Six Autumn Favourites

Hi! Today I thought I'd just write a quick tag post that I was tagged in by Khadija from ForeverGlamx - it was a while ago but I've finally got round to it! It involves six of my favourite things which have to come under the headings:
Favourite Nail Polish
Favourite Blush
Favourite Skincare Product
Favourite Item of Clothing
Favourite Item of Jewellery
Favourite Perfume

I've slightly changed some of the headings from Khadija's version because I don't wear lipstick or eyeshadow very often, so I hope that's okay!

My favourite nail varnish this Autumn is Big Smoke by Topshop - it's a gorgeous grey/brown colour which has slightly purple tones in some lights - really easy to wear and because it's Topshop, it lasts forever!
My favourite blush is (and always has been) Head over Heels, again by Topshop. It's a corally pink colour - but what I love most is the consistency of this cream blush. I use a stippling brush to blend it in and it just looks gorgeous!
My favourite skincare product has to be the Origins Super Spot Remover that I discovered a month or so ago - you can read a full review of it here

Big Smoke close up

I absolutely love this bracelet from Delilah Dust - read my full post here

My favourite haircare product is definitely the Toni&Guy sea salt texturising spray - it's sprayed onto damp or dry hair to create instant texture and beachy hair - great for giving your hair a bit more pizazz! (I can't believe I've just used that word in a blog post..) Read my post on it here.
I bought the Love gorilla perfume from Lush in summer and loved it, but after a few weeks it got lost somewhere in the chasms of one of my handbags - until I rediscovered it last week! It has a lovely flirty fragrance with a bit of a musky twist - so I actually much prefer it for autumn. This perfumes last ages on your skin too, which is always lovely!

I got this coat from Fatface a month or so ago, and I'm totally in love - I've loved the parka trend ever since I first saw it, but I also wanted something a bit thicker to actually keep me warm. I saw this coat on another blog and adored it - and for £88 (around £98 without an NUS card), I was sold! I love the fur hood, as well as the Barbour jacket style lining. It's unbelievably snug, and looks great!

Thanks Khadija for tagging me!
Liv xxxx

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer Review

Evening everyone! I've decided that this week, I'm going to be a good blogger and post as much as I can (let's just stop and give me a pat on the back)! Today I thought I'd review one of my favourite purchases that I've recently made - the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer.

I've wanted to buy something from MAC ever since I saw the beautiful faces of the first bloggers I read and knew that I'd do (and spend) anything to look like them. Though I've since realised that that will never happen, everyone needs a treat every now and again! When I got my first payday from work after a months hard graft, I figured I deserved a MAC present - and this is what I chose.

I use concealer to cover blemishes rather than dark circles, so the lovely lady that served me at the Brent Cross MAC counter recommended this one. It's described as a 'lightweight fluid concealer that provides medium to full coverage' and is supposed to last up to 15 hours - which all sounds perfect to me!

After using it for a couple of weeks, I've totally fallen in love. The first thing to mention is that I have very VERY acne prone skin, and the slightest change in routine can set it off - but since using this, my acne has not changed in the slightest - if anything, it's actually got much better since using this, which is fab!

The coverage is great and covers up any blemish with only the tiniest amount - and I hate to admit it, but it even gives better coverage than my beloved Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer! The lasting power is also great, and I find that I can get to the end of the day and still have reasonable coverage - not perfect, but reasonable enough that people wouldn't really notice the difference. Unfortunately, by this point my foundation has all but disappeared - so maybe next pay day it's time to splash out on a new foundation! (I'm thinking the Estee Lauder Double Wear? oooh getting excited just thinking about it!)

The packaging also works well, though the glass vial can be awkward to carry round - I'm paranoid it'll smash in my bag and I'll lose all my MAC lovelyness, as well as my makeup bag/handbag! The pump delivers around the right amount of product, though I usually use a bit less than how much it gives you, so I have to be extra careful with that. I also like applying it with a concealer brush, which I feel gives a better finish than using fingers - and it also feels a lot more hygienic. Not to go back to the Collection 2000 one, but because of that lipgloss like applicator (I'm not sure of the name!), the Collection 2000 one always felt very unhygienic - and perhaps added to my acne troubles.

So basically, I completely love it! It gives great coverage and lasts all day - giving everything you really want in a concealer!



I've also this afternoon changed my blog layout and design a bit - I think it looks a lot better and more professional, so I hope you all like it!

Liv
xxxxx

Payday Wishlist - Outfit Collage

Payday is only 4 days away.. what does that mean? It means i'm starting to get extremely excited about wednesday, and also starting to waste hours at a time scouring the internet for new things to buy.

Instead of just listing the items today, I thought I'd build a few of the things I loved into an outfit - just because again, I had nothing else to do.

Clockwise: Gold necklace, windsorstore.com, £8
Spiked bracelets, River Island, £15
Burgundy Blouse, Monki, £28
Sophie Shopper, Austique, £298
Jeffery Campbell Boots, £120
Disco Pants, American Apparel, £70-80

This is what I came up with! I've been loving the burgundy/wine trend at the moment, as I love how well it goes with gold accessories. This shirt is from Monki - their autumn clothes are looking lovely this year! Also (drum roll please..) I think I'm finally going to give in and get some disco pants.. or at least go try some on! I've seen them look gorgeous on so many people and I just can't hold it in any more!

The shopper bag is gorgeous, and from Austique - but it's £298, and that really isn't going to happen on my budget.. I'll be looking out for a cheaper version though!

Also, JEFFERY CAMPBELLS PLEASE. I absolutely love these boot style ones - I'll almost certainly end up buying some cheaper versions at some point.

Another thing, HAPPY HALF TERM EVERYONE (finally, a break!) 

Liv xxxx

Delilah Dust - A little jewellery post

Hi everyone!

I got home from school today to a lovely surprise - my bracelet from 'Delilah Dust' had arrived! Delilah Dust is a gorgeous little online shop available on Big Cartel and Etsy, which does a whole array of gorgeous bracelets, necklaces and rings - all for affordable prices and free postage.

I used the promo code from Helen's blog at thelovecatsinc which got me 10% off - so go check out her blog (which is gorgeous) if you fancy that!

I am utterly in love with this bracelet and will definitely be ordering some more things when my pay next goes in!

Liv xxxx

Product of the week - Toni&Guy Sea Salt Texturising Spray

Hello! (I still haven't figured out a non-cringy way of starting posts, so we'll stick with simplicity)

Today's post is about a product that I've been loving recently, the Toni&Guy Sea Salt Texturising Spray from their Casual range. It's a spray-in product that is designed to increase the toussled texture of wavy hair and add to beachy waves and 'surf hair'.

Toni&Guy Sea Salt Texturising Spray, £7.19

I do apologise for the stock image, but it's already too dark to take decent photos and I haven't posted in so long - i'm making the most of the snippet of time I've found!

Now, to the point: I absolutely love this stuff. Not even love as in, yeah, I'll pop it in when I remember it - love as in I would happily sacrifice food to it and then bow down and worship it. It works miracles!

Most days I diffuse my naturally wavy hair to give it some waves, but it always ends up falling flat within an hour - I assume because there's just so much of it. Firstly, when I put this in, it makes the waves 10x better - more defined, but also gives them that messy, beachy look which I adore. Secondly, it also helps it stay wavier throughout the day! The first day I used it, many people commented on how my hair was looking lovely, and when I looked in the mirror after a day at school, you could still see the effects!

This is such a quick way to style up your hair - it takes literally ten seconds to spray some in, scrunch it up, and you're good to go! 

Just a quick review, but definitely give it a go if you have wavy hair - or even straight hair, just to add a bit of oompf! (nice technical term there, good one livs)

Hope you're all having a fab week!

Liv xxxx

Origins Super Spot Remover - Review

Today's post is something of a review, something of a rave, and something of a sob. Starting with the sob, I've recently found out that my holy grail acne-control product, Panoxyl Benzoyl Peroxide aquagel/cream has been discontinued! Luckily I stocked up just before, and have two tubes which should last me a few more months before it hits crisis level! But for when I run out, I've been looking for a replacement product which can dry out my skin a bit.

The Origins Super Spot Remover is a blemish treatment gel which targets individual blemishes and dries them out, consequently speeding up the disappearing process.

For starters, the bottle is absolutely adorable! It's tiny and though it costs £13 a bottle, I get the feeling it will last me a while. The consistency is a thin gel, which is see through - meaning you can put it on and still go out after!

Most importantly; how it works. I have tried so many countless blemish treatments and nothing has worked on my skin - I have pretty terrible acne all over my face, and it's such a point of low confidence that I really do want to find something to sort it out - hence why I began wearing makeup. I apply this to my many (and I mean many :( )spots and I have honestly noticed a huge difference within only two weeks of use!

I apply this directly to any existing spots, as well as spots that I can feel coming up, and it is incredibly effective - the spot instantly begins going down, as well as decreasing in redness and soreness (if it's one of those buggers!). It also means that the spot doesn't leave any trace or scar, which is part of the problem I usually have.

My mum (who's a pharmacist, ooh get her) is always cynical of the products I buy, and is usually right - and she was equally so with this, until she looked at the ingredients. Because this contains salicylic acid, which is known to dry blemishes effectively, as well as some other ingredients, she was actually in favour of it! Now that she's seen the difference it's made on my skin, we went and bought another one to give to my sister at uni!

I will continue using this until it's cleared up my whole skin - and keep using it after, on any occasional spots I may get.
To anyone struggling with acne - I would truly recommend this like no other product - especially if you're struggling from the lack of Panoxyl too! It will provide an instant solution, and you'll never look back.

Hope this helps!
Liv xxx

"These boots were made for walking" - Heels on a Budget

Afternoon!

Quick update on the life of lowly me - it's our first sixth form social of the year tomorrow night, which basically means everyone tarts up and heads out to a club with all 200 or so other people of sixth form for a great night out - WOOP WOOP *fist pumps*

Me, being me, spent hours researching dresses and whatnot, and managed to order myself a lovely little bodycon dress from Missguided - but (the whole me being me part), I forgot to order heels. Don't get me wrong, I have many pairs of black heels in different styles - but I wasn't really feeling turning up like an undertaker, so I had my heart set on a pair of red heels. Of course, it got to Wednesday evening and I suddenly realised - now it was shopping for heels on a deadline, as well as a budget!

I spent many hours of that evening, when I probably should have been working searching for shoe websites - it seems like the usual places such as Topshop just aren't up to scratch when it comes to having a big range of shoes - especially if you don't fancy spending up to £100 on one pair!

I found a few websites that seemed really good for heels on a budget, so I thought I'd just list them for you, and show you some of the heels I loved :)

Daisystreet.co.uk

Jagger Studded Slipper Shoe, £18.99 and
Mandu Super Super High Platform Court Shoe,  £35.99

Daisy Street was one of my favourite websites that I found - all the shoes were so cute! It also has free UK delivery, and 10% off for students, which is always lovely! Most of their shoes are about the £20-30 margin.


Garageshoes.co.uk

Lazy Me Varsity, £10, Yoga Nude Patent, £24.99, Sonic Black Faux Suede, £29.99

This was another brand which looked great for basic shoes - not so much statement shoes, but good for the essentials! I loved the Lazy Me Varsity shoes, which would be a great alternative for Toms, which I've been lusting after for a while :)


Chockersshoes.co.uk

Emilo, £15, Sammie, £25, Carry, £25

Chockers shoes is literally my godsend! I've ordered countless pairs off here, and they're always great value and great quality - as well as being the comfiest shoes I own! Delivery is pretty fast for the UK, and I generally all round adore this company. What I also love is they normally have the heels in many different colours, so you can always find bright colours if you're looking for a bit more of a statement!


Amazon.com

This may or may not surprise you, but amazon is actually really good for heels! Most people when they think of amazon think techy gadgets, books and other things - but it's worth a try for heels too! Just be careful with the ones you order, have a read of the reviews first because I read some dodgy sounding ones before I picked which ones I was going to order - but mine seem of a reasonable quality and they were only £20!

These are the ones I chose (ignore the slightly creepy face - overly attached girlfriend meme anyone?), and I love love love them! I'm hoping they'll add a bit of colour to my so far monochrome outfit.

Just to add - ebay is also amazing for heels and wedges! Definitely worth a try if you're getting desperate :)

Hope this helped anyone struggling to find some decent quality heels at a non mind-boggling price!

Liv xxx

PAYDAY HAUL

It's official: pay day is now my favourite time of the month. I got my pay last week and let's just say I'm enjoying spending it - and spending it I am! 

As I've been buying quite a few things lately, I thought I'd do a little haul post - these are my favourite to read, so I hope you enjoy!

Cute snuggly jumper alert! I got this from the H&M men's section in a size S, and I love it! It's long enough to cover everything that needs covering in leggings (pet hate when people wear things that don't!), and is so christmassy and cosy!

River Island light grey fluffy cardigan, £30

(sorry, forgot to photograph these haha! - thanks google) I bought these chelsea boots from asos, and i absolutely adore them! They look so cute with leggings and are definitely going to be my staple A/W footwear!

This was an extra sixth form purchase, as it's simple to chuck on with my suit - but it also looks really nice with jeans/leggings for a simple outfit - I love wearing it with the jumper above in a kooky collar/jumper look!

Topshop is literally the only place I can buy my jeans from nowadays - i find they fit me perfectly and stay lovely for ages! I liked the colour of these ones so I bought myself a pair as a little treat - plus they were Leigh style, which are always super stretchy and comfy!

Another comfort item I splashed out for was these legging from Jack Wills - I've spent years buying cheap leggings from Primark, thinking all leggings are the same, but recently I've got irritated at just how thin they are, and how tight around the stomach! A friend suggested Jack Wills ones, and I think I've fallen in love.. they're soft, totally thick and opaque, and the band around the top is so snug! Definitely worth splashing out - I got them for £17.50 when Jack Wills had their freshers week 30% off sale :)

Bit of a boring one, but I bought some new hair mousse, and as it was on offer I forked out for some Toni & Guy - but this is actually so worth it! It makes the curls really pronounced, and is in no way sticky or crispy, which I've sometimes found with mousses before.

AAAAAH MAC. This was so exciting- as I had money for once in my life, I thought I'd finally go and buy myself a lovely MAC present. I've never owned anything from MAC, so I went and got colour matched - I was an NW20. I talked to the assistant about what kind of concealer would suit my skin and we decided on this one. I'll probably end up doing a review on it so I won't say much, but I love it!

Real Techniques stippling brush - been looking for a new foundation brush for a while, but I just can't stand flat ended brushes for foundation! I bought this and I'll never look back - it's gorgeously soft and applies so nicely!

Woo I finally had the money to go and buy this! I've read such good reviews on the Origins Super Spot Remover, and seeing as my skin is awful at the moment, I'll be putting it to the test! I'll pop up a review soon, but it's looking lovely so far :)

So that's about it.. oh and BIG NEWS. After the heartbreaking event that occured last week (the loss of my ombred hair - thank you very much lee stafford shampoo!) I went out and bought some more bleach.. and THE OMBRE IS BACK! It needed redoing anyway, but it's nice to have my blonde ends back - I'd forgotten just how boring my hair looked without it. 

One more thing - hello to my sister, who apparently reads my blog a lot more than she tells me! She's just moved up to Cambridge Uni for the first year of her law degree - hope you're enjoying it Harriet! (she's always wanted a mention, you finally got one!)

Last thing? Well done for making it this far down the post, sorry it was a long one!

Liv xxx

(the collar/jumper combo I wore for sixth form today, it's relevant and not just a show of vanity, promise)

Products I Regret Buying

Hello everyone! I feel like I should be welcoming you back from Peru or some other far away place, it seems like it's been such a long time since I wrote anything!

Side note: sorry about that, had a busy few weeks!

Anyway, today I'm back and on top form (though slightly sleepy).. so in a suitably cheery way (#sarcasm), I decided to base my posts around products that I regret buying - mainly because they're all rubbish, and I beg you not to waste ya dosh! (excuse the spontaneous ghetto outbreak.)

Left to right: Vita Liberata Extra Rich Silken Chocolate Self Tan, Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream, Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes shampoo + conditioner, No7 Shine Free Primer, Sally Hansen Moisturising Polish Remover, Barry M Nail Polish in 295 Turquoise

 Vita Liberata Extra Rich Silken Chocolate Self Tan

I first purchased this fake tan after seeing Binky from Made in Chelsea was one of the spokespeople for the brand - who wouldn't want a gorgeous sun kissed tan like she wears on the show?! My opinions on this one have changed recently - I used to absolutely worship this fake tan. It was always a high risk one, in that it could very easily be badly applied, and come out streaky and orange, but if applied carefully, it looked like a dream, the perfect shade of tan! Recently though, I don't know if it's just my fake tan skills diminishing into space or something else, the application has just been awful - the consistancy is way too thick and creamy as opposed to the thinner liquid it was when I first purchased, meaning it's almost impossible to spread properly without streaking everywhere, and even the colour is suddenly far too dark and orange tinted. It might be time - this bottle's lasted me about 6 months, but either way it's put me off the brand completely!

Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes shampoo + conditioner

This is one that I'm really quite upset about. :(
I purchased this shampoo and conditioner set last week, after the lovely Zoella recommended it on her blog (go google her if you don't know her - shame on you!). It's designed for hair that's been bleached blonde, and has complicated sciency like things to it that make it brighten the blondeness, and take away any canary yellow or brassy shades. I tried this out on my gorgeous ombred locks the day it arrived in great excitement, only to find - IT STRIPPED ALL THE COLOUR OUT OF MY HAIR. That's right, all the lovely ombredness has disappeared, and changed back to dull brown. Both products lather up lovely, smell average, and would be great, if only they actually worked! I can't work out how they worked so well on Zoe's ombred hair, and stripped mine out! R.I.P ombre :( :(

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream

I'm afraid this one was rather a case of being sucked in by some pretty adverts. I saw the TV advert for this when I was cross training at the gym, and thought to myself, wow, I want to look like that gorgeous blonde with perfect skin.. I need this BB cream! Note to self: sometimes products don't just magically transform you into a model. :( I hated the consistency of the cream, which was far too thick and difficult to spread, and for the thickness of it, the coverage really was terrible!
Claims:
Evens skin tone
I haven't got particularly uneven skin tone, so I can't totally comment on this one, though I guess the tint of it did even it out a little bit.
Cover
DISAGREE. I know this is meant to be sheer coverage, but you could see every tiny imperfection through this! It felt like I was slathering an oily paste onto my face, which then didn't cover anything.
Hydration
I guess this was moisturising, but definitely not in a way that would be good for teenage skin - it's far too thick and oily feeling for me
Illuminate
This was one that I do actually agree with - it definitely made my face appear brighter and more awake - though without setting powder, it could look a bit shiny.. so maybe illuminating a bit too much!
Protect
One of the good things about this is the SPF 15, so it would be good for summer - if it didn't make me so damn shiny!

In conclusion, this was really not good for me - I'm sure for people with drier skin, or even just really clear skin with an already even skin tone it would work, but not for me.

No7 Shine Free Primer

This was a product that probably works very well for some people, just not for me. When I bought this, I forgot to look at the ingredients (silly silly silly livs), and didn't realise it had lots and lots of silicon in! In fact, it's the second ingredient (after water.. is there anything useful in this?!). I get that silica is a common ingredient in primers, as it helps set the makeup etc etc, but my skin just can't take it. After using this for a few weeks, my skin absolutely exploded and I had breakouts all over my face - causing me to use more of this to set my cover up makeup! Thankfully at one point I had the sense to look at the ingredients and then realised it was probably what was making my skin so bad - and my skin is almost back to normal now, after not using it for about a month. Aside from this, I have to say it was very good at mattifying (is that a word?) my face, and also helped secure my makeup.

Just goes to show, make sure you always check the ingredients to stop little emergencies like this taking place!

Sally Hansen Moisturising Polish Remover

This is just a quick one really - I'm sure I don't have to explain the ins and outs of nail polish remover to you all. I bought this remover for a few years before I came to the realisation that actually, it's not very good. Yes, it takes off your nail polish. But it may be quicker for you to fly to Mars and back before it does!
It's not that this is a particularly bad product, it's just incredibly slow and there's so many other options for the same price that perform much better!
If you haven't tried it, go out and buy one of the Bourjois Nail Polish Remover pots - they're a slice of magic and might just brighten up your day (that's assuming you've developed severe depression from how long it's taken you to take just one nail of nail polish off)!

Barry M Nail Polish in 295 Turquoise

Another quick one to finish is the Barry M Nail Polish in Turquoise. Actually scratch that, ignore the colour, because it's a gorgeous blue - the problem I have with this is the general Barry M formula. I think I've become a bit of a nail polish snob recently, but after using the Topshop nail varnishes, no other formula can actually compare - and especially not Barry M! It comes out watery and thin, and takes hours to dry (not literally, i haven't timed it, but you get the picture..). Because it's so thin, you then have to apply more coats on top of the first, and if it hasn't dried in the hour that you've left it, you end up with streaky nails. The Barry M colour range is so massive and gorgeous and happy making - I just wish they'd work on the formula!


So that's about it, rant over! I promise the next post will be happy and joyful, even if it's not up for a week or so..
I may still be crying over the loss of my ombred hair :( :(

Have a lovely weekend xoxo
Liv

Guest Post - Rimmel Eyeshadow Trio in 'Glamorous Topaz'

Today's post is going to be a bit different because I've invited Khadija from Forever Glam to write me a little guest post - seeing as all my school work has sent me a bit loopy, anything I write can't be promised to be sane.. 

Hey, I am Khadija from over at foreverglamx. I am going to be doing a review on the Rimmel trio eyeshadow in Glamorous Topaz and has some gorgeous colours, two of which would be perfect for autumn and a gorgeous pink. To be completely honest I am kinda disappointed with this eyeshadow trio. It comes with a sponge eyeshadow brush which I don’t use because I prefer to use a fluffy eyeshadow brush.

I love the shimmer in the eyeshadow colours because it looks pretty, usually I don’t like shimmery eyeshadows but this looks really nice. The biggest disappointment is that the eyeshadows aren’t pigmented at all as you can see in the swatch and I had dig the brush right into the eyeshadow colour to get it to look like that in the swatch.

I also find that after 2 hours starts to fade and completely disappears after 4 hours even with an eyeshadow primer. It starts looking horrible after a while because the colour disappears and just looks like a horrible mess. I never use this and I only use the light champagne shimmery colour for my inner corner.

Other than that there is not much to say about it. I find Rimmel is a love/hate brand for me because when I like something I love it otherwise there are products which I hate. You can never really tell whether it is going to be good or bad.

Thank you so much for having me Liv! If you liked this post then make sure to have a peep at my blog over at www.foreverglamx.blogspot.co.uk

Definitely take a look at Khadija's blog, it's great! Thanks for writing a post lovely - if anyone else is interested in doing a guest post or post swap (if you can risk my slightly marmite-esque writing style..) just pop over to my 'Contact Me' section and drop me an email!

Liv xox