Topshop – Clairey Sweetie

Hey Sweeties,

I initially wasn’t going to mention my small collection of highlighters in my series of posts focussed on the different areas of my makeup collection (foundations, eyes, lips & blushers), partly because out of everything, it’s the product I own the least of and therefore not much to show you. That being said, unlike say blushers, I think there isn’t a need to own a lot of highlighters because while they do exist in different tones, a couple of good highlighters is all you really need to get you by.

In recent months, the highlighter as a product has become such a staple in my daily makeup routine, I have really learned to appreciate it. Application is definitely a skill and it’s important to understand where and how it should be applied to get the most from it and not just look as though you have a random golden streak down your face. I am no way skilled therefore if you are looking for a master, I would whole heartedly recommend watching IntheFrow in her makeup tutorials.

So, without further ado, here is my collection of highlighters:

Topshop in Sunbeam – This is probably my most reached for highlighter and I think was actually the first in my collection. While it is maybe more yellow than I would ideally want, the pigmentation is excellent and leaves a lovely shimmery golden glow where applied.

Makeup Revolution – Highlighter Palette – This is a fantastic highlight palette, it’s incredibly affordable and the pigmentation of the products is fantastic, to be honest you’d be fine if this was all you owned. Of the three, I mostly use either the one on the left or in the middle but I think this palette would suit most if not all skin tones. Definitely one to get hold of if you can.

The Manizer Sisters/Mary-Lou Manizer– I was delighted to pick this up in Las Vegas last year (see my American Haul post) and I can totally understand why everyone loves this highlighter so much. The reason why I don’t use it every day is more over accessibility in my drawer as it sort of gets lost around other products (because this is a palette rather than a single pan), whereas my Topshop highlighter is much easier to grab in a hurry. Again, the pigmentation is great and it’s the perfect tone to accentuate key facial features. Of the three in my collection it’s the pricier product but as I said earlier, you don’t need tons of highlighters so if you wanted a budget friendly and one slightly more expensive (but still perfectly affordable), The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer would be a good shout.

What are your favourite highlighters?

Until next time x

Hey Sweeties,

It’s time to show you all another area of my makeup collection, having already shown you my; foundations, blushers & eyes bringing us now onto, lips. Here goes…

The collection! Note: the glosses in the top left compartment aren’t usually kept there, I’m not that messy 😉

I touched upon my makeup storage a while back now (here) so it’s probably time I did an update post soon, but for the purposes of this post, my collection of lip products are for the most part stored on top of my dressing table in organisers from TK MAXX and Muji.

All the glosses seen in the left on the top organiser are normally kept within my dressing table as I find I hardly use these ones, but they’re still useful to keep on hand for when I do. Essentially my core collection consists of lip liners, lipsticks and a couple of glosses as I will talk you through below. View Full Post

Hi Sweeties,

I have had such a lovely weekend! My Mum came up on Friday to help wallpaper our living room (FYI, while we’re on the point, I’ll be doing a new home update/haul post soon where I’ll share with you more of what has been happening with that side of life)… and we had a day in London yesterday. Now Mum has headed back to Devon (so far away, sob!) and Ian has gone to work I am now sat reflecting on everything and things have become silent for the first time this weekend.

So, let’s get to the juicy part of my weekend… the London trip and a bit of a show and tell of what I picked up while there!

I’m terrible really, I am trying to not buy anything between now and January and then have a real wardrobe update and blowout in the sales but as the seasons change, there are always gaps that appear. For me, this year rather than do big chunky jumpers, I want to layer with tops and chunky cardigans and things like that… all of which I don’t really have. Doh!

Anyway.

London Shopping Haul-

I actually didn’t really pick up much in the way of clothing but I did pick up an amazing fluffy gilet from Forever 21 (above). I saw it and was like, “that’s mine!”. This will be ideal for layering over pretty much anything to be honest and I can’t tell you how snuggly it is; perfect for wearing around the house and when out and about.

Now, I can’t resist a hat but finding one that fits me well is quite rare as I have an odd shaped head. While Mum and I were in Aldo, I saw this hat, plonked it on my head and was like, “Wo!”. Mum took one look at it and practically marched me to the till point… she then noticed a lovely scarf so I treated her to that and she me the hat. Win win!

My next purchases were of the beauty kind…

Beauty Purchases

Topshop, The Body Shop & Urban Decay

Let’s begin with The Body Shop.

As you know, it was merely a few weeks since I was last in there having a little skin care haul and to be honest, didn’t expect to be back there quite so soon… if I did, I would have taken my £10 off voucher with me (doh!). Moving on, we were passing and I thought while I had the opportunity I might as well stock up on my cleansing butter which I have loved since first purchasing it. I also grabbed a muslin cloth as I have learnt a flannel really doesn’t work… well it does, but despite washes and rinses following cleanser removal it gunks up something horrid with make-up!

While in the store I took the opportunity to investigate and take a look at the new Drops of Youth Eye Concentrate. I have been on the hunt for an eye cream of some kind as that’s the only area of my face that needs attention that I haven’t covered in my skin care routine so far so I thought I would give it a go. I’ll do a review of the product in a week or two once I have had a good chance to try it out.

Before heading to the checkout I had the briefest of glances across the make-up stand and this eyeliner caught my eye. I love a black liner as we know and now the weather is changing it’s creeping back into my everyday look but black can be quite harsh so I am exploring other colours. This product is the Smoky Plum Eye Definer and it’s a beautiful deep purple which I am excited to try.

Next!

As we also know, I don’t really venture into Topshop that often but the store on Oxford street is so big it can’t be ignored and the lull of the beauty section is impossible to avoid so, of course I didn’t leave empty handed.

You guys will remember the lipstick haul I did from there a few weeks ago and Depth has become a real favourite out of the four but I have lacked a lip liner to go with it… so I bought a lip liner in shade Deception which is a fairly deep red. I also picked up their highlighter in the shade Sunbeam. Now, I as yet am not really a wearer of highlighter but again, as we drift into the colder months I want to achieve a bit of definition and draw a bit of light to my upper cheekbones so I figured now was as good a time as any to make the purchase! Unfortunately the shade is a bit too difficult to swatch effectively enough to show you but it’s basically a yellowy gold shimmer; really pretty.

My next purchase I should really apologise for but I won’t. I will though confess it was purchased solely out of envy and feeling left out. Let me explain…

My Mum -like me- has really started to have a real allergy to certain eye shadows but I have been getting a long fine with my Sleek palettes and my Naked 2. So, as any good daughter would, I have been talking a fair bit about Urban Decay and suggested it’s something she should try by which I mean, wear some of mine for the day and she how she gets on. However, we passed House of Fraser and ventured through the beauty hall and low and behold, came across the Urban Decay stand. Mum loved the colours in the individual pans and picked out a beautiful pinky purple shade (Toasted). For ages she has also been desperate for someone to show her how to achieve a good smokey eye and Benefit are an obvious choice to achieve this. But the beauty assistant on the UD stand sat Mum in the chair and using Toasted as well as a couple of the other shades in the Naked 1 palette, created her the most brilliant but simple smokey eye using pink and brown colours. She absolutely nailed it! A traditional black & grey smokey eye would not have suited mum at all but this one she had done was perfect for her skin tone and also, her age. Mum was sold! Rather than just purchase Toasted (£14), it proved far more cost effective to buy the whole Naked 1 palette (£37). Of course, on reflection Mum really should have seen how she got on with Toasted and whether or not her skin reacted to it before taking the plunge with a whole palette but hey ho! While paying I got this strange overwhelming sense of envy… I wanted Naked 1 as well! So… I did (*hangs head*).

Ok, the haul is done! However, before I leave you I wanted to share something really exciting. Following my visit to The Design Studio a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned I fell in love with their pink and black bomber jacket… well, guess what arrived for me in the post…

Ta Da!!!!

…My very own TDS Bomber jacket! Yippee!! I just so love this and like my new gilet, I am going to be wearing this all over the place throughout the autumn-winter months. I can’t tell you how snug it is! Thank you so much Sally and Lettie! *Mwah!*

What have you guys hauled lately??

Until next time x

Hey Sweeties,

At this current moment in time, I don’t get through or try out enough products and things to make having a monthly favourites post worth it, so I figured a ‘favourites’ post every once in a while would however be the way forward so here goes. This is what I have been loving lately, some of which you will already have seen feature in previous posts.

So first up are the Rimmel Lasting Finish Colour Rush Balms. I adore these!

I discovered these initially when I was up in London and arrived at Paddington realising I hadn’t bought any water with me. Usually this wouldn’t be a problem but in efforts to drink more (as I really do not drink enough during the day) I felt I needed to grab a bottle somewhere. Conveniently there is a Boots on the station forecourt and with a few minutes to spare I nipped in (to grab some water) but as you do, I browsed the shelves before I went to the check out. This particular Boots really is small and for make-up the choice is limited but as I scanned the Rimmel stand these caught my eye & figured I would give them a go. That day I picked up ‘Give Me A Cuddle‘ and ‘Boom Chic A Boom‘, I later added ‘Keep on Mauving‘ on a separate shopping trip (how cool are those names?!).

Why they are so great? They are not sticky like a lip gloss, they are less matte and heavy like lipstick and they are more than your basic lip balm both in texture, in colour application and in staying power. The crayon like tip makes application swift, simple and perfect for on the go. These really can’t be faulted. They hydrate your lips nicely and even once they have absorbed in further, they don’t leave you reaching for another balm. There is also a great selection of colours in the range allowing for these to be an everyday product that can be colour matched to outfits and moods. A real winner in my books!

Bourjois Dark Khol Mascara

Before my current willingness to experiment with foundations, I found it increasingly difficult to find a mascara that worked for me enough to buy time and time again. For a while I settled with Maybelline’s ‘The Falsies Volum’ Express’ in Black Drama and I will always have a stock of Benefit’s They’re Real mascara but I can’t afford to use this everyday. However, when I took out a subscription with the now unfortunately late Company magazine, I received a gift set containing some Bourjois products. I have actually already mentioned this mascara in a past beauty favourites post, so I do apologise for sounding like a broken record but I really am still just totally loving this mascara! I like dark thick lashes without looking clumpy and this does the job, what more can I say?

If I hadn’t posted about them so recently I would also be adding here Topshop Lipsticks, mainly Wicked and Depth from the four I purchased. I am quite surprised how good they are to be honest, they last a long time and the pigment is fantastic. On my lips they are just this brilliant bold colour that really stands out and lifts any outfit. My challenge is to see if I can get away with Depth in the office… watch this space!

Moving away from beauty products…

Music

London Grammar –If You Wait

Oh my goodness, these guys have become my new favourite band, I am obsessed! I have heard their stuff before on the radio but never been able to catch who they are but the other day while perusing YouTube, the current Dior J’adore advert came on (which I equally love) with a remix of what I now know to be London Grammar’s Hey Now. I Shazamed it straight away and their album swiftly purchased, I mean we’re talking within minutes here, people! The whole album is always on repeat but particularly tunes, Hey Now, Strong and Metal & Dust I just can’t get enough of. If you take nothing else away from this post I do honestly strongly urge you to check these guys out if you haven’t already. The lead singer, Hannah, her voice has this amazingly deep haunting but breathtakingly beautiful texture to it which just never leave my ears. Who says Britain hasn’t got talent?

Apps

Map My Run

I love this app. I probably don’t use it to it’s full capacity but being able to track my route and distance on runs and walks is brilliant and incredibly useful. I found when I was training for the Water Wipeout challenge particularly, being able to monitor my progress was a real boost and I think it also helped sponsorship as being able to share on Twitter but more so on Facebook my progress allowed people to see that I was taking the challenge seriously.

Boots

This is my most recent download and it is so useful. As you guys know, I am always in Boots and it really is my happy place but I never make use of the offers unless they are right slap bang in my face on the individual stands and shelves I am perusing. This app allows me to check my Advantage Card balance and offers currently running -both general to the store and those more tailored to me so I can gain those extra points on products I may already be in there purchasing. If you are a Boots lover then I really do suggest you get this downloaded pronto!

Righty, I think I have gone on long enough to give you a good idea of my current favourites, more I have no doubt will be added to this list and I will post again shortly. But in the meantime, let me know what products and things you are loving right now and maybe they would be something I would like to! So please, do share!

Until next time x

In my efforts to be totally prepared and ready for autumn when I plan to really champion the lipstick, it seems only right that I ensure I have an adequate collection to last the season. So, with that in mind while I was mooching about town the other day, I ventured into Topshop to take a look at their makeup products.

I don’t really shop in there usually but I have noticed that I see the odd bit of their makeup appear in magazines, blogs etc. so I figured I should check it out for myself.

Fortunately Topshop do a 2 for £12 offer on their makeup so I ended up with four new lipsticks in total which without the offer would have cost me £34! Quite a lot of money to be honest but with the offer it came in at a more purse friendly £24. I selected four shades –The Damned, Depth, Nevada and Wicked.

Wicked, Nevada, Depth, The Damned

Wicked is a beautiful burgundy red and has become a real favourite of mine. It’s both a pop of colour and something suiting when you want a bit of depth to your make-up look so for autumn it will be great.

It also has real staying power! I think this colour got released either as part of the promotion for the film Maleficent (which I have still yet to see), or it just got very conveniently released at the same time? My mind fails me, apologies but that is how I was initially made aware of both the shade and another reason I was interested to try out the makeup from Topshop.

Nevada is a lovely peachy nude and The Damned is a pinky purple. I picked this one up because I needed a fourth colour to round off the offer so it’s not a colour I think I’ll wear a lot of but it’s never the less a good shade to have in my collection.

My other favourite asides from Wicked, is Depth. It almost looks black on appearance before it is applied to lips but it’s actually a very dark purple; very gothic and I just love it. I am excited to see how often I’ll be able to pull this off over the next few months.

Not sure this really worked… but you get the idea

I quite like the distinctive packaging of Topshop lipsticks, of course they don’t look like a luxury item but for high street I think they look great and I particularly like how the lid gives a satisfying ‘click’ when it connects to the rest of the product. The four of them look great on my dresser and I think in future I would definitely purchase from the Topshop makeup range again.

Man, makeup is addictive…

Until next time x

My Makeup Collection: Highlighters

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My Makeup Collection: Lips

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London Shopping Haul -New Beauty & Fashion Purchases

London Shopping Haul-

Beauty Purchases

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Sweetie’s Beauty Favourites

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Topshop Lipstick Haul

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