Recent hauls!

Hey lovelies!

I've been on quite a few shopping trips recently, what with being back in loverly Derbados (Derby, if you're new) for uni and also having my student loan come through. 

This isn't everything I've bought- there's been a student lockdown and quite a few Topshop purchases since these, so those things might be up in a later post if I can get myself organised enough!

First off... I made a little trip to the Build-a-bear factory on a day out with my friends. This is Dutchess Lily Windor III, and she's so soft and fluffy! Definitely my favourite purchase, my mum's even knitting her a winter jumper because I wasn't entirely convinced by my outfit choice!

I've also stocked up on face wipes- I know these aren't overly interesting but I don't actually use them very regularly. I use the green pack for make up removal after nights out (not sure I can handle Liz Earle cleanse and polish when I'm still a little drunk) and the radience brightening pack to cleanse my skin after a make up free day.

Two of my favourite purchases! These leggins are from Primark for £6, I believe they're of the 'pleather' material?! I'm not 100%, but they're so much cosier to wear than they look! This hat is from River Island for £13, only I got it discounted because of last months ELLE. I've basically not been separated from it since I bought it, it's so cosy!

My beautiful new full length mirror from IKEA! I only wanted a basic one so I could actually see my full outfit in a mirror, and this was around £16.

A cute little vanilla candle I picked up from IKEA with my mirror- it was only 95p but smells so gorgeous! I totally recommend this if you're looking for a couple of cheap candles, I might have to go back just to get more of these!

I've been a little bath bomb crazy now I live in a house again and have a bath- I've not used all of these yet but I'll be posting reviews soon!

From spending so much time in Lush, the employees are starting to recognise me, so I've been getting freebies! I'm reviewing these three testers, which are part of a cleansing routine.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my recent hauls- you might have also noticed my new photo backdrop, the blanket on my bed! It's literally been a life saver, and was only £15 from Primark! If you're in need of a decent winter blanket, I've not been cold at all since I bought this a few weeks ago.

n xx

LUSH Eau Roma Water toner review!

Hey lovelies!

I'm doing a three part review on a Lush cleansing routine- if you missed the first post it's here, along with my skin type and what I was asked before I was given these particular products!

The products

Angels on Bare Skin cleanser

Eau Roma Water toner

Vanishing Cream moisturiser

Eau de Roma toner

Lush say;

"Kind aromatherapy water to cherish your face

Close your eyes tightly and spritz directly onto the face and leave to dry. Can be used for removing traces of cleansers and face products – but can also be used at any time of the day as a quick facial refresher or to cool the face."

Out of the three samples that I was given, I think this product was my favourite. To use after the cleanser, which is easy to miss completely washing off, this makes sure that you've washed your face totally. A simple toner, it didn't leave my skin feeling overly tight, instead leaving it feeling fresh and clean. The smell is only a light fragrance, adding to the feeling of your skin being refreshed.

I think this is the most likely product for me to repurchase in the future, as I think I'd like it more when used with another cleanser. I did, however, notice from a few days of using these two products in combination with each other that my skin was looking a lot healthier and more naturally glowing (without being shiny). I'm naturally a bit prone to blackheads, particularly around my nose, but the combination of these made them appear less noticeable and also reduced them slightly.

I have slightly sensitive skin, so this was the product I was most worried about using, but Lush have proved to my skin once again that their all natural products aren't ones that tend to make my skin flare up.

You can buy the full size in a small or large;

£3.95 for 100g

£7.50 for 250g

link here

I'll have the final review for the moisturiser up in another few days!

n xx

Sunday life #5

Hey lovelies!

I've had such a busy week! I'd tell you more about it but it's actually mostly been super boring uni work- second year is so much harder already and I've only been back a few weeks! Apart from uni work I've just been trying to keep on top of blogging and spending time with my friends. I've finally given in to caffeine- I gave up coffee for around 5 months, but vanilla lattes are very safely starting to be stock piled in my cupboard.

Yesterday I got to spend the day in Birmingham with my sister, and though I didn't buy enough to do a proper haul (I got a face scrub and halloween bath bomb) I'll put up reviews in a few weeks! I also had a look for some giveaway pieces that I'll be sharing more about for autumn!

Recently I also went shopping in Nottingham, made lemon cupcakes with buttercream icing, collected conkers, found a new love for muller yoghurt, found a phone case and went to a house party :)

Here's a few photos of what I've been up to, if you'd like to see more my instagram is nikkiyvonne_ :)

Happy sunday lovelies!

n xx

Herbal Essences- bee strong review!

Hey lovelies!

This is a review I've been meaning to post for absolutely ages! 

I saw all the adverts for the Herbal Essences bee strong range, and at the time my hair was so dry it felt like it was falling to pieces. I was looking for a deep conditioner to start helping it get back to a better condition, and I decided to pick up the strengthening intensive mask.

 I liked the look of this because mainly I was looking to strengthen my hair back up, as changing from soft water at uni to hard water at home was mostly to blame for the damage- when I first started using it I wasn't using any heat at all on it.

I also picked this one up because it sounded like a nice smell because of the 'honey & apricot extracts for damaged hair'.

I picked it up from Boots for £4.19 (link here)

I used it around once a week instead of my normal conditioner, leaving it in for a few minutes to do some magic. I could feel a difference from the first wash. Normally after washing out conditioner my hair still felt noticeably dry and unhealthy. 

After washing this out, my hair didn't feel 100% better, but it was clearly softer and not as coarse as it had started to sometimes feel. In the summer I was leaving my hair to dry naturally, and once it was dry the couple of days after using this my hair had a much healthier look; it was smoother, softer and glossier.

Since coming back to uni I've been using a lot more heat on my hair so I'm still using this, and I've noticed exactly the same qualities.

My hair is looking a hundred times healthier than it did a few months ago, and it more regularly looks healthy and softer than it did before using this. Plus, as I guessed it might be, the smell is amazing and I'm in love with it! I can always smell it on my hair after using it, which is so lovely!

I'll definitely be repurchasing this in the future when I run out, purely because I love what it's been doing to my hair! 

Have you tried this? What are your thoughts on the bee strong range?

n xx

LUSH Angels on Bare Skin review!

Hello lovelies!

The other week when I was out shopping with my sister, we made a sneaky trip to Lush. I picked up a special edition bath bomb (I'll have a review coming soon!) and one of the Lush employees, who has gotten to recognising me was lovely enough to give us both a four day sample of a morning skincare routine. 

He asked me questions about my skin (dry combination), if I have any sensitive, particularly red or problem areas (my nose is all of these, yay rudolph skin), and finally how I like my skin to feel after I've cleansed it first thing- dewey or matte (I went for matte because I can get shiny if I'm not careful).

This was the combination that he suggested I try! He gave my sister the same because we have the same skin, minus the rudolph nose.

The products

Angels on Bare Skin cleanser

Eau Roma Water toner

Vanishing Cream moisturiser

Angels on Bare Skin cleanser

Lush say;

"As gentle and beautiful as being kissed by angels

Sometimes the best ideas are the old ones. This cleanser is based on an age old formula that uses the best of ingredients to amazing effects. Angels on Bare Skin evens out skin tone, reduces redness and improves the health and appearance of your skin – giving a natural healthy glow. The ground almonds in this product release their goodness and turn to an almond milk on your hand when you add water."

My initial impression of this was that I really love it. It has exfoliating beads in it that activate as you work this into your skin, having made it a little damp first to form more of a paste. It felt nice on my skin without being to harsh, but wasn't light enough to leave my skin feeling like it hadn't been cleansed. I expected it to be a lot more bitty than it was, because of it's appearance in the pot. Texture-wise it was nice but as I was using it more I liked the smell a little less. I can't place exactly what the scent is (possibly something to do with the almonds?!), but it's not entirely my cup of tea!

A bonus of this was that the tiny sample pot has lasted forever- I was given a four day sample but also shown how much to use, and it's ended up lasting me 8-9 days. For a high street cleanser it's a little more expensive, but I would guess that the 250g pot could easily last 2 months, if not longer.

I'm not completely sure that I'd repurchase this, mostly because of my dislike of the smell, but it's certainly spiked my interest in Lush cleansers, so I might try and nab more samples!

Full size £15.87 for 250g

link here

I'm reviewing these one at a time so look out for my next post over the next couple of days!

n xx

My make up bag; update!

Hey lovelies!

It's been quite a while since I did my last make up bag update so I thought I'd do another post on what I'm using, because it seems to have changed a fair bit!

Not everything here is something I use every day, things such as foundation and gel eyeliner I wear just when I feel like it.

skin

Rimmel fix & perfect primer • Clinique moisture surge in shade 01 review! • Collection lasting perfection concealer in 1 fair • Rimmel wake me up concealer in 010 ivory • MAC studio finish concealer in NC15 • Rimmel stay matte powder in 003 peach glow • Rimmel match perfection blush in 001 light 

brows

MAC quad eyeshadows; brule, kid, omega, espresso (all matte) review! • Collection clear mascara

eyes

Urban Decay eyeshadow primer potion in original • MAC eyeshadows in era (satin) and woodwinked (veluxe pearl) • Rimmel scandaleyes kohl in nude • Soap & Glory smoulder kohl in superblack and aquabat • Collection gel eyeliner in black review! • Barry M fine glitter dust in shade 8 • Sleek 'storm' eyeshadow palette • Maybelline the colossal volum' express mascara in black • Seventeen peep show mascara in black 

tools

Real techniques brushes- powder brush, blush brush and expert face brush • eco tools angled eyeliner brush • Avon angle eyeliner brush • No7 concealer brush • No7 eyelash curlers • pencil sharpener • eyebrow comb • slanted tweezers • bobby pins

Is there anything in here you'd like to see reviewed?! I've linked a few but there's still a lot I could do!

n xx

Sunday life #4

Hello lovelies!

I've been loving writing sunday posts so much, but I don't always want to do instagram posts so I thought I'd just write a quick update for you all!

I've not actually started back at lectures at uni yet, I start back tomorrow, but I've been so super busy meeting up with my friends, family coming up to visit and nights out that I've barely had time to sit down to blog. Today I'm planning to draft a few posts so I can keep posting even though I doubt I'm going to be any less busy!

This week I've done a lot of shopping so expect an update on my recent purchases! I also spent some time in Nottingham with my family and Jay, which was so lovely. I went to build a bear later in the week with my friends and bought myself a little someone... meet Dutchess Lily Windsor III.

Jay and I also had a date night, which we now do once a month instead of buying each other copious amounts of gifts our student budgets can't afford. We went to Nandos, TGI's for cocktails and to see About Time. I had the best night, and the film is now one of my firm favourites- if you haven't seen it I highly recommend it! I tried a Granny Smith Apple martini in TGI's, and oh my goodness it's one of the best drinks I've ever had. I can't wait for an excuse to go back and have another one!

It's been such a busy week, I'm so excited for a lazy day of doing not much!

I hope you liked this post!

n xx

FOTD; neutral eye look

Hey lovelies! 

I thought I'd post a FOTD because it feels like an absolute age since I last posted one (my last one was actually back here).

I'm trying to get back into playing around with my make up again, especially because I've gotten into a rut of always wearing the same products every day. I'm not a massive eyeshadow fan but I'm giving it a go!

Rimmel fix & perfect pro primer in 002

Clinique moisture surge in 01

MAC studio finish concealer in NC15

Collection lasting perfection concealer in fair

MAC espresso and omega (brows)

Collection clear mascara (brow gel)

Rimmel stay matte powder in 003 peach glow

Rimmel match perfection blush in 001 light

Urban Decay eyeshadow primer potion in original

MAC eyeshadow in era (all over) and woodwinked (outer lid)

Barry M fine glitter dust in shade 8 (tear duct highlight)

Soap & Glory smoulder kohl in black

Maybelline the colossal volume express mascara in blackest black

Burt's bees lip balm

I'm actually in love with this eyeshadow combination, what do you guys think of it?!

n xx

Sunday life #3

Hey lovelies! 

Here's some more of what I've been up to recently. I've just settled into my new house in Derby so I've been pretty busy!

My instagram is nikkiyvonne_

• with my grandparents for their ruby wedding anniversary • my parents took me and Jay to Twycross zoo so I took my panda hat to visit too • with my mum at Alton Towers •

• throwback- back when I had a fringe! • curled up with a book and hot chocolate is my favourite thing to do in autumn • early morning ER marathon because I've been sleeping badly •

• taking attractive photos with Jay • my whole family at Alton Towers :) • in love with this jumper that used to be my dad's, it's one of the most comfy jumpers I own •

• missing my little cuties from home! • I think I have an addiction to magazines, these are the bare minimum I read in a month • a fashion inspiration wall I made from Elle's october issue •

• outside my new house! • first night out for freshers with some of my favourite people • at freshers with my housemate •

• first night of freshers again! • Jay left his watch at mine so I stole it like a good girlfriend •

n xx

Autumn wishlist!

clockwise from top left

Jack Wills Kelfield jumper £89.50 - link!

Jack Wills Alchester dress £69.50 - link!

MAC viva glam the original lipstick £15 - link!

L'oreal super liner blackbuster £6.99 - link!

Miss Selfridge wedges £45 - link!

I hope you like this wishlist- I'm so excited for autumn, it's my favourite season!

n xx

Back to Derbados (uni)!

Hey lovelies!

Just to let you know, I'm going to be MIA for a week or so as I'm moving back to Derby into my new house for uni, and in the hectic chaos of packing and getting ready to go I totally forgot to queue any posts.

I'll be back soon with some exciting posts, and hopefully some exciting surprises!

n xx

Sunday life #2

So here’s my life from the last couple of weeks in the eyes of instagram. 

If you fancy a follow my name is nikkiyvonne_ , comment your name below if you follow!

The other weekend my sister came home with her boyfriend so my whole family went to play pirate mini golf on the coast. It was so much fun, especially because she doesn’t get home much! I’ve totally fallen in love with this outfit from the Topshop petite range, and I’ve actually now bought both the dress and the jumper. Another one of my recent obsessions is Pret A Manger. Oh my goodness I could eat there all the time! These three bits are probably my favourites :)

I’ve also been loving my countdowns and getting back to my gorgeous uni girls. I’ve been passing days at home with an awful lot of baking, which is driving my mum crazy because there’s only the two of us and enough cakes to feed a few hundred.

Call me crazy but I just had to post this baby goat! I found him on tumblr and he just looks SO happy it makes me smile so much! He’s going to make a perfect lock screen for bad days. I’ve been having a few good hair days recently too, hence my selfie. I found the cutest vintage floral bag in my mum’s wardrobe the other day, and I stole it when I went to visit my sister. I think I might have to steal it away back to uni with me :)

While I was with my sister, we went to see the new Percy Jackson film, which I LOVED, and I smuggled in more of my favourite Pret goodies to nibble on. I then travelled up to stay with Jay again and we lived on the edge with a pub quiz! We had a gorgeous day out in Nottingham and went to Shakeaway, where I had a warm shake with Oreo and Rolo and a topping of marshmallows! It was so delicious; I always make the best choices when it comes to Shakeaway.

I was also tempted into trying on shoes while we were out and I’ve decided I want these Miss Selfridge shoes so so much! They’ll be mine as soon as I get my next loan through :) I was then lucky enough to go to the England v Scotland match at Wembley, I was invited last minute and I loved every second of it! Jay’s dog also decided to photobomb my attempts to instagram my hot chocolate obsession, isn't he such a cutie?!

Me and Jay had some more couple time on a night out, then recovered the next night with bubble baths and a bit of a relax. Finally, another selfie/ hot chocolate obsessed photo, as Jay and I went over to Costa to meet my dad who was in the area to have a catch up.

As another part of my mini holiday, Jay took me on a bike ride round a nature reserve. It was so beautiful, and reminds me of home! I'm so close to moving back to Derby (or as me and my friends call it, Derbados), and I'll actually be moving back the day this post goes up! Finally, another little inspirational picture, because I'm crazy about them at the moment!

Sorry for this being a bit of a monster post guys! I've been getting really into instagram recently and I missed a week or two so they won't normally be this long!

I hope you liked this post! Have a gorgeous bank holiday Monday!

n xx

Veet In-Shower hair removal cream review!

Hello lovelies!

I’ve got another review for you today. I’m not a great lover of hair removal creams, but recently I’ve been giving them more of a chance since it’s summer and constantly shaving is such a chore! Plus I have very sensitive skin, so shaving too much isn’t a good thing.

I picked this up basically because I was in a hurry, poor and in need of something that would replace shaving for about two weeks. I grabbed it from Boots for around £6-7, and I went for Veet because I know they’re a brand that rarely irritates my skin, if ever. I picked up the In-shower hair removal cream with aloe vera and vitamin E for sensitive skin. So it ticked pretty much all my boxes!

The main thing that puts me off hair removal cream the most is the smell. I know it’s on your skin for normally 10 minutes max, but when it’s a bad smell it just puts me off smothering it all over myself. This particular cream doesn’t seem to have a strong smell though, which is an added bonus. You can’t really tell before buying it what it’s going to smell like with this kind of product, but I find running a fancy smelling bath or lighting a candle, you can’t notice the smell at all. Wahey.

But on to the actual quality of what it’s supposed to do, and I can’t say it’s been all smooth sailing. The first time I used this, it was evening, so I didn’t have the best light which is my own fault, but I came away with patchy legs. Attractive. Luckily I was only getting rid of a short amount of hair so it wasn’t too dire. I applied it for the suggested amount of time; they recommend three minutes, then a further two when you’re in the shower if you keep your legs dry/ out of direct water.

I stayed out of the shower for just over 5 minutes then hopped in (I wasn’t 100% sure about how I was going to shower without getting my legs wet). The instructions do say you can leave it on longer, up to 10 minutes, which I tried the next night to get rid of the patches, and found that left my legs feeling gorgeous.

I’m still not totally sold, but I do love how easy this makes hair removal. The sponge makes it especially easy, as you apply with one side and remove with the other. Overall I think I would recommend this, but I’d love to know what you think of it if you’ve tried it out! Or if you’ve tried out any other similar products that you would recommend to try out :)

I hope you enjoyed this post!

n xx

Weekend pampering: Origins charcoal face mask

*this is a queued post- I'm on a mini holiday! I'll be replying when I'm back*

Hey lovelies,

I've got another review for you today, and this time it'something from Origins. This has to be up there as not only one of my favourite products but also one of my favourite brands.

 clear improvement

active charcoal mask to clear pores

"active charcoal acts like a magnet to draw out deep-dwelling pore-cloggers, White China Clay absorbs environmental toxins, Lecithin dissolves impurities. With all that 'stuff' down there, skin 'breathes a sigh of relief'."

I bought this because I'm always on the lookout for things to help me deal with my problematic pores. I'm not really a spotty person, but I have serious nose pore issues in that they're a magnet for blackheads that are the hardest to get rid of.

Since I've started a new skincare regime to target these problematic pores, I've been using this once a week and I've seen such a brilliant change in my skin because of it. There's nothing particularly special about it in terms of texture, as you apply it as you would any face mask.  I find that it takes around 10-15 minutes to dry and I tend to apply a fairly thin layer. There isn't any distinct smell that I've noticed, which is just fine by me because it means there's no chemicals in there to make it smell wonderful.

It doesn't tighten an uncomfortable amount, which I have found with some other face masks. To take it off I use an old Liz Earle cleansing cloth soaked in warm water. It isn't stubborn or messy to remove when taken off like this, and you can easily throw the cleansing cloth in the wash afterwards. Afterwards my skin is left feeling refreshed, cleansed and toned. My pores in particular are always less noticeable the next day (I always use this mask in the evening) and my skin feels a lot cleaner. I've also noticed that since I've been using this once a week, I've not had as many spots or general skin blemishes.

Overall, I'm in love with this face mask! It's helped to almost totally save my skin from a really rubbish few months, and if you're having something similar I would definitely recommend trying this out. I picked it up from Boots for £22.

Do you think you'll try it out? Or have you tried it out before?

n xx

Clinique haul!

*this is a queued post- I'm on a mini holiday! I'll be replying when I'm back*

Hey lovelies!

I'm turning into a bit of a Clinique enthusiast- I love their skin care so much in particular! I recently repurchased the first two steps of the 3-step skin care, which I reviewed a while back here. I have the dry/ combination products! In particular I love the clarifying lotion, and if you're looking to invest into some new skincare then definitely look into trying this out. My skin is never in better condition than when I'm using this.

Clinique say:

"3-Step Skin Care Type 2

It's easy with the 3-Step Skin Care. Just 3 minutes, morning and night, to see clear, smooth, radiant skin in about two weeks. Cleanse, exfoliate, moisturise. Dermatologist-developed to meet your skin's needs and custom-fit by Skin Type. Works gently, each step enhancing the next."

I didn't repurchase the third step because I haven't used up the original moisturiser I got with the introduction kit, and I had a freebie of it too!

 Confession time. I only repurchased the soap and clarifying lotion because there's currently a freebie bag. Who doesn't love a freebie bag?! Plus it's from one of my all time favourite make up brands, and I picked it up as soon as I saw it in Boots (I've not checked if it's available from other places where Clinique is sold). So here's what I got! 

First, it all came in the cutest bag (top photo) that has the nicest summery print that I'm looking forward to use for my make up. I needed a new make up bag and I think this will be perfect!

 mini nail files

I'm not too excited about these, but they should be perfect for throwing in my handbag when I'm travelling.

 liquid facial soap mild

"Step 1 in Clinique's 3-step skin care system. Gentle, effective, cleansing for dry combination skins. Leaves skin feeling fresh, clean, confortable."

I'm excited for this because it's a mini of what I already bought! Got to love a handy travel size.

 a different nail enamel for sensitive skin

"different because this high performance, high-gloss nail colour is specially formulated for sensitive skin"

Because who doesn't need a barbie pink nail varnish in their life. Who.

 high impact macara & long last glosswear duo

"get glamour to go with this combination: a favourite mascara to kick up the volume of each and every lash. For lips, hours of shine from a glistening gloss."

I've never been keen on these combo kind of products before, but if it's free I'll give anything a proper whirl!

 all about eyes

"lightweight, hydrating cream/gel diminishes the look of puffs and undereye circles. Helps hold eye makeup in place."

I'm so excited to try this out! I have really severe under eye circles at the moment, which is mostly due to lack of sleep, but not entirely. I'm trying out a range of eye creams so you can expect a review of this to pop up in the future! I think this is also a full size product.

moisture surge extended thirst 

"enjoy rapid refreshment and a full 12 hours of soothing moisture with an addictive by-a-waterfall feel. Advanced hydration boosters and a new botanical blend that locks it in. Holds in skin's moisture in balance through stressful shifts in humidity."

Another product I'm super excited for! It's not something I was looking to try out but I think my skin needs particular TLC as of late so this should be perfect. Again I think this is a full size product and look out for a review soon!

I hope you liked this haul! Will you be looking at picking up this free goodie bag? You only have to purchase one Clinique product to get it, and no price is specified! 

n xx

Weekend wishlist- summer happiness ♥

*this is a queued post- I'm on a mini holiday! I'll be replying when I'm back*

Happy Sunday lovelies 

clockwise from left

Miss Selfride playsuit £35 - link!

Marc Jacobs Dot Eau de Toilette £67.50 - link!

Etsy iPhone case £4.67 - link!

Topshop leggins £28 - link!

Michael Kors rose gold Chronograph watch £229 - link!

(I also really love this watch - I can't decide which I love more!)

n xx

My MAC quad- review!

*this is a queued post- I'm on a mini holiday! I'll be replying when I'm back*

Hey lovelies!

A while back I bought this gorgeous palette from MAC, mostly because I adore a neutral eye look, but I never really started using it until the last few months. I'm not always an eyeshadow person, I tend to go through a love/hate relationship with it, so I thought that I would start using them on my brows.

See my haul post here!

In the palette there is (in order as above);

brule, omega

kid, espresso

MAC describe these shadows as being 'highly-pigmented powder. Applies evenly, blends well'.
The pro palette refills cost £10 each, but individually they would be £12.50. The quad palette is £6.50.

Packaging
I really love the new design of the pro palettes and how you press one of the corners to lever up the whole of the base of the palette. MAC describe the palette to be 'ultra-slim, stackable and easy to use. Fits compactly into your makeup kit', which I agree with totally. I love the clear top that lets you see the shades you have inside, which I can imagine to be handy if you happen to have more than one palette.

swatches in order;

brule, omega, kid, espresso

I didn't actually ask for help matching these colours to my brows but I seem to have picked out pretty much the perfect colours! I have all matte shades because I'm not a massive shimmer fan and I wanted to invest in a quad of colours that I'd use regularly, plus I also own woodwinked and era as single colours which both have a fair amount of shimmer.

I definitely agree with MAC describing these as 'highly pigmented', as I find that it's really easy to quickly do my brows without having to mess around for too long. I use the angled eyeliner brush from EcoTools but any angled eyeliner brush would do, but I find this one great for precision sweeps as I don't have really thick brows.

I mainly use omega and espresso on my brows, as omega is naturally closer to my natural-but-filled-in colour, and espresso is just a little bit darker to give me a better defined brow. When I'm blending these for a natural eye look, I use brule as a base/ highlight over my whole eyelid. Over the main part of my lid I have omega, then work a combination of kid and espresso into the outer corner and crease. I really like this look because it's not too done up but still just enough! Plus these last really well, and I find that they'll last through my average 12-14 hours of wearing make up.

Overall, I really love these shadows, and I would happily purchase every single colour ever. I love the quality of MAC shadows in particular, and I'd definitely recommend looking into getting these if you're looking at getting a high end palette. As much as I love some of the other palettes out there, with this you can pick and choose the size you want and the exact colours that are right for you!

Have you tried any of these colours? What are your thoughts on them?

n xx

London baby!

As I mentioned in my sunday life post, I went to London last week with my boyfriend Jay and his family- I just wanted to share with you a few photos and purchases from the few days that we were there!

I ended up buying both these from Topshop- I'm so in love with the dress, it's adorable!

We went to Zizzi's and I had this mint tea, how cute is the mug and saucer?!

We went for a mini wander after dinner and ended up in Covent Garden and sightseeing a few other places :)

I'm so in love with the underground at Baker Street, it's so cute!

We went to Choccywoccydooodah and it was SO lovely but oh my goodness I could still happily never have chocolate again, we were so full after it!

Finally, I bought myself some Vans while we were down there! I only wish I'd bought some sooner, they're so comfy.

I love London so much at the moment, it has to be my favourite place!

n xx