August Favourites

Hello everyone! 

August always feels like such a long month, the weather is glorious and the days are lovely and long. I think August is my favourite month and of course that has nothing to do with my birthday being at the end of it! With this month feeling so leisurely, I have ended up with a lot of favourites so I've tried to narrow it down for you guys :-) 

To kick things off I have been loving reading and have been seriously getting into it, reading a thoroughly ridiculous number so far! I think it's because I've had so many sunny evenings to chill outside that I've been ploughing through them. There will be a separate post for my August Reading Wrap Up so stay tuned! 

This gorgeous handbag has barely left my shoulder this month, I have fallen so deeply in love with it. Ted Baker always creates the most stunning bags, they are always super feminine and so easy to style. This is the Beckee Porcelain Rose Evening Bag. I love the colours on this bag, they are perfect for any season and instantly make anything you're wearing look classier. The subtle floral print is ideal, it's not too in your face kitsch, it's just that touch more sophisticated. Another perfect touch is the rose gold hardware, rose gold is so big at the moment and Ted Baker are staying bang on trend with this one. 

Staying with the rose gold theme is this beautiful tree necklace, it's super cute and the perfect chain length to compliment a summer dress. I can't remember where it is from, it was a present years ago and I have completely forgotten! I rediscovered it in my jewellery box and now can't wear it enough :-) 

Usually I stick to red as my signature lip colour, however, this month I wanted to go for something lighter. Mac is my go to for nudes, and they have come through yet again with Patisserie. I know this is old news, everyone loves this colour! As it is a lustre it has such a lovely shine to it, whilst retaining its moisturising properties. I love to just glide this on and instantly feel fantastic.

My final favourite is Tea Pigs, I love their enormous variety of caffeine free herbal teas. They have something to suit everyone! Recently I have been loving British classics rhubarb and ginger tea and their spiced fruit apple and cinnamon tea. They are super delicious and refreshing. I love rhubarb and ginger in the morning to give me a boost and help me feel invigorated. As I sit up in bed reading at night the spiced fruit tea is perfect for relaxing and helping me drop off to sleep. 

I'll stop there, otherwise you'll be here forever! What have you been loving this month? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

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Going Nude

Hello everyone! 

I know I always go on about how much I love a bright red lip, but in recent months I have really grown to love the subtle tones of a nude lipstick. In the same way people quest for their signature red, others hunt for the ideal nude. Somehow I, much to my purse's despair, have managed to join both quests. So I come to you today with a few tips on how to find the perfect type of nude lipstick for you! 

I can't really advise on all the skin tones and hair colours out there as I can't change my looks at will! However, I can tell you about my four favourites and why I love them, with tips added in where I can. There are four main varieties in my lipstick armoury: natural nude, sheer nude, pinky nude and browny nude. 

Left to right: Patisserie, Beige Rose, Ex-Girlfriend and Alice 

This natural nude is the best one I have been able to find and I'd say the tiny amount left is testimony to how much I love it. This is the Urban Decay nude lipstick from the Gwen Stefani collection in the shade Ex-Girlfriend. I think this colour would suit anyone really, it gives a barely there look, but with a slight shine to it from its moisturising properties. This type of nude is quite easy to match to any skin tone as it the most neutral of all the neutral shades. This type of nude is a key part to anyone's makeup collection, it's so easy to just glide on and look smart! 

The sheer nude is the hardest to pull off, the wrong tone can wash someone out completely! These are the ones to try in the shop before you buy them. When I first saw this lipstick I fell head over heels in love with it! The gorgeous sheer quality of it, with the metallic pink streak running through makes it perfect for me. It helps bring a rosiness to my skin, so for someone who is pale and loving pinks this is ideal, however, I would stay clear if you have a more yellow tone to your skin. Go for this one if you love a fresh faced, rosy look :-) This one isn't readily available anymore, it's the Alice lipstick from the Alice Through the Looking Glass collection by Urban Decay, but in Urban Decay's new Vice relaunch I'm sure you can find something similar. Velvet Teddy by MAC is quite a good dupe for this one too! 

The pinky nude is super fun, I love the matte finish to this particular one. It instantly creates a classic, natural look for both everyday and evening wear. This tone is good for people who have a bit of a tan. So I like to wear this in summer when I have a bit more colour to my cheeks. This lipstick smells like chocolate, which is an added bonus for any chocoholics out there! It is the shade Beige Rose from Bigune. I know here it looks very very pink, but once on it is much more subtle and most definitely a nude! You can see it better in the swatch picture above :-) 

The final type here is the browny nude. This one can also be tricky to pull off, but as long as you find the right balance of brown vs pink for you then you should be grand! I love this shade, it is my everyday work go to. There is a slight shimmer to it which means it looks put together without being too in your face. I like the way this shade is buildable so you can amp it up a little bit if you want to wear this lippy on an evening out :-) This is the much revered Patisserie from MAC. Nobody does nudes like MAC so if you are looking for your shade I would definitely search there first, their lipsticks are both affordable and part of a huge range, so there really is something for everyone! 

What is your favourite nude shade? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

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Star Wars Day Makeup

Hello everyone! 

Today is May 4th, and we all know that means it’s Star Wars Day! Yes that is nerdy, and no I’m not really into Star Wars, but Mr.Gingersnap, like most men, is a fan. So I am being a supportive girlfriend and trying to get into things he likes too. The best way to do that here is through makeup! I have come up with two different makeup looks for you guys today, both of them using the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons eyeshadow palette.

These looks are so simple, this is all you need! 

The first look is more of a day time style, I have tried to channel the whole desert, sandy, jedi vibe for this. After I’ve done my whole face of makeup, apart from eyes and lips, I’ll pat some Benefit Air Patrol eyeshadow primer onto my lids. The first colour I like to use is Divinity as a base, it’s a lovely creamy colour to sweep across the whole lid. Then I’ll take my number one favourite Almond Truffle and curve it over the whole crease of my upper eyelids. This shade is so beautiful, I adore the mauve tone to it! Next I’ll pat the warm, sparkly Molasses Chip onto the outer and middle sections of my lids. I then use this same colour to line my lower lashes. Next I’ll dab Satin Sheets into the inner corner of my lids to lighten my eyes and make them look more intense. Then it’s onto the blending stage, do this gradually as you can blend too far and end up with muddy eyeshadow with no real definition. Finally I’ll use Divinity again across my brow bones, below my eyebrows as a highlighter. 

Left to right: Divinity, Almond Truffle, Molasses Chip, Satin Sheets

Mascara and lipstick add the final touches. For this look I used the Lollipops Paris Ladycat’s Power Volume Mascara. It gives me super long lashes, but still with quite a natural defined look. For lipstick I wanted a more neutral colour, but not a nude. I feel this look needs a bit of pink to it. I love this Bigune lipstick in Beige Rosé, it’s a wonderful dusky, matte rose that goes with everything! 

Of course, I had to do a Dark Side inspired look too, it was inevitable. This look is really dramatic and I love it for an evening look, especially a night out. To start I will prime my eyelids, then take Dark Truffle and sweep it across the crease of both eyelids. This deep, rich brown will provide the definition of the look. Then I’ll take Earl Grey and pat it onto the middle and outer sections of my lids. This gunmetal blue will look slightly strange until you blend it with the brown, but I promise once it is blended it looks beautiful. Take Black Current and pull it along the lower lashes, I love how this emphasises my eye colour! Finally I take Café au Lait and pat it into the inner corners and use it to highlight along my brow bones. Then I blend gently to really bring the look together. 

Left to right: Dark Truffle, Earl Grey, Black Current, Café au Lait 

As this is a dramatic eye, I wanted lashes that would stand out more so I used the L’Oréal Miss Manga Punky Volume mascara. It gives my lashes so much volume and a wonderfully vintage spiky look! To pull the look together I needed a real show stopper of a lipstick. It was a hard debate, I hesitated between a matte red or a deep berry tone, in the end I chose a gorgeous plum colour. I love wearing MAC’s Satin in Media in the evenings, it goes on so smoothly and contrasts so well with pale skin! As an alternative Charlotte Tilbury’s So Marilyn is a great red for this look. 

I hope you guys have enjoyed these looks :-) Let me know if you have any great ideas for looks or plans for the day in the comments below. Aaaaaaannnnndddd, May the Fourth be with you! Sorry guys, couldn't resist...

xoxo

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Go To Autumn Lipsticks

Now that the autumn is officially here I can crack out my favourite autumnal lipsticks. Although it is sad that I am putting away my summer pinky nudes and corals, I am really excited for the berry tones and bold reds! 

My two favourite colours for autumn are red and purple, though I tend to lean more towards red at the end of autumn closer to the Christmas season. 

I adore this deep purple berry tone from Mac in satin Media A24, it is quite a matte colour and has fantastic colour payoff and staying power. If I put this on in the morning it will still be there in the evening no matter what I drink or eat, it only fades to a lighter purple, which I actually quite like. The only slight issue I have with this is that I won’t wear it everyday as it dries out my lips quite a bit, but that could just be because I am prone to dry lips this time of year…

Which is all the more reason to whip out the tinted lip balm! Benebalm is my go to for this time of year, it leaves a lovely glossy sheen to the lips and a faint red tint, it is less intense than the original Bene Tint from Benefit, but I love it for a day time look in the autumn. It is a great muted colour for university and leaves my lips soft and smooth. 

I have another favourite from Benefit and this is this wonderful Nice Knickers plum lipstick from an old range of theirs. I use this one sparingly as it is a discontinued line! Which is such a shame because it is a fabulously creamy lipstick with amazing colour payoff, however, it doesn’t have the best staying power from the creaminess. 

For reds I have two favourites for autumn and those are more from high street brands. The first is this lovely post box red from the Rimmel Kate Moss collection for Comic Relief in Red Nose Red 01. I picked this up last winter and I absolutely love it. The staying power isn’t as good, but the colour is so rich and deep that it makes up for it! 

The second is another red, but less deep and more vibrant than the Rimmel one. This one is L’Oreal color riche 297 in Red Passion and I actually prefer to apply it lightly with my finger, it gives a more relaxed feel to the red lipped classic look. I love to pair my red lipsticks with a tartan scarf, jeans, black suede boots and leather jacket. 

What are your favourite autumn lipsticks? Let me know in the comments below! 

xoxo