Review: Mac's Viva Glam Nicki Minaj Lipstick

Before Christmas I was a little naughty and picked up a new Mac Lipstick.

In my mind, as it was the Nicki Minaj one it was for charity and therefore didn't count...obviously!

M was with me at the time and you can ask anyone, I went a little wild.

It was the same time i picked up the Naked Basics palette, Mac's MSF in soft and gentle and also 3 for 2 on premium beauty in Boots (Coralista, Dior foundation and Origins moisturiser) oops!

After I'd swatched it on my hand in the shop I knew I had to have it.

On top of that my Mac lipstick collection was missing one of the Viva Glam black and pink lipstick casings, so I just had to snap it up.

I love that they've kept the box exactly the same apart from 'Nicki Minaj' scrawled over it in pink!

Again, who can resist the pink and black combo??

Viva Glam Nicki is a bright pink satin lipstick, and the first satin one from Mac in my collection as well.

It's a gorgeous bright pink, but unfortunately really hard to photograph!

Here it is swatched on my hand:

And here are some photos of it on my lips:

It's a gorgeous colour, but for me and my peeling lips it's a little hard work!

I find that it's very drying because its a Satin which i haven't had that much of a problem with before.

However a few goes with Lush's bubblegum scrub and lashings of lip balm for a while before it seems to work fine and the result is worth it!

I love wearing this when I meet the girls for a drink and especially on a Saturday night!

What's your favourite Mac lipstick? Which other Viva Glams would you recommend??

L xxx

What's On My Bedside Table

I've been meaning to write this a while.  It's kind of my beauty favourites but it's what I use every day skincare wise.

Since moving I've been a lot more organised.  I keep everything in these Skubbs from ikea. 

For £6 you get 6 boxes 3 of each size.  They come in black, white and purple.  They are great for organising.

On my bedside table. I always keep a glass of water.  I get thirsty in the night a lot. I also have a soft cushioned brush. I'm trying to brush my hair more often as I figure it's better for it.  I try to spend a minute a night brushing it. 

During the week I straighten my hair so I used to be lazy and just brush my fingers through it in the morning.  Also I have deodorant.  I use whatever is on offer and pillow mist.  Not convinced it works.

Things I use morning and night in my box are: My lush lip scrub. These are amazing.  I wouldn't be without mine it makes such a difference and they are a bargain too. Lush whipstick lip balm. This is one of my favourites.  It tastes and smells amazing.  Lastly is my origins super spot remover. I do like this but I probably wouldn't repurchase.  I thought it was brilliant at first but I'm going off it now.

For day cream I use Origins balanced diet.  You can see a full review of this in my save, spend, splurge series and for eye cream I use Origins Ginzing.  I really love this.  It's light and great for mornings and brightening.

For the evening I use a lot of things. I'll use either the Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus corrector or the Bioeffect EGF serum. I love both of these. Unfortunately the bioeffect serum is out of my budget for repurchase but I will be picking up the Clinique.  I really love this. It's light on the skin and feels great.  

For night cream I'm currently using Origins starting over. To be honest I don't like it. It feels like it sits on the skin rather than sinks in. It was a freebie so I'm trying to use it up. 

My evening eye cream is Origins perfect world for eyes. I love this. It's thick and sinks in well. It's perfect for night time.  As I'm oily skinned I don't like it for days. I really love origins eye creams. I think Clinique wins on face moisturiser for me. 

Lastly at night I apply vaseline to my eyelids after my eye cream focusing on my eyelashes.  I've heard it's good to make them grow plus someone I work with said she always does it and she's over 60 and has amazing eyes so it's worth a try.

Lastly I keep my inhalers and other medicine stuff I use regularly in there. It's so handy having everything to reach. I really need to find my cuticle oil and put that in.

What's your skincare must haves?  Do you use anything like vaseline on your eyelids?  

Love M

Xxx

Spending Ban Update 3

This week has been my OH birthday so it's been an expensive one with eating out and his presents.

Even though the spending ban is on we have had 3 meals to celebrate his birthday. 

Otherwise I have been pretty good. I'm trying my hardest to avoid town at the moment.

Uni and working are making me tired and lazy with my cooking which doesn't help spending.

My mum also asked me to pop to ikea for her. I was good and bought light bulbs and food for me there. The only naughty thing I got was a champagne flute as I love sparkling wine and it doesn't taste the same in a normal glass. Plus it was 70p so ok in my mind.

This weekend coming I'm going home. Not spending will be hard but I do have my money box at home so I may be naughty and tuck into that as my grandad still gives us money weekly bless him (no matter if we tell him he still does) it's a nice saver for me.

My Wishlist:

Mac Brick-o-la lipstick

Urban Decay Setting Spray

MUA Eyelid Primer

Illamasqua Pigment base

Origins Cheeks and Balance

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo

Daniel Sandler water colour blush

This week I'm adding:

RT brush set I don't have I can't find it in boots :-(

Elf brush cleaner

Elf brush and bronze duo.

How are your bans going?

Love M

Xxc

Spending Ban Update (3)

My spending ban hasn't been too bad this week.

I did cave and buy myself a new sonic toothbrush, but I feel that's not really a bad thing to buy.

In fact I'll be doing a post on it soon as I think an electric toothbrush is really important and there are currently some great offers on in Boots.

I picked up the Philips Sonicare Whitening toothbrush which currently has £63 off so is an obvious bargain.

It makes me think that because I'm not buying unnecessary things like clothes and make up i am actually buying things that are worth the money.

Unfortunately for me, my DVD player has broken. And although I don't really 'need' a new one, I reeeeeeeeeeally miss watching my films and I'm a little lost without it!

I am tempted to buy one when I get paid tomorrow and I've found one for £50 that has everything I need, but even so. Will have to see how much money I have left!

In other thoughts, here is my first wish list of items I am currently lusting over and cannot buy:

1) Macadamia oil hair mask. Having used a sample of this it is quite honestly one of the best and I need to get my hands on it and make my hair feel like silk again!

2) An Origins serum. I feel as my 25th birthday looms ever nearer that I need to take better care of my skin, as mentioned in lots of previous posts. I would like to invest in a serum to prevent further wrinkles and damage to my skin so hopefully I can pick up one of these soon.

3) Benefit boxed blushes. I clearly missed out on a few years of new products and now feel like my blush collection needs updating and revitalising with additional Benefit products.

4) A number of DVDs. I really want to update my DVD collection having not bought many in the past 5 years, I'm thinking Game of Thrones TV box sets along with others as well as ones like Magic Mike for some eye candy!

5) A new dress to go out in. I have my birthday coming up so I will be needing a new dress! No idea what type as op yet.....but I'm sure something slinky and figure hugging will be just the ticket!

How are you getting on with your spending bans? Link me to your wishlists if you have one!

L xxx

Boux Avenue

So today I am sat here feeling pretty sorry for myself after fighting a cold all week and trekking into work in the snow I have finally had to give in.

I'm in my onesie in bed feeling pretty crappy but I took these photos yesterday and looking at them makes me feel better!

I feel I need to share something with you: I'm a massive lover of underwear.

You just have to look into my wardrobe to find 2 massive drawers full of it, beautiful colours in lace, tshirt style bras, plunge balconette etc etc.

Having larger than average boobs it can be a little tricky to get yourself the right fit, in a colour and style to your liking at a price that is acceptable.
However as underwear is a wardrobe essential as a curvy girl I absolutely love shopping for it when I've found the right shop.

Cue Boux Avenue, who opened up their black boudoir style doors in the new shopping centre and enticed me in with pretty window displays and beautiful drawer type storage (which La Senza seem to have something very similar of now!)

For Christmas my nan got me a voucher to spend at Boux Avenue and I was so excited. Because of the spending ban I waited for the sales to be over so I could pick up some new items without the sale rush and also at a time when I really needed to spend some cash and didn't want to break the ban.
Their email telling me of the 'buy the bra and get the knickers free' deal swiftly threw that out of the window and 2 weeks later I'd already spent them!

This however was perfect timing for me, as even though I am a single girl, Valentine's Day is coming up and I full intend on treating myself and being as girly as possible all day!

I browsed the website for a whole evening before I finally made the decision to pick up the Tori style bra in baby pink, coral, and black, all with matching knickers in the briefs style:

The Tori style is a tshirt bra covered in lace, where the lace comes up further than the cup so you can see some skin through the lace where the cup joins the strap.

I love lace bras but for my own personal comfort prefer tshirt bras, and this is the best of both worlds!

The colours are absolutely beautiful!

Because of Christmas being only a few weeks previous to my order the gift wrapping was sadly not available but I'm all for saving the environment and so got over it pretty quickly.

These bras are the perfect fit and although are lacy I have worn them underneath my uniform (a fitted t-shirt top) and had no bumps or patterns showing through.

At £24 these may be a little pricey compared to other brands but the bras I bought when their shop first opened up in Cardiff still look new and have kept their shape perfectly.

I love the little details on the knickers, like the little bows, metal tags and also the lace panels across the back.

These knickers should have been £10 so were an absolute bargain for free!

If you buy in store, you can also get student discount.
When I checked last this deal was still on, so get yourself down there and treat yourself ready for Valentine's day!

One thing I will say, do not forget to sign up for their VIP card also! If you become as much of an addict as me then you'll soon be able to redeem them against future purchases :)

I may be single and not planning anything romantic but that sure as hell doesn't mean I can't treat myself and dress up for myself in the mean time!

Have you shopped at Boux Avenue before? What will you be planning for Valentine's day?

L xxx

NOTD: Essie's Chinchilly

I posted that I'd bought this a few weeks ago.

Essie's Chinchilly is a gorgeous greige colour that when I saw it, I just had to have it:

It's a really cool colour and unlike anything else that I own, and the name suits it perfectly!

It's a great colour in that I would imagine it goes with most skin tones and has been perfect for me going from day to night.

Apologies for my stained finger nails, I wore red on a weekend and it just wouldn't come off even with a base coat!

You can see how creamy the polish is, these were taken after 2 coats of Chinchilly and it comes out really even.

Another thing I'd like to mention is how it would look good with longer and shorter nails. I find some can make long nails look a bit footballers wife and others make short nails look stumpy, I haven't found this one to do either and I'm a big fan!

Having never bought Essie until a few months ago I am a massive fan and firm believer in their polishes!

I have bought Ballet Slippers too so will be using that one soon to see how it matches up to my expectations after all the hype.

Their range of polishes is just amazing and I'm sure after the ban i will have a pretty hefty list to work my way through. Hopefully they will be available online somewhere at a cheaper price too, but that's wishful thinking!

Do you like Chinchilly? Which Essie is your favourite??

L xxx

101 Things in 1001 Days: New Tasks

This post follows on from my original recap of my 101 Things in 1001 Days post which I uploaded last week, and you can find on this link.

My plan was to swap a few tasks that couldn't be completed for various reasons, and some that were too similar. Here are my other options which will be added in soon!

The first which will replace no.19: Go to the Harry Potter Studio tour thingymajig. I'm absolutely dying to go and if it's added on here then obviously it must happen. Sneaky.

28: Increasingly important to me is my health. After being the epitome of gluttony in university and generally being the perfect student slob I am now a regular gym attender, avoid fat like the plague and generally try and take good care of myself. I'd like however to drink more fruit and herbal teas instead of caffeinated ones and other drinks. This isn't a massive deal, but I don't seem to drink enough throughout the day and different teas are easy and healthy!

30: I always used to love going to different gigs, and I miss seeing bands live like I used to. So over the next 2 ish years I plan on seeing lots more. I've recently bought tickets to see Rihanna and McFly so am off to a good start!

64: I've decided this year will be about decluttering. Decluttering my room of excessive beauty products, unworn clothes and old useless magazines. Also I would like to declutter my life of crappy people, pointless junk and old things that I've kept in my life and no longer need. I have already this year removed a large pile of 'stuff' that I was planning on ebaying, along with a huuuuge cardboard box of folders and books from my school/uni days. Let's hope it continues!

67: In 2010 I redecorated my room from a pink and girly fairytale room to a white and turquoise room with 'traveller' style items. By this I mean I have an array of suitcases dotted around my room plus a gold chair and trinkets from all over the world. However I've always wanted a globe, sepia coloured map and loads of pictures and postcards on the walls to decorate it but have never quite got round to it. This year it will happen!

72: I suppose somewhere on this list the inevitable will makes it's way.....some of my friends are getting married this year and therefore I need a date. I am currently single and have been for the majority of my life which doesn't normally bother me but on these occasions I would not want to be the only one without a date, nor do i want a date that in 5 years time I will look back and think 'WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING'. So this may be the biggest task of them all, but a challenge that my friends have already decided is going to begin with speed dating, just for the laughs. (Oh God)

89: Having been there when I was a child, I have been reminded of Longleat Safari Park and have made my decision that I definitely 100% want to add this to my list after remembering the maze! I want to complete that maze and get to the tower.


So there we have it! Took me a little while to come up with them and I haven't managed to update the actual page yet. But I should get round to it on the weekend.

What do you think of my replacements? Have you written down your list of things you'd like to complete?

I guess it's like a Bucket List, but quicker!

L xxx

Spending Ban Update 2

Hey it's been a while since I've posted. I still don't have Internet and I've had a few stressful uni weeks. Bring on Thursday and uni will be done and a week on Friday I'll bhave Internet hopefully.

I've got so much to post about it's just awkward to do on my phone as our photos have to be uploaded via photo bucket. L has been great at putting in photos for me.

Anyway my update. By Thursday I was feeling disheartened.  It was com up to pay day (which is today) and I was still completely broke.

Until yesterday I still hadn't bought clothes or make up.  Which was more than a challenge.  I had an hour to kill when I met my OH for dinner one evening and two shops had things I'd been lusting after since summer in my size and 70% off. I managed to not succumb to the temptation.  Boy yhat was hard. And on Thursday L and I took a trip to TK Maxx. My hair is begging me to get the Macadamia oil and it was so cheap in their.  But I resisted and had to drag L with me ;-).

Where I'm going wrong at the moment seems to be food. My partner received some bad news this week so I've bought him a few dvds and treat food to cheer him up and bought his mum flowers as a pick me up. I think with just moving as well cupboards need stocking and getting used to a longer commute is hard as I'm tired and not wanting to cook. All in all lots of excuses and I need to stop letting my OH persuade me to go to McDonald's which is now across the road.

I broke the ban by picking up OTH season 8 when I was getting my OH his dvds. I love one tree hill and have 1-7 on dvd and it was cheap. Naughty me.

I've also had the week after Christmas and a bit before on this months pay check.

My plan this month is, to stop wasting money on fast food and dvds. I have four birthday's to buy for this month including 2 expensive ones and valentines and meeting up with an old friend. So February is expensive.  Must cut back somewhere.

So onto my wishlist

Last times
Mac Brick-o-la lipstick
Urban Decay Setting Spray
MUA Eyelid Primer
Nars Sheer Glow
Bobbi Brown Corrector
I have decided I no longer wanted the Nars Sheer Glow as gorgeous as it is I don't think it'll be for my skin type. The Bobbi Brown Corrector I'm unsure on as I do love my Erase paste so the last two are off the list now. I will edit the list with eacg update. I wonder if any will last 100 days.
This time I'm adding
Illamasqua Pigment base
Origins Cheeks and Balance
La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo
Daniel Sandler water colour blush.

So after 21 days I've not bought make up, skincare or clothes but I'm still broke. Oh well. Less has gone on the credit card. How are your bans going? 

Don't forget to check out Marvelle from Blog of Shadows blog for others doing spending bans. Link here. Her latest Disney series look is stunning too.

Love M Xxx

Spending Ban Update (2)

So after my quite positive post last time with how well my ban was going it went a little down hill!

I had a Boux Avenue voucher for Christmas from my nan that I hadn't spent yet as I was saving it for when the new stock came in.

Obviously this happened rather soon after Christmas and after the email came through with the deal where you buy a bra and get the matching knickers for free on it, I couldn't resist!

As part of the ban this was a rule, that i was allowed to spend the voucher and put money towards it as it's a bit unrealistic to try and spend the exact amount on a gift card.

I felt like the luckiest person in the world when my package came through in the post!

I bought 3 bras of the same style in 3 different colours and got the matching knickers, look how pretty they are:

They're beautiful and I can't wait to start wearing them!

I did have to put around £20 with them, but otherwise I would have had a silly amount left on the card so I feel like this was ok.

Next up was of course the inevitable 75% off sale day in Boots.

I was pretty good in this sale, mostly as I was allowed to do my shopping before the shop opened and my shift started, so I grabbed a few things in the 5/10 mins that I was allowed!

You should have seen it, genuinely people running through the store to get to the sale area. It was absolute bedlam!

So I picked up a few things as presents, including a No7 travel kit, Sanctuary toiletry bag, Champneys incense stick and candle kit, and a Toni and Guy hair styling kit.

Lastly I bought 2 of the Toni and Guy Brunette shampoo and conditioner sets, one for myself and one for my mum. At £3 this was an absolute bargain and I couldn't not get myself one so a slap on the wrist for me for breaking the ban for the sake of £3.

However I did get £110 of stuff for £27 so I refuse to beat myself up over it as I bought quite a few presents and only one thing for myself!

Aside from that it's going well and M managed to restrain me when we wandered into TK Maxx on Thursday evening.

Expect a wishlist from me at some point this week as I am slowly breaking down and my brain will melt wth the amount of things I'm trying to remember I need!

How are your spending bans going? More successful than mine or are you caving at the bargains around?

L xxx

101 Things in 1001 Days: Update!

I've decided as its the beginning of the year it's time to do an update of my '101 Things in 1001 Days' .

We do in fact have separate pages for each of our lists which you can find here

However after a year not many things have been ticked off, mainly as I spent most of my time finishing my Masters before getting a job in a retail store full time which took up unsociable hours for the 3 months before Christmas.

So I've decided seeing as it has been a year I would like to review my list, update it and possibly change a few that may now be unachievable etc.

I suppose that may be seen as cheating but I'd rather be honest about it and admit defeat on a few of them, and replace them with another task to try and complete instead as I don't want to give up!

Benefit's Coralista Blush

Everybody loves a Benefit blush, they're iconic in their little square boxes now containing a mirror as well as the original style brush.

I have owned Dandelion and Dallas for a few years already, but Coralista is something I have lusted after ever since it came out.

Due to my hair and skin colour this was a colour i knew would instantly suit me, but nevertheless it remained unpurchased until before Christmas where I fell victim to Boots 'Spend £60 on beauty and get £10 of points' offer. 

I love Benefit as a brand particularly their happy approach to packaging and the text found on all products and advertisements.

Rio? I would love that!

The colours on this box are gorgeous and the funky leopard print clashes brilliantly with the turquoise.

You can see the colour of the blush clearly and the slight shimmer that I didn't realise was in the blush but absolutely love.

I also love these brushes, they are much softer than I remember and seem to be the perfect shape for applying blush to my cheeks.

Applied to my arm you can see the shimmer down the middle, it looks really subtle and not glittery as some can look.

Applied to my face you can barely see the shimmer, but can definitely see the colour and how much of a gorgeous one it is!

Since buying this it has not left my face and I've worn it almost every day.

I love the colour and the slight shimmer which makes my skin glow but not overly so, giving a more subtle version of Mac's MSF in soft and gentle if you like.

What do you think of the colour? What's your favourite Benefit Blush box?

I only wish I'd bought it before now!

L xxx

It's our birthdaaaaaaaay!

It seems to have flashed passed in an instant but today was the day 1 year ago that me and M finally set up our blog and got on with writing about everything that we love about cosmetics, shopping and getting drunk.

This is basically an excuse to fill up a post with pictures of cake, cocktails and pretty sparklers!

Those cakes are amaaaaaazing! 

(All of the images are from Pinterest obviously, it's the go to place for cute pictures like these!)

We're both finally going out on Thursday for our 'Christmas' meal, and I'm sure a few drinks to celebrate our blog being 1 will be had as well.

Thank you so much for reading our blog and sharing it with others, hopefully we will continue to grow over the next few years and who knows what will be in store! :)

L and M xxx

Review: Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer

Both of us have spent the past few months making our way through Revlon's products eagerly.

One of our purchases is the PhotoReady Perfecting Primer.