Makeup Storage: When A Grubby Makeup Bag Isn’t Good Enough

Hello gal pals,

I have a confession to make. Before Sunday, I mostly stored my makeup in a huge, grubby makeup bag, a half pint Stella glass and various crevices in my room (I woke up with a powder compact under my pillow the other day, don’t ask me how). When I read other beauty blogs, I get crazy jealous of beautiful makeup storage boxes, filled with beautiful makeup (no foundation finger prints in sight) and general neat and tidiness. Unfortunately, I’m the type of girl that likes a lovely neat troll hole room but has the affliction of being horribly messy. This definitely translates into my makeup storage situation and before I had a good clearout, my big leopard print makeup bag was full to the brim of disused eyeliner pencils, broken blushers and all kinds of makeup horrors. But you know, New Year New Me and all that nonsense, so I decided enough was enough. No longer will my makeup bag resemble Jordan’s face after a night out. No longer will I have to rummage through a load of wubbish to find something half decent.  Also, my fella bought me some Muji drawers for Christmas, so I had no excuse.

I’m still in the process of getting my storage how I want it – but I thought I’d share with you how I’m getting on and also put together some makeup storage ideas for those who want to get a bit more organised.

As you might be able to see, I still haven’t quite come to terms with giving up my half pint Stella glass to store my makeup brushes (they just fit in there so well! And it makes me look like a gal who likes a good time). But other than that, my makeup looks so much neater and easier to get to. I even find that I’m not leaving things around in strange places anymore – because everything has a place and that’s where they live. All in all, my life has been 100% improved by better makeup storage and I can’t wait to get something to store my nail varnishes in, larger makeup products and generally get everything in its own little space. HUZZAH.

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Makeup Storage 2So, that’s my current makeup storage but what am I lusting after like a pervert from afar?

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Muji Acryic 2 Drawer | Muji Acrylic Large 2 Drawer | Ikea Organiser | Etsy Makeup Storage Wall Hanging | Hobbycraft Sewing Box | Etsy Chanel Makeup Storage | Hobbycraft Vintage Tins 

I personally will probably stick with clear makeup storage when I expand my collection and I’d really like both of the Muji drawers – one to put larger items in like foundation and the other to store nail varnish. However, the Ikea storage is fab too, especially as it has space to put brushes. I also love the wall hanging storage from Etsy, which would look absolutely amazing in my bedroom. Unfortunately, we’re not allowed to drill too many holes into our walls as we’re renting, so I’m not sure that this would really be an option. However, look how beautiful it is! I’ve always thought sewing boxes would be perfect to put makeup in because of all the compartments for erm…thread and thimbles and so on. This one from Hobbycraft is really sweet and would look fab in a vintage style bedroom. For all Chanel fans (i.e. every girl ever), these makeup storage boxes are stunning. They’re on Etsy and apparently were some limited edition boxes that Chanel sold at some point. Another storage set for vintage fans, these tins from Hobbycraft look really useful and are soooooper cute too.

So chums…what do you think? If you have any makeup storage blog posts, please leave them in the comments – I’d love to have a nosey at how you’re storing your makeup!

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From Bag to Bin: 4 Make-Up Products You Should Avoid

Bad 1Hello there, one and all. Now, if you read us regularly then you’ll know that one thing we really hate is writing negative reviews.

Oops, my bad, I just fell off my chair laughing.

Who am I kidding, we actually never fail to dish the dirt on products that we’re not fans of. Some people don’t like to do this as they think it’s too negative, but we think our reviews come from a place of love. We love our money – what little of it we have, that is – and so we don’t really like parting with it for sub-standard products. And we don’t want you to either, which is why we like to give our honest thoughts.

Of course, with makeup it’s often a case of ‘one man’s treasure is another man’s big pile of poo’  and so what we hate, you may love. With that disclaimer out of the way, here is a little run down of four products we’ve bought in recent months that have left us disappointed. As you can see, some of these have been used a LOT, so we really have persevered with the little bundles of rubbish.

1. Maybelline Eye Studio Master Shape Brow Pencil: Review

Bad 2After lightening my eyebrows a couple of months ago, I needed to invest a new eyebrow pencil in a lighter shade. I don’t use many Maybelline products but definitely trust them as a reliable, established brand, so figured I was playing it safe when I picked up the Master Shape Brow Pencil in Dark Blonde. It’s a wax formula pencil with a wand on the opposite end to brush through your brows with, and the pencil promises to create fine ‘hair-like’ lines for added definition.

However, for me this just did not work. Pigmentation is horrendously poor. I know that it’s not meant to be like other pencils that can be used to literally draw your eyebrows on, but getting any sort of colour payoff on the sparse parts of my eyebrows that needed a bit of filling was almost impossible. The wax formula also means that it’s incredibly greasy and slips easily, so attempting to tidy up the ends of your eyebrows is also really difficult, as it smudges so easily. On top of these problems, you then have the added nightmare of how quickly the pencil itself wears down. Even using the lightest of strokes, it’s still reduced to a stump after just a few applications. If you look at how much of the pencil I’ve sharpened and only after using it a handful of times, you can see that it really wouldn’t last you very long.

The only way that I can see this pencil being of use is if you’ve already got near-perfect eyebrows and just want a product to essentially set them. This, it does – though it leaves a noticeably slick look that I’m not a fan of.

2. Natural Collection Lipstick: Review

Bad 3I have to confess, Natural Collection is a brand that I’ve never been too inspired by. The packaging is a little meh, the products all look a little meh, even the name is a little meh (definitely lost us at ‘Natural’ I’m afraid, eww). However after reading a sparkling review of their lipsticks on another blog, I started to think maybe there was something not-meh about them after all. I love nudes and pale pinks, and Natural Collection is full of them, so for only £2, I was willing to give one a go.

I can’t even tell you what shade this is, possibly ‘pale meh’ or ‘meh blossom’ or ‘candy meh’. Whatever the heck it is, it’s thoroughly useless for me. Pigmentation is weak, staying power is weak, oh and the lipstick actually broke in half – making it physically weak too. Perhaps there are other shades in the range that are better, but personally nothing about this lipstick has made me intrigued to try any more of them. I’d consider it giving it to my 6 year old niece as something to play with, but I think even she’d ask me where my head was buying this.

3. Bourjois Volume Glamour Max Holidays Mascara: Review

Bad 4This cosmetic complaint comes courtesy of Lauren. The Borjois Paris Volume Glamour Max Holiday mascara (jeez, want to get any more pointless words in there?) promises 10 times more volume and 24 hours of waterproof joy, perfect for holidaying and hobnobbing about. Unfortunately Lauren found it to be a bit of a dud. The wand is clumpy and fails to separate or define lashes, while the formula is actually very thin and so doesn’t deliver on the volumising promise either. While it doesn’t leave a horrible effect on the lashes or create any problems with flaking or smudging, it’s generally just not very good either.

Considering this came free in a gift set after spending over £15  on Bourjois products, Lauren doesn’t see it is a product she particularly hates – but those who pay the full £5.99 may be a little more disappointed.

4. MUA Pro-Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit

Bad 5Lauren is somewhat of an expert when it comes to eyebrow kits,  and this one has just failed to live up to her high standards (women, eh). Initially she actually did like it – you can read her review here – but after a longer while of using it, the cons of the product started to show up more starkly.

As Lauren already explained in her review, the highlighter , gel and brush were all difficult to work with. On top of this, she soon started to notice that the powder itself wasn’t as good as she initially thought, with it smudging easily or completely disappearing if anything else came into contact with it. Being left with no eyebrows because you accidentally touch your face isn’t really what you want to happen during your day. The pro of this kit remains the tweezers, which are apparently very good quality – however, the rest leaves a lot to be desired. It looks as if the product might actually have been discontinued now, and to that I think we all say GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD BROWS.

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think of them?

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Best of the January Sales: Where to Spend Your Pound Coins

If you’re anything like me and didn’t join the hordes of shoppers attacking stores on Boxing Day (with the crazed eye of a gal with money to spend, of course) you may be thinking now is the time to invest in some exciting sale stuff.

Except…it seems like there’s nothing left. And I mean nothing. In fact, all I could find on a recent shopping trip were some tragic yellow espadrilles and a strange beaded bra. No thank you, H&M. No thank you at all.

In horrible despair (there were tears and screams of ‘WHY GOD WHY’), I decided to hop online where (thank the good Lord) I had a bit more luck. And I have decided to put together a few of my favourites to help a brother out. So, if you’re looking for some excellent bargains and are 100% not looking for beaded undergarments, then check out my top picks from the January sales. Awooooooga.

The Best of the Beauty Bargains: FeelUnique.com

I’ve not particularly shopped at Feel Unique before, but I’ve heard good things (mostly that there are many a bargain to be had, so basically it is a magical wonderland). Now I know that all of you die hard Boots and Superdrug fans may be thinking ‘yes, but I can buy Soap and Glory for half price at Boots and I can get a steak bake from Greggs while I’m at it’. Well, I will tell you this now free of charge: Feel Unique have some fabulous brands and products on offer at the moment – and not just Soap and Glory (or Sanctuary, heaven forbid). Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, they don’t sell pasties. Sorry.

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All of these are over 40% off. Yes my son.

The Best of the Fashion Finds: ASOS

It’s not really groundbreaking news that ASOS sales are brilliant, but this year seems to be more excellent than usual. The jewellery especially is around the 50% off mark, and its always worth investing in ASOS shoes when they’re on offer. Here are some of my favourites, but it’s defo worth having a look to see what you can find! I’ve already seen some marvy pictures of half price ASOS threads on Instagram and Twitter, but there are many more beauties to be found.

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All over these are over 30% off.

The Best of the Electronic Stuff: Argos

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Before you all get pervy and weird, I’m talking about hairdryers and what not. January is definitely the time to be investing in some new electric beauty goods, particularly if you are like me and the wires are hanging out of your hair dryer and every time you try your hair, it is like Russian Roulette. Argos is always your best bet for finding a good range of electronic products, and this year there are so many products over half price. Amazing!

So chums, what do you think? Have you seen any other online stores selling some amazing bargains? Or did you manage to hit the sale rails before all the good stuff went?

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How to Shape Your Eyebrows at Home | Eyebrow Stencils

Eyebrows 1I’m well aware that this is a #FirstWorldProblems issue, but I’ve got to admit that I spend an alarming amount of my time worrying about my eyebrows.

Like most other girls of my age in the UK, in my teens I definitely followed the ‘less is more’ mantra for my eyebrows and so between the ages of about 13 to 18 – okay, 13 to 21 (embarrassing) – I barely had any eyebrow to speak of. Eventually, big eyebrows came into fashion and we all realised that we looked like chavvy gimps. The challenge then was how to go about growing out our eyebows and, even more problematically, what the hell we were supposed to do with them afterwards.

Eyebrow shaping is a tricky thing, no matter what magazines tell you about just ‘following the natural arch’. What the hell? I plucked away my natural arch years ago and it’s not showing much sign of coming back.

Many people therefore choose to leave eyebrow shaping to the professionals – but even that is a risky business. Once I spent months and months religiously growing out my eyebrows, only to go and have them threaded by a woman who – despite me saying over and over again “I just want them tidying up” – went on to completely rip out all of my hairs and leave me with baldy chicken skin. So, if we can’t trust the professionals to shape our eyebrows, what can we do? The answer is simple – eyebrow stencils.

What Are Eyebrow Stencils?

Eyebrows 2Eyebrow stencils are things I only learned about a few months ago. I think they’re mainly used for girls who draw on/fill in their eyebrows every day and want to achieve the same flawless shape each time, but they can also be used for initially shaping.

I bought a pack of stencils from eBay, which you can get for the tiny price of £1.29. This came with 4 stencils, all different shapes so you can choose the right one for you. Some were super thin, so I opt for C2 which is the thickest shape of the 4. If you’re not sure which stencil to use then you can always outline with each of them in turn to decide which one suits you best before plunging in with the plucking.

How to Use Eyebrow Stencils

Eyebrows 3Shaping your eyebrows with stencils is pretty straightforward. Use the stencils and make an outline of the shape on your eyebrows. You could do this with powder or pencil, but I prefer to use a liquid eyeliner pen – mainly because I think it looks really funny. Apologies I couldn’t get any photos of this actual step – I needed a third hand coming out of my arse to do so, and unfortunately humans haven’t evolved to have that yet.

Once you have your shape, start plucking away around the outline with gay abandon. However scary it might be, my top tip is to trust the stencil.  Don’t get attached to where your eyebrow hairs used to be and feel like you’re plucking too much – you need to follow the stencil if you want to get the proper shape. Also, that old saying about never plucking above your eyebrow – I’d say just ignore it. The majority of the time when you get your brows done professionally they’ll go above the eyebrow, so I think it’s just one of those beauty myths.

Eyebrows FinalOnce you’ve finished plucking, wash off the outline and say hello to your new eyebrows. As well as getting rid of a lot of unneeded hair, I think the stencils are also brilliant for showing you the parts of your eyebrows that you need to grow back. Particularly when it comes to the middle part of my brows, I have a tendency to over-pluck, and carry on plucking whenever the strays grow back. The stencils should show you where your eyebrows should really start from, meaning that you know to grow these bits out (and can fill in with powder/pencil in the meantime).

Overall I think eyebrow stencils are a good DIY eyebrow shaping tool, and are perfect for those of us who are a bit scared of our own eyebrows. For such a cheap price they’re definitely worth giving a go.

What do you use to shape your eyebrows? Do you ever DIY or do you trust the professionals?

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3 Rules for the Early Stages of Dating

dating 4Today I step away from our usual fashion and beauty ramblings and come bearing you a gift: the gift of my dating wisdom.

Okay, I will understand if you don’t want to take dating advice from someone who is a long-term member of the singleton club and always gets dumped once actually in a relationship… BUT whilst I may be quite clearly terrible at relationships, I consider myself to know a thing or two about the dating game, – specifically that early stage of dating after you first meet, where you’re still texting and trying to suss each other out.

Based on my years of sad experience after sad experience, I have compiled this list of Dos and Don’ts to help us all tread through the waters of the dating ocean without accidentally thrusting our foot into the jaws of a piranha.

Still with me? Hurrah. Let’s begin…

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Rule Number 1: Do Think Through Your Texting Tactics

When you’re in the early stages of getting to know someone, most of your communication is probably done via text. By now, we all know about the basics of dating texting etiquette, whether you like to admit you indulge in these childish games or not. For example, if they leave it an hour before texting back, you leave it an hour and a half before texting back. Secondly, you want to come across as a sociable person so you exaggerate your daily activities slightly. You “just went out for a few drinks after work” when actually you popped to the Tesco Extra to get a bottle of Fanta, and you’ve just had “a chilled night with a couple of mates and a takeaway” when actually that chilled night was spent completely by yourself, eating Curly Fries and watching Here Comes Honey Boo Boo marathons.

A general rule is that if you don’t have anything interesting to text then probably just don’t bother. I was once texting a boy who seemed to have good potential, only for him to ruin it one night by texting me “Are you watching Corrie?” What? No I’m not watching Corrie, and if I was watching Corrie then we are not at that point in a relationship where we’re going to make conversation about watching Corrie. I don’t know, maybe it was a really interesting episode of Corrie that night, but it was a texting faux pas that automatically put me off said soap fan.

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Rule Number 2: Do Recognise When It’s Not Going Well

This can apply to texting, but mainly this is a rule for the date itself. First dates can be painful, but nothing is more painful than one party being obviously not interested while the other one thinks that this is the beginning of a beautiful thing.

I once agreed to go on a date with a boy who, in the texting build up, I thought I really liked. Once we got out on the date though, I swiftly realized that this wasn’t for me. I don’t know why, maybe it was because he had a pair of those pretend glasses on, which automatically signaled to me that he was a douchebag. Anyway, I suffered through a few drinks in the pub we went to and with each drink my mood was quite visibly drooping.

At one point he popped out for a fag (which I refused to join him on because “I don’t want to” – I really was being a bit of a bitch) and the barman came over to me to ask if we were on a first date, because all the staff thought it was really obviously awkward and I wasn’t having a good time. I debated asking the barman if he would like to join me on the date instead, but decided in the interest of civil politeness I would wait for my date to return from the smoking area so we could leave.

Upon his return though, he suggested us going onto a second bar. What? How could he not tell that this was going awfully? I tried to make my excuses – “Oh, well I’ve actually got to go and get my train, the last one’s at half 10 so…” but then he just said he would pay for my taxi home. I didn’t quite have it in me to say “NO you twerp, I’m leaving” (unfortunately I’m not that much of a bitch) so I ended up being trapped on the date for another 3 hours and 2 more bars.

You know how on The Undateables, they always have to take a chaperone with them? I basically wish all dates could be like that, and when their fake glasses annoyed you, you could quickly signal to your chaperone who would come over to help you put your coat on and explain to your date that you would now be leaving.

My advice here is: learn to recognise the signals that the person no longer wants to be there. Particularly if they say OUT LOUD that they want to go. Let them.

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Rule Number 3: Don’t Be Too Keen

And so I save the most important for last. There is nothing more unattractive than somebody who comes on too strong and makes it too clear that they like you loads, like mega loads.

Case in point: I recently agreed to a date. This man was ex-army and now a personal trainer at my gym, so you would think he’d be the strong silent type. Wrong. After just a day or two of the initial texting game, he started talking about how much he was looking forward to our date. Okay, nothing wrong with a bit of interest. But then a couple of days before the date, he text a phrase that will forever haunt my dating memories:

“Yeah, I’ve had a bit of a shit day. But it’s okay because it’s only two more sleeps til I get to see you.”

TWO MORE SLEEPS. What am I, Christmas?! I was at this point violently sick into my own lap at this awful show of keeno. Looking back, this should have been enough to make me delete his number and change gyms there and then; but I decided to swallow down my vomit reservations and still go on the date. Mistake. Following said date – which was lacklustre at best – he proceeded to text me incessantly telling me how much he liked me, asking for feedback on the date (yes, really) and seeking constant reassurance that I wanted to go on a second date with him. Did I? Let’s put it this way: I am now at a new gym.

Now, I’m not saying that we don’t all fall prey to the keen gene now and then. A couple of years ago I was seeing a lad who I was borderline obsessed with, and I liked him so much that one night I ended up drunk outside his house wrapped in a bit of old carpet – but that’s a story for another day (i.e. 17th of Neverember). But why was I so unbelievably keen with that boy? Because he was so unbelievably not keen on me. Ah, the old adage is true: treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em wrapped in the carpet.

Basically, no matter how much you like someone and think they’re The One in a Mark Corrigan-esque manner, you have to keep your feelings to yourself.

These are my dating rules – what are yours? 

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Outfit of the Day: Burgundy Midi Skirt & Primark Jumper

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Good lord, I look like a cankled idiot. OH WELL.

Apart from apparently developing cankles overnight, I’m excited to be heading out for some dinner and this is the outfit I chose to put on my body. I absolutely love high necked/turtle neck jumpers at the moment and this one is actually from Primark (isn’t everything I own?). It’s not the best fit (a little on the baggy side) but it is suuuper comfy and goes with pretty much everything. It’s slightly cropped in that just-above-the-belly-button-I’ve-time-traveled-to-1992 way, which is surprisingly nice. It’ll still be in stores now (I only bought it about a month ago!) and I think it was around the £8 mark. Or maybe £10.

My skirt is really really old, I bought it for my 21st birthday night out in the hope that a midi skirt would make my life less tragic. It must be a magic skirt, because I have a job and a house now! There’s not too much else to say about my wizard skirt, apart from the fact I love the colour and it’s a bit of a wardrobe staple.

I teamed my cankles top and skirt with a signature gold chain, weird mother of pearl ring and my favey favey new boots. Which are also Primark. C’est la vie.

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And here is my little face. There seems to be panic in my eyes and I don’t know why, sob. I absolutely addoooreeeeeee this lipstick, which is Kate Moss for Rimmel shade 04. Other than that, I have my new Seventeen eyebrow kit (read about it here!) on my wonky eyebrows and some eyeliner and what not.

accessoriesWe can ignore my strange pale hands for the most part, although I do have my new suede nail varnish on. That doesn’t look anything like suede but it is a lovely metallic/matte colour anyway! And these badboy boots ARE MY FAVOURITE THINGS EVER. I’ve worn them pretty much constantly since I bought them at the weekend. They’re comfy, sturdy and have enough of a heel/detail to not look like lesbian boots. HURRAH.

What do you think of this outfit? Yay or nay?? (PLEASE NOT NAY).

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Outfit of the Day: Fluffy Crop & Leather

OOTD 30th D Collage 1Fluffy Crop Jumper: Glamorous / Leather Skater Skirt: eBay (similar here) / Bag: Primark

Okay, so I’m definitely noticing a bit of a habit emerging here with pastel fluffiness and leather (case in point here and here), which I’m very sorry for – but there’s just something about these extremely girly jumpers that cries out to be toughened up with some good old cheap nasty pleather.

This jumper’s my new cropped dream from Glamorous that I snagged at the Clothes Show for a mere £20. Every blogger and her nan seems to currently have one similar, but I can fully understand why. They’re SO cosy and SO comfy and SO FRICKIN’ FLUFFY.

OOTD 30th D Collage 2Rings: Primark / Brogues: Primark (surprise surprise)

I’ve been basking in a few extra days off work post-Christmas, and so went out for lunch with my sister yesterday. I don’t know why I thought a rather tight fitting skater skirt was a good idea for a lunch date that involved a huge portion of enchiladas and sweet potato fries (Best. Things. Ever), but the feeling of being about to explode like the fat man in Se7en was still completely worth it.

What do you all think of this outfit? 

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Seventeen Mini Haul: Brows That, Nail Varnish & More

Ello chums!

It has been a looooong time since I’ve nattered away on Stylingo, but unfortunately I have been very busy drinking and being festively merry with my fam and pals. I hope everyone had an excellent Christmas and is looking forward to partying tonight…I, for one, am sitting in bed with a cider listening to Miley. It’s a hard life, eh??

Has anyone else noticed how WUBBISH the sales are at the moment? I went shopping on Sunday fully expecting to spend all of my hard earned dollar and I couldn’t find one sale item I wanted to buy. So so so tragic. I was forced to comfort myself with some Seventeen purchases. And 2 pairs of shoes.

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Anywhoo, I’m sure I will feature my new shoes in an OOTD post soon (probably not at the same time, but you never know) but here is what I bought from Seventeen. As you may know, Claire and I are hugey fans of Seventeen and absolutely love their new product launches. I’ve been pretty much universally impressed with what I’ve bought in recent months, so they’re swiftly becoming my go-to highstreet makeup brand (sorry Rimmel).

Brows That Brow Kit

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When I got this, Claire quite rightly said ‘YES BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU NEED, ANOTHER BROW KIT’. Well, a gal can never have too many brow kits, and technically this one was a free gift. That’s right gals, if you spend over £8 with Seventeen, you get a free Brows That Brow Kit. You basically can’t say no to that, can you?

It’s a great little kit actually, and I have swiftly replaced my MUA Brow Kit (which had it’s faults) with this. You get:

  • Brow Wax
  • Eyebrow Pencil
  • Setting Powder
  • Highlighter
  • Eyebrow brush

It’s £6 from Boots, which, for the quality of the product and for what you get in the palette, is absolutely amazing. The colours are not too dark and would suit most complexions, I think. What I like most is that it’s really similar to Sleek’s Brow Kit in the sense your eyebrows literally don’t go anywhere. With the MUA kit, I found my eyebrows tended to wander around my face, probably in search for a small snack. They didn’t last well at all and if you accidentally touched your face, your eyebrows would be gone (sob).

Smoulder Gel Eyeliner

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I’m a big eyeliner fan, particularly after a lad at work said ‘ARE YOU OK, YOU LOOK ILL’ when I didn’t wear any the other day. I’m usually more of an eyeliner pen or tube kind of girl, but I thought I’d give this gel eyeliner a whirl as my current Rimmel liner was running low. It’s described as having all of the staying power of a liquid eyeliner with the smokiness of a pencil. Wizardry? Basically yes. It somehow manages to be soft yet you can define your eyes properly too. I highly recommend this little pot, chums. It’s incredible!

Deconstructed Suede Nail Polish & Lasting Fix White Nail Colour

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This was a bit of a ‘pardon me, what on earth is this nonsense’ purchase more than anything. We’ve all heard of velvet nails, fur effect nails, 3d nails…but suede nails?! I wasn’t too sure if I was being a bit of a dongle and ‘suede’ was the name of the nail polish colour, but it actually comes out a little bit suede-y. It’s much more pleasant than it sounds. It’s sort of a matte, slightly metallic silvery grey – really lovely. I’ve tried to take some snaps on my falsies but I’m not sure if the suede came through.

I wasn’t actually going to feature this in my mini-haul because it’s actually quite boring. HOWEVER. This is an amazing white polish and I definitely didn’t expect such fab quality for such a bargain price. I only needed to do one coat and so far, it hasn’t chipped after 3 days (on my toes at that). It’s quite a pearly white, which is a bit different to Barry M’s white polish (which is a little thick and Tipex-y). Thoroughly recommend this white polish too, gals. Top marks again, Seventeen.

Well chums, I hope you have a wonderful NYE and both Claire and I can’t wait for what the new year is going to bring. I can safely say, probably more clothes, more makeup and most likely a hint of fake tan.

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Batiste Dry Conditioner | Review

Dry C 1I have a confession to make, dear readers: I rely on dry shampoo to an extent that is almost socially unacceptable. Due to a combination of hair extensions that do better without too much heat exposure, and a lazy personality that would rather watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians marathons than do anything as tedious as washing my hair, I turn to these little cans of trickery at least a couple of times a week. When I first heard about dry conditioner then, it’s no surprise that my big masssive ears pricked up in immediate anticipation.

I think that dry conditioners have only been around for a couple of months, and of course one of the leaders in the market is every lazy girl’s favourite brand, Batiste. Dry conditioners are supposed to be different from other conditioning sprays such as leave-in conditioners, which can still leave hair feeling heavy and wet. The aerosol dry conditioner means that you get all of the benefits of a proper conditioning treatment but without any of the wetness, stickiness or weight.

Dry c 2This sounded like something I badly needed in my life. Although my hair looks fine on dry shampoo days it can often feel dry, and so something that can make it feel soft without adding oiliness would basically be a kind of miracle in a can.

Batiste say that their product can be used either after shampooing and conditioning your hair normally, for added smoothness and to tame frizz and flyaways; or it can be used after dry shampoo for a complete hair refresh in between washes. All you do is hold the can 30 centimetres away from your hair and then spray on the lengths and ends of the hair, avoiding the roots so you don’t end up looking like a greaseball.

Dry c 3After using this for the first time yesterday, I was really impressed. It instantly gave a softness to my hair that wasn’t heavy or greasy feeling, plus it actually added some noticeable shine, which is  tricky to get on blonde hair at the best of times. I’ve woke up this morning and whereas my hair – particularly my ends – would normally be feeling dry, it still feels soft and manageable.

Overall I’m really pleased with the dry conditioner from Batiste, and I’m sure it’s going to be just as much of a success as their dry shampoos. I picked mine up for £3.99 from Boots and urge lazy girls and boys like me to do the same. Let’s make hair washing a thing of the past! (Okay, that might be a bit far, sorry…)

Have any of you tried dry conditioner yet? What do you think?

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Outfit of the Day: Oh My Love Playsuit

ootd 26th d collage 1 Playsuit: Oh My Love via ASOS / Leather Jacket: H&M / Shoess: eBay

Hey there sexies! Just a quick OOTD to show you what I wore for a night out on Boxing Day.

It’s one of those outfits that looking back on, I’m not 100% happy with; while I LOVE the digital print of the playsuit, I think the shorts cut me at a bad angle and length, leading to a bit too much chunky thigh on show. It’s still a beaut playsuit though, and the elasticated waistband was MUCH appreciated after  a few days of Christmas bingeing (potentially also to blame for the chunky thigh).

OOTD 26th D 4Rings: Primark and eBay

I had my hair in rollers for about four hours to achieve the bouncetacular ‘do that you see here, and about sixteen layers of St Moriz finished off the look by making me look nice and brown, like a coffee table.

What do you all think of this outfit? 

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