OOTD | Knits and Rips

What I'm Wearing:

Newlook Jumper | £7.99

Topshop Joni Ripped Knee Jeans | £38.00

Newlook Chelsea Boot | £19.99

FINDING THE PERFECT LIPSTICK FOR YOUR SKIN TONE.

Skin tone generally forms the basis of most of our makeup troubles when it comes to finding the right shade for us. There's firstly undertones to consider; are we cool, warm or neutral? And what the hell is the difference between them anyway?!

When you feel like a particular lip colour or blush shade just doesn't look right on you, it's probably down to it not quite being the most flattering for your skin tone. Though I certainly believe there are no strict rules in makeup and you should wear whatever you want, I think it's always helpful to have a basis from which to begin with and work from. In this post therefore, I thought I'd look at lip colours and and how to find the shades that are the most flattering for your skin tone. I hope this comes in handy in some way and that of course, you enjoy!

First Things First: Undertone:

We of course have a fair idea of what our skin tone is but in the world of makeup and colour matching, it's not quite as simple as that. More than just knowing your skin colour, the undertones of it are often what dictates what colours are really going to suit you. There are generally 3 kinds of undertones that you may fall under and they are: warm, cool and neutral.

** TIP TO FINDING YOUR UNDERTONE EASILY **

Look at the veins on your wrist:

PHOTO CREDIT: www.kisscosmetics.co.uk 

1. If your veins look blue, you have COOL,  PINK undertones.

2. If you veins look green, you have WARM, YELLOW undertones.

3. If you have a mixture of both coloured veins, you have NEUTRAL undertones.

Finding the Perfect Lip Colour:

So, now you know how to find your undertone, you have the perfect basis for finding a flattering lipstick colour.
Generally, a good rule to stick to is to look for a lipstick colour that matches your skins undertone - so, for yellow undertones you want lipsticks that are on the warmer side and are pink or orange based. For pink undertones, go for cooler shades that are blue or purple based! And for neutral, you can pretty much wear any shade!

RED:

FROM L to R:
COOL: Mac's Ruby Woo
WARM: Mac's Lady Danger

PINK:

FROM L to R:
COOL: Revlon's Pink Pout
WARM: Mac's Modesty 

NUDE:

Choosing a nude lip has more factors than simply finding your undertone. For something to look "nude" on your, your generally want a colour 2-3 shades darker than your own skin tone so that is the most important factor here. As always, if you have cool, neutral or warm undertones, consider this and you find that perfect nude as well!

And there you have it, those are the basic tips I have for finding the most flattering lipsticks shades for you. Hopefully, you found this helpful and interesting in some way - happy lipstick shopping!

Haul ft MAC and Victoria Secrets!

Hello everyone! How is your week going so far?

Mine is going pretty well, it isn't long now till I start back at University - which strangely, I'm looking forward too! Let's see how long that lasts..

Anyway, I recently got a few things and thought I'd post a mini haul about it. Firstly, I made a repeat purchase of a product I've really been enjoying for the past few months. It is none other than the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. This for me is a skincare basic and I'd definitely recommend it - you can check out a review I wrote on this product here!

 Next is a product I have heard so much about for quite a long time now in the beauty community. That product is MAC's Paint Pot in "Soft Ochre" which is a cream formula, eyeshadow base. I wanted something to dull out the pigmentation of my eyelids and provide a clean base for my eyeshadows and so far, I'm really enjoying this!

And finally, I took a trip to Victoria Secrets.. No, I didn't get a fancy (and extremely overpriced) bra or pair of undies but something even better; a body mist! This stuff is in the scent "Mango Temptation" and is DIVINE. Seriously, it smells so good - if you are ever near a VS store, give it a sniff and you'll see what I mean!

And that's it for my little haul, I hope that you enjoyed this post and I shall speak to you on my next!

My Favourite Nail Care Products

Nail care is something that I have recently taken a more invested interest in. As a kid and teenager, I was a dedicated nail biter and this left me with fairly damaged, weakened nails. As I have gotten older, I have come to value my nails more and want them to be in the best condition they can be.

And so, I began to take a little time to give my nails some much needed TLC and I have definitely seen an improvement. In this post, I'm going to share with you some of my favourite products for nail care and maintenance - enjoy!

OPI Original Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

This is a strengthening treatment that you do for a week at a time - if using it for its primary purpose. You can also use it as a top and base coat which is what I do as well in between treatments. I have really seen an improvement in the condition of my nails with this product - I have not had ANY breakages since using this treatment, it's awesome! Look out soon for a full review on this product.

O'Keeffe's Working Hands Cream 

This is a bit of a random addition to my favourites and is more for the hands rather than the nails but I wanted to mention it because I've really been enjoying it. 

This is an intensely hydrating hand cream that as the name suggests, was originally made for those who worked with their hands in laborious jobs. However, you can buy it from places like Amazon and I have found it really effective on my hands when they are dry and a little worse for wear. It's not greasy, absorbs fast and leaves your hands soothed and moisturised for hours.

Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

I love this cuticle butter from Lush because firstly, it smells amazing. It's also really moisturising and nourishing on my cuticles which regularly can be quite dry. It absorbs quickly into the skin and it can actually be used on several areas of the body such as your elbows and feet! I reviewed this product in full and you can read that review here. 

OPI Avoplex Nail and Cuticle Oil

I like this because it's great for on the go - it's got a handy little brush applicator which makes it easy to get the product in and around your nail. It has a really nice scent to it that isn't too overpowering and though it is an oil, I find it does absorb quite well. 

Leighton Denny Crystal Nail File

My nails peel quite easily and certain nail files can worsen this because they aren't the best quality. I love this nail file because it will basically last me a lifetime. Because of what it is made off, it smooths the nails and files them perfectly without causing any damage whatever way you file. This is something I would definitely recommend investing in!

NOTD | All Tied Up

Hey everyone! I hope you're having a good week so far. I'm on quite the roll lately with nail posts - for some reason, I'm just really enjoying doing my nails! Today I went for something a little more neutral and then opted for a glitter accent nail to add a little sparkle to my manicure!

What I'm Wearing:

Essie | All Tied Up

Essie | Hors D'oeuvres

The Best Of: Barry M

As a self-proclaimed beauty fanatic, I like to think I have acquired a pretty good knowledge on certain brands and what they have to offer. With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to start a new series on my blog that looks at "The Best Of" certain brands. I will shortlist my personal favourite items from each chosen brand and tell you a little bit about why I love them so much.

So, I'm going to kick this new series off with Barry M - though it's a cosmetic brand that offers a variety of products, I'm going to focus on what Barry M is perhaps best known for and that is their nail polishes! I've racked up quite the collection over the years and today I'll share with you what I consider to be the best of the bunch!

The first polish I love from Barry M is their Diamond Glitter (350) polish. I love this particular glitter from Barry M because it's very dainty and full of smaller glitter pieces. This makes for a really beautiful addition to whatever shade you're wearing and adds a little bit of dimension to your manicure!

Next is Cotton (506) which is a bold, white shade. I have found it difficult in the past to find a good white nail polish - one that doesn't require a million different layers and isn't streaky. This one however is opaque in 2 layers and I don't find it be streaky at all - win!

Next up is Heather (402) which is part of their "Silk" range. It has a beautiful pearly finish and the shade itself is very soft and feminine. This dries super fast and is great for a quick manicure.

 Mint Green (304) is another shade that I love from Barry M - it's a perfect summer colour and this also dries fairly fast which is great. I don't usually gravitate towards greens on my nails but I think this one is really pretty.

And finally, we have Bright Red (262) - this is a much loved shade of mine as you can probably tell. This is an all round, classic and bold red shade that I think is a great staple in anyones nail polish collection.

And those are my personal favourites from Barry M's nail range - what are yours?

NOTD: Cotton

Nails: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in "Cotton" | £2.50

Mini Haul Ft. Lush & Butter London!

Hello everyone! I hope you're having a good week so far. Mine has been pretty good and one particularly good thing that happened in my week was that I GOT A JOB! 

This will be my first "proper" paid job and I'm super excited to start it. 

Anyway, in todays post I just wanted to share with you a small haul from this week. 

The first thing that I got was a Lush bath bomb - it's the Rose Jam bubble bar and the main reason I wanted it was for its really beautiful smell. It's sweet and candy-like and that's my favourite!

Finally, I got two nail polishes from the brand Butter London. Now, I'm not one to spend ridiculous prices for nail polishes even if they are higher end and in this case, it was no different! I got these polishes for only £3.99 each - £8.00 less than their RRP! How you ask? From TK Maxx!

 I had no idea it had such an awesome collection of beauty products - I'm actually really impressed at their collection, especially in nail polishes, you should definitely check it out.

NOTD: Iridescence.

On my nails currently is a Mavala polish in the shade "Iridescense" from their "That's My Colour Collection".

Mavala is slowly becoming one of my favourite nail polish brands and this colour in particular is one I really love.

What's on your nails today?