Summer Nail Favourites ♡

I always have my nails painted -  I really can't be doing the 'naked nails' thing.  I thought I'd show you what I'm wearing on my nails for the warmer season!

Pastels

You really can't go wrong with a pastel nail for summer!  All my pastel shades are from Barry M.  I love these polishes as they're super affordable, but also brilliant quality.  They are opaque with two coats, and pretty durable.  I always add a top coat though, just to make them extra life-proof!  Here are my picks:

•  Blue Moon - £2.99 (buy here)
• Berry - £2.99 (buy here)
• Gelly Hi Shine in Rose Hip - £3.99 (buy here)

Brights

There's nothing more summery than a bright nail if you ask me, and as you may see from the photo, my choices have been very well loved!  

• No 7 Gel-Look Shine in Mint Treat - £7.00 (buy here)
• No7 Stay Perfect in Stand Back - £6.00 (buy here)
• Rimmel Lasting Finish in Ballet Pump Perfection - £2.99 (buy here)

Glitters

People tend to neglect glitter nails in the warmer months, as they seem to be seen as a more festive thing, but I think they can still look summery -  and they also make you look more tanned!  They may be a pain to remove, but I'm still a fan!

• No7 Stay Perfect in Daisy Darling - £6.00 (buy here)
• Umberto Gianni in Oyster - can't find this one online anywhere!  I got it as part of a gift set - let me know if you see it anywhere!

Removing it all?

When it comes to buying nail varnish remover, I usually just go for the cheapest one at which ever supermarket or drugstore I'm at, and this has lead me to finding the best one ever!  Can I get a yay for the Extra Strength Nail Polish Remover by Sainsbury's (buy here)!?  It got glitter nail polish with with no problem!?  I don't think I'll ever stray from this now, it's amazing!  Plus super cheap - what a find!  

What are your favourite nail colours for summer?

Summer Shopping List: Skincare Edit ♡

It's the final edition of my Summer Shopping List series!  This has been a really nice way to get myself back into blogging, and I've loved writing these posts.  I'm definitely considering doing these for all the other seasons when they come along!

Here I'm going to talk about all things skincare, and I know a lot of skincare can be appropriate for any climate, but I think it becomes even more important to take good care of your skin in the sun.  I have very fair skin, and my skin really doesn't enjoy the sun, so I really take extra care of my skin in heat.  

1) Benefit Dream Screen - £25.00 (buy here)

Using SPF is essential on my face, and this has SPF 45, so it seems like a pretty good product to have in my skincare stash.  This claims to be ultra light on the skin, so would be a good product to use before applying make up.  Benefit have really started to advertise their skincare range a lot more in recent months, and before this I wasn't really aware of it.  I love Benefit cosmetics, so I'm super curious to try out some of their skincare!  

2) Palmer's Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze - £5.35 (buy here)

I'm a little weary of full-on fake tanning products, and I love that this moisturises and adds a bit of colour to my skin.  This is a very builds up very gradually, so you won't find yourself in a situation where you're suddenly orange!  I've been using this since last summer, and I need to repurchase soon!  This makes my skin look really healthy and glowy, and it also doesn't have a horrible fake tan smell! 

3) Body Shop Peach Body Butter - £13.00 (buy here)

If you have never tried a Body Shop body butter, then what have you been doing?  I love them!  They sink in so quickly, and all the scents I've tried have been really nice, and not too over-powering.  I'm yet to try the peach one, but I'm a bit obsessed with peachy smelling things at the moment, and think it's a great fresh scent.  Will definitely be picking this up next time I'm in the Body Shop.  

4) Body Shop Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Exfoliator - £9.00 (buy here)

If you've read any of my skincare posts before, you will know how much I love Body Shop skincare - it just works for me.  I always need a really good exfoliator in the summer... things can get sweaty (tmi? tmi.)... anyway, I need something that's really going to get into my pores and get all the dirt out.  The seaweed line at the Body Shop is specially for oil-control, and believe me, in the summer, in need that.  I feel like I got a bit weird and tmi about my sweaty face in this blog post... I'm glad we had this talk.

5) Ambre Solaire Dry Mist SPF50 - £7.99 (buy here) 

What Summer Shopping list would be complete without sun cream?  I always go for a high SPF since I burn so easily!  I love the mist ones, since they're so easy and quick to apply.  I always carry a sun cream around with me in my bag during the warmer months. It's a no-brainer!  

Hope you've enjoyed this little trilogy of summer must-haves!  

What are your favourite skincare products for the warmer months? 

See you in my next post!

Summer Shopping List: Beauty Edit ♡

It's time for the second part of the Summer Shopping List!  Today we're looking at the beauty side of things.  As soon as the weather gets a little warmer I swap my full coverage base and heavier eye make up for a face of make up that's a lot lighter and a lot more natural.  Here are a selection of products that I want to add my collection that I feel would be summer appropriate!  

1. Benefit Big Easy - £ 27.50 (buy here)

This product totally intrigued me when it launched - at first it seemed a little pricey for what appeared to be a basic BB cream.  But as more and more drugstore foundations and BB creams wouldn't stay on my face for an entire day, I was more and more curious about this product.  I know this is more of a wishlist post, but I did actually pick this product up yesterday!  This is pretty much my first ever high-end beauty purchase, and normally I do try and stick to more budget products, but I think for a base product, it can be worth spending a little extra.  The girl at the Benefit counter in John Lewis was incredibly helpful, and pointed me in the right direction in terms of colour matching, and also put it on my skin so I could be sure it was right for me.  It's safe to say I'm so glad I picked this up!  The coverage is light to medium, you can easily build it up without getting into a cakey mess.  I've only applied it once myself, but I used my Real Techniques sponge, and love the results.  Overall, I think I may have found my perfect summer base!

2. Sleek Blush Palette in Californ.i.a - £9.99 (buy here)

I'm obsessed with peachy pink make up, and if I don't want to go for a eye-catching lip, a blush is great way to brighten up my complexion.  I already have a few Sleek blushes, and this palette looks great.  Also great for travelling, since it's three different blushes in one compact palette!  I think this is going to be a must for my make up bag.

3. Revelon Lip Butter - £7.99 (buy here)  

I already have a few of these, but I think they're the perfect lip product for warmer climates.  These are super moisturising and really pigmented.  I love using these to create a bright pink lip.  They have a glossy finish, and I feel like they can really brighten up my complexion.  I'm obsessed with these!

4. The Body Shop Honey Bronzing Powder - £13.00 (buy here)

I think everyone who watches Essie Button is wanting to try this, as she recommends it so often!  As a fair skinned girl, I do find it pretty difficult to find a bronzer that doesn't make my skin look dirty.  I've been eyeing this up for a while, and I think it's going to be in my possession after my next visit to town.

5. Soap & Glory Peach Party Blush Brick - £11.00 (buy here)

I love a glowy complexion for the summer, and this looks like it's going to really brighten things up.  It looks pretty similar to Benefit's Hervana blush, which the girl at the Benefit counter did put on me, and I really liked it, but wasn't really feeling like spending over twenty pounds on a blush.  I love all the other Soap & Glory products I've tried, and this seems pretty promising!

What beauty products are you craving for the summer months?

See you for the skin care edition of the Summer Shopping list!

Summer Shopping List: Wardrobe Edit ♡

Hey you!

To begin: a quick update.  Let's get the boring stuff out the way - I know my blog has been pretty redundant for a month or so, but I do have a good reason.  A levels.  For the last few weeks revision has had to be my main priority, since I so badly want to be going to university in September.  But now that's over, apart from a few shifts at work each week, I have a lot of free time to dedicate to blogging, and really getting some momentum behind my blog.  I'm hoping to be posting daily, or every other day at least - but I'm not making any promises!  I'm spending today getting a lot of posts ready to be scheduled, and I'm excited to get some decent content up on here!

Onto the main bulk of the post: updating your wardrobe for summer.  'Summer shopping list' is a feature I'm going to be doing on my blog, with a section on fashion, skincare and, of course, beauty.  I thought I'd kick off with the fashion edition.  

I am not at all a fashion expert of any kind.  I dress like an English teacher (interpret that as you want), most of my wardrobe is made up or skirts, dresses, and a lot of knitwear.  Although dresses and skirts can be perfect for summer, they aren't the most practical pieces for summer.  I don't want to think about the amount of times I've been showing my pants off to the world whilst walking up stairs.  I feel like my wardrobe needs a bit of an update - especially since I'll be at a few festivals this summer, and have nothing to wear!  Here are some of my picks from the high street that I'm hoping to get my hands on in the next few weeks. 

1. Floral Shorts - £9.00 (buy here)

I love feeling girly and wearing skirts, but as I said, they're not always super practical.  I love loose fitting shorts, and the print on these is amazing!  I love that they're floral, but with a bit of an edge.  Because the print is so eye-catching, these would look great with a plain t-shirt for an effortless summery outfit.

2. Printed Crop Top - £45.00 (buy here)

A slightly pricier piece, but the print on this is just so pretty!  I love the folky tribal print trend that we're currently seeing in shops, and since most of my wardrobe is floral, if printed at all, this would add something completely different and new.  Paired with a pair of high waisted shorts, this would be a lovely festival look.

3. Denim Shorts - £30.00 (buy here)

You can't go wrong with a pair of denim shorts, and I'm loving the high waisted kind, just to give the illusion of slightly longer legs.  The distressed detailing on this pair makes for a massively relaxed outfit.  

4. Dr Marten Clarissa Sandals - £95.00 (buy here)

I will admit, living in the UK, spending almost a hundred pounds on sandals seems a bit ridiculous when summer only lasts about three weeks here.  Yet I love Dr Marten shoes so much, when I saw these, I knew I needed them.  It was kind of a heavy breathing "oh my, you're coming home with me moment".  Although you won't be wearing these for much of the year, Dr Martens will last a lifetime, so really it's an investment for many summers to come.  So to cut a long story short - these amazing shoes are on their way to me and I've never been more excited about a pair of sandals in my life. 

5. Floral Headbands - £12.00 (buy here)

What festival look would be complete without a flower crown?  These two come from Urban Outfitters, but they are available from most high street shops this time of year!  They are also great for hiding gross hair at festivals.  

6. Sunglasses - £6.65 (buy here)

Pink is my favourite colour, and I'm obbsessed with cat eye sunglasses.  So I'm having a bit of a moment about these glasses.  I need them.  Plus, it's important to protect your eyes!  

Hope you enjoyed this post, and I'm glad to be back to blogging! 

What are your summer must-have pieces?

See you soon!

The Base-Off ♡

Hey you!
It's a rainy Easter Sunday, and I should do some college work, but instead I'm eating chocolate and reviewing foundations.
I'm hoping the title makes sense... it's meant to be a play on 'face-off'.  It's probably been done before, I'm just trying to keep my titles a bit interesting.  Anyway, I've recently been trying a lot of new bases.  I kind of had a base crisis.  I didn't have a huge amount of bases to choose from in my collection, and I used to always opt for Rimmel Match Perfection - a cheap and cheerful foundation choice (buy here).  I was content with this for quite a while, but in the past few months, my skin got truly terrible - not acne or spots, but patches of redness everywhere, and my skin tone was horrendously uneven.  My trusty Rimmel go-to product just wasn't up to the job anymore!  It also couldn't handle a long day of college, then a shift at work.  I have no time to touch up my make up during the day, so I need a base that's going to keep my skin looking good all day, and will fight the oil to some extent.  I've been testing six bases over the past few weeks, and now I'm going to share my thoughts on them for you!  I'd be interested to her what you thought of these products if you've tried them!

The first one I want to talk about is the Rimmel Stay Matte foundation (buy here).  I have this in the shade 010 Light Porcelain.  This costs about six pounds, which is fairly cheap for a foundation.  I didn't expect this to be the best foundation ever, but the it was the advertising that drew me to it.  It is advertised as a non-cakey foundation, that will stay matte (as the title suggests) all day.  I am a fan of a matte finish for the colder months, and I do get quite shiny in the day, so this seemed like a good one to try.  I was super disappointed though!  I don't understand how this can be advertised as not cakey, when it is probably the cakiest foundation I've ever tried!  It's so thick - kind of like a mousse, but it just didn't blend well on my skin at all.  It really highlights and clings to any dry patches you might have, and overall is just such a let down.  I like my foundations to blend into my skin, so it looks like I'm not wearing make up, but with this, it was obvious there was a layer of make up on the top.  I think the idea of this foundation is really great - a light weight matte foundation, that keeps the shine at bay - but in reality, it just did not do any of what I wanted it to, and I really wouldn't recommend this foundation at all!  I suppose for six pounds I shouldn't complain too much though!

Another foundation I've been trialing is the No 7 Beautifully Matte Foundation (buy here).  I went a bit mad for matte foundations at one stage, as you may be able to tell.  This is a slightly pricier option at £13.50, but I felt like it was worth a try.  The bottle says "for an all day shine free look with a soft, even finish", which I would agree with, and I do like this foundation.  It is definitely a better option for a matte finish than the Rimmel product.  This goes on like a liquid foundation, and sets quickly to a matte finish - but not too matte.  I think with some matte-ifying products, like foundations and powders, they can go to an extreme, and make your skin look a bit too made-up.  This product covered my flaws up nicely and evened out my skin tone.  It didn't keep the oily patches at bay all day, but kept me looking presentable through most of my day.  The shade I got is a little dark for me at the moment, but once the summer rolls in and I get a little bit more tanned, it'll be just right!

Next up is the Rimmel Lasting Finish foundation (buy here).  This product claims to last for twenty-five hours.  Now I have long days, but never quite twenty-five hours.  I think this foundation is a pretty good all-rounder.  Fairly similar to my ex-favourite, the Rimmel Match Perfetcion, but with better staying power.  It isn't the greatest for coverage, and I do need a fair amount more concealer than I would with most of the other foundation I reach for.  A benefit to this foundation though, is that it's very moiusterising, and I suffer from dry skin, but this doesn't dry me out at all.  This doesn't highlight my dry patches, and blends really well - it feels very light on the skin.  My main criticism though, is that it isn't brilliant at fending off oily, shiny patches during the day.  When I wear this, I feel like I'm going to need to carry a powder with me, which I don't normally do.

Now it is the turn of a CC cream - the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream (buy here) in fact.  I've mentioned this on my blog before, and it's definitely made a splash in the beauty blogging world!  Wonderful coverage, whilst being incredibly light at the same time.  The different colour correcting pigments work a treat for me, and this gives me a very natural yet even looking complexion.  I think this is going to be the perfect summer base for me, as it's quick to apply and blend, and keep my skin looks fresh and awake all day.  It's not the best product for combating shine, but with a small amount of powder on problem areas, this base is a definite treat for the skin with wonder lasting power.

Next is another Bourjois base, this time it's the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation (buy here).  I'd seen  Estée of essiebutton talk about how good this foundation was on her YouTube channel, and I had been desperate to try it ever since!  This definitely does not disappoint, and it smells so fruity!  It glides on, and it so easy to blend.  My go-to brush for applying foundation is my Real Techniques buffing brush, and it really works a treat with this!  This product contains radiance-boosting ingredients and keeps me looking lively all day.  Even when I'm super tired after a day of college and work, my skin is showing no sign of this.  It stays on really well, and keeps any wild shiny patches at bay.  Out of all the products I've tried recently, this one has to be my favourite, as it's such a wearable everyday foundation.  It looks very natural and I've had a lot of compliments about my skin when I've been wearing it.  The first time I tested it out, I asked my boyfriend how my skin looked and he described it as a "radiant beacon of skin", which is the most ridiculous way to describe skin ever, but normally he claims my skin always looks the same to him (I don't understand males), so this one must be doing something right!

Last but not least is the most expensive product I tried.  A product I was completely unfamiliar with, a bit of a curve ball in my make up collection, but something I'm glad I've invested in.  It's the L'oréal The Minerals True Match foundation (buy here).  At about fifteen pounds, it's fairly pricey for a drugstore foundation, but I wanted to take the risk and try it.  I'd never tried mineral make before either, but I love how light it feels on the skin.  It starts out as a powder, but quickly blends nicely into the skin as a liquid would.  It does come with a brush, but I prefer to apply it with a powder brush, as otherwise I feel like I get took much build up of product, resulting in weird orange patches on my face.  When I use this I don't need a powder, as this keeps shine at bay, and also stays on my face all day.  The coverage is brilliant, and evens out my skin tone an absolute treat!  My main criticism of this product has to be the fact that it is fairly messy to apply!  Like any loose powder, you have to be careful not to cover your clothes in make up - this doesn't brush off that easily.  This is very quick to apply, and I always reach for it when I'm running late for college or work in the mornings!

I hope you enjoyed this post, and found it helpful.  Finding a new base is always tricky, but I suppose now I have a fair few to swap around for my day to day life!  I love testing out new make up products, so this post was a pleasure to write.

What's your go-to base at the moment?

See you soon!