open to about a quarter of the way with a string tie across. I bough this to wear with black leggings but when i tried it on i thought it looked strange as the neckline is quite high. However i saw a girl in a club wearing it off one shoulder with wet look leggings and it looked really good.
That's all for now
xoxo anna

Clarins Instant Smooth Foundation Review

This is the Clarins Instant Smooth Foundation. It contains the standard 30ml (1.04oz) and costs £21.53 on the clarins uk website, although i bought mine in boots. I also saw some on ebay when i was buying mine, but i would say only to buy it online i you know what shade you are.

The shades are 00, 01, 1.5, 02, 03, 04, 05 and 06. The shade i use is 1.5 which looks really orange in the pot, but is much lighter when it is rubbed in. This is why i would recommend getting matched instore because i was intending on buying the lightest one - 00 - which would have been too light. The only issue i have is that sometimes i feel as though it has too much of a pink undertone for my skin. (Also the MA in the store had really pale skin and said she uses 00, so i think this is better for paler skin tones.)

The packaging has a very classy feel, in my opinion, but the mirrored lid always shows fingerprints.

This foundation has the most amazing texture of any i have ever used!! It is so smooth (I can't stress this enough!) and when i first bought it i just wanted to keep putting more on. However, the MA said that if you have any flakey ptches of skin - don't use mousse foudations as they will stick to it and highlight your dry sin.

Recently i have also bought maybelline dream matte mousse to see if it was a cheap alternative - it's not. Clearly the higher price of Clarins is shown in its ingredients because it is so much better. The texture of dream matte mousse was so much drier in comparison to the creamy clarins one, and it didn't apply well. I don't think i will ever use this foundation, as i tried it with a brush, a wet sponge, a dry sponge and my fingers. The damp sponge worked the best but it still took a lot of effort for not great results.

As this is a matte finish it takes away the shine brilliantly when first applied. However, after around 6 hours of stressful work i found that my skin was quite oily. The trouble with mousse foundations i find, is that when they become oily they have a tendancy to 'slide' off if you touch them because they are much creamier than liquid. Despite this i personally would prefer to use a blotting powder throughout the day than to use a foundation which is too drying, and this foundation lets you apply setting poder, blush and bronzer on top without 'caking'.

The coverage of Instant Smooth is light to medium, but don't be put off if you like a heavier coverage. Most of my other foundations have medium to full coverage but this one works well with a concealer and looks visibly less heavy. It gives much more natural looking results which can also work in winter because off the matte finish.

Overall i really like this foundation. I use it as more of an 'in the house' foundation or for when i'm in a rush because you only need to use a tiny bit (so it lasts really long and doesn't dry up) applied with fingers and it looks great. I even managed to 'do my make-up' in my friends car in a petrol station the other day, after a long night out, which just consisted of this foundation, my eyelash curler and some maybelline colossal mascara. My dad then described my face as looking 'fresh' a couple of hours later, despite the blatent hangover plus two hour sleep - i was impressed!

Clarins lists the following as the active ingredients:
- Soft Focus pigments: light-diffusing.
- Acacia Micro-Pearls: line-plumping and smoothing.
- Acacia Micro-Pearls: behave like moisturising micro-patches.
- Vitamin E and Rose essential wax: protect and comfort.

That's all for now

xoxo anna

Monday 22 June 2009

Shoe Dilema!!



I got these shoes about two years ago in Zara in Spain, and they are so pretty!! However, they are a little bit hard at hte back, and because i have odd shaped feet they do really hurt, so i didn't wear them for ages. Then i started using a compeed wax stick thing and some of those little gel pads and they were much easier to wear...

only now i realise i don't have anything to wear them with!!

They have a very small heel at the back, so they don't really go with jeans because they look too smart. Also, as most of my clothes are grey and black, i'm finding brown and orange a struggle.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what i can wear these with? Suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! lol. i really want to start wearing them now it's summer.

that's all for now
xoxo anna

Saturday 13 June 2009

Barry M Nail Paint Review

I thought i'd review these since i'm getting back into wearing nail varnish again! I took a break for a while because my nails were terrible but i can't resist the lure of pretty colours!!
My nails are really short (usually quite a bit shorter than my actual finger). I don't bite my nails but i hate the feeling that they are dirty lol. i know - weird, and it isn't helped by those new hand sanitizer gels, which i use every five minutes at work. Combined i'm starting to feel a bit like a germ freak but oh well.

So... back to the nail varnish!

I have quite a few of these barry m nail paints (more than any other brand). They cost £2.95, which i think is a bargin, because many other drugstore varnishes are much more expensive and not as good quality.
One thing i really like about these is that often they only need one coat, and aren't very streaky. I hate wearing more than one coat of a nail varnish because on my little nails it won't dry. And i don't mean it won't dry in a few minutes, i mean it won't dry EVER!! So usually for those kind of varnished they just smudge until i take them off. Also they dry really quicky, but also come off without much effort from nail varnish remover (not scrubbing involved :)

However whilst this is true for most of them, i do find that the darker colours, such as the black and the rasberry, do streak a bit more, and may take more than one coat. (although this isn't true for the grey.) Another point which could be considered negative, is than i would say that you have to wear a base and top coat with these. Asides from making it much brighter, it will prevent then polish from staining your nails, particularly the yellow. The top coat should stop it wearing off so easily, although this may just be because my nails are too short. If you look at the picture below you should be able to see that this nail varnish has a strange habit of 'chipping' at the top and not anywhere else. Although it doesnt really seem like chipping because it is very ... smooth? but it just leaves a fine white line of your nail around the rims - something which i don't particulary mind.
(sorry i know this isnt in focus but my camera is useless)
This was taken without a base or top coat. It only normally chips as much as this finger on the left. The one on the right is just because i didn't have a top coat on, and after about four days (including exams - if that makes a difference!)
So overall i would really recommend these, particularly the bright shades. I think they're great for people like me - on a budget with short nails but don't want to forfit pretty summery colours!!
that's all for now
xoxo anna

Friday 12 June 2009

Barry M Lip Paint Review

So I have three of the Barry M lip paints in :Green - A Touch Of Magic, and numbers 53 and 129. They cost £4.25 each and can be purchased online at barrym.com or at superdrug. They come in a smart, matte black packaging which is square shaped rather than the normal round bullet, and are very 'handbag' friendly because the cap won't come off accidently in your bag and they won't highlight fingerprints like the shiny ones do. However i would suggest you try these in a store first because some are better than others.

One tip i would give is to apply them to your lip and then just rub them in a little with your ring finger to give a smoother finish.



Top to bottom (and left to right) i have:
53 - coral
129 - palest lavender
Green - A touch of magic


Please excuse how wonky my lips look in the following photos!! They don't look like this normally, just on these pictures!


To start off with i may as well say that i have extremely dry lips. I always use a lip balm throughout the day and even though i didn't apply any directly before taking these pictures i have been using it during hte course of the day.

This is number 53. Quite honestly it is my least favourite out of the three. I bought it because i wanted a bright coral lipstick and couldn't afford a rimmel one at the time. (I know it's not showing up very bright but it is quite a strong colour in real life). This lipsticl however is very dry and doesn't apply well. I have tried it with both lip balm underneath and on top but i can't quite make it work. This lip paint is more shimmery as well, something which i don't really like.

This one is the number 129. I really like this lip paint because the colour pay off is amazing!! (Again the picture doesn't really do it justice - my camera doesn't like natural lighting.) My only fault with it would b e than it can be a little too creamy, as i experienced when i almost snapped it in half. It's still a bit lopsided but it'll do!!. This one really is very moisturising though and well worth the money if you like lavender colours.
This one is my favourite. The green lip paint. Most people say it comes out the same colour on everyone when it is supposed to be different, but i tried it on all of my friends and had different results. It also depends on how much you apply - the more you put on the hotter pink it gets. The texture is good - almost halfway between the other too, but it does leave almost a stain on your lips afterwards. However, I do quite like this as it means that it lasts a long time.


So overall i would really recommend these lip paints. I think they're good value if you get the right ones. I would also suggest that you don't take the pictures on the barry m website at face value because a lot of the colours look different in real life.

The next one on my list is currently number 100. It's a really pale but bright pink and is really creamy in texture.

that's all for now
xoxo anna

Wednesday 10 June 2009

Trip to Superdrug :)

omgosh.
Youtube is such a revision distraction.
Supposedly 'revising' for my A2 Geography hazards exam tomorrow, then I watched some videos, and suddenly got that craving to buy something.Grr. Why now.
So i went to Superdrug and ended up buying:

1) Softlips lip balm in vanilla
2) Me Me Me concealer
3) Revlon matte eyeshadow in Riviera Blue
4) a galaxy (ok so i had chocolate cravings too)
5) Carmex
6) Nivea Lip Balm Original
hmm. are we seeing a theme here?

So i've always used the nivea balm (i've tried them all but this is the best, even better than the repair one) and i thought i'd better get anew one since my fourth stick ran out today and my lips just die without it. It is really creamy though, after you've let it warm up a little, so it runs out quite fast (if you're using it about five times a day that is).







However, i've been hearing great reviews on the softlips so i thought i'd better try it. It's a little smaller than i'd imagined (only 2grams compared to Nivea's 4.8grams) but this does allow for more precise application, if you want that. I also didn't realise that it was minty too! I really like minty things on my lips, even though i find mints too strong to eat (i know, really weird), mainly because they give a really fresh feel - kind of like cleaning your teeth without actually doing it. It does glide on really easily and i can see why people like it, but it doesn't beat my nivea!






Then i saw the carmex, and again, i've heard really great things on you tube. This one was a bit more expensive (only three or four pounds but still...) but i thought it would be really moisturising. Don't get me wrong, i do really like it, but like the softlips - it won't beat my nivea!! I got the one in the yellow tube rather than the pot. It comes with 10grams so maybe that explains the price, and it comes out really thick, again with that minty flavour only much stronger than softlips. I can't really say i found it moisturising if i am being honest. However. it does look like a really nice clear lipgloss when it's on, and i really like the mint so i will use it but i don't think i'd buy it again. I wouldn't use the tube formula under a lipstick because it is too thick.

I haven't tried the me me me concealer yet, but i have had a go with the revlon matte eyeshadow. I bought it because i was looking for a darkish colour to create that 'smokey' look, and everyone on youtube was talking about finding alternatives for black and dark grey to use i n the summer to make it look a little warmer. So i got this blue, for about £5 i think, and despite the fact that i have green eyes i quite like it. I put it in the crease tomake my pink eyeshadow (barry m's dazzle dust in 32) look a little more adult! i realy like hte effect it gives. It looks almost greyish but a bit warmer. I think if i'd put more on you would be able to see the blue but i prefer a lighter wash. The texture of the eyeshadow is really nice, very velvety for a matte. There was a cream one as well which looked and swatched really nicely but i couldn't afford two :( They are reduced in boots at the moment, for two pounds off i think so if you are like me and don't like too much shimmer in an eyeshadow but don't want to compromise on texture i'd go and try one at least. (I didn't get mine in boots only because my store only carries two shades :(


that's all from me

xoxo anna