M&S Autograph Make Up

I've heard quite a lot on the beauty grapevine about some of the make up from the Autograph line at M&S and thought I'd have a little peek at what's on offer. It's actually a bigger collection than I expected with quite a few little gems which I picked up. Here's what I got (and a mini review of each item!).

Make-Up Bag

I thought this was such a cute little make-up bag, it's perfect for if you're going away for  night or two and don't want to lug a huge bag of make up around with you. You can sort of see by the size of my thumb next to it in the picture what sort of size it is. It's a gorgeous metallic rose gold colour and so pretty, I love it!


Quick Dry Nail Colour - Red Shimmer - £5.00

This is a very petty pink/red almost metallic nail colour which (as is in the name) is reasonably quick drying - not as quick as the Loreal Color Riche polishes though, I must admit. The packaging isn't bad either although I'm not massively keen on the shiny black lid, reminds me of the MUA line and I'm assuming that Autograph is trying to be a bit more up market!

I'll be interested to see how long this lasts and I'll try and update this post when I've put it through it's paces. For now, it's a beautiful pinky red, perfect to brighten up the winter season a little bit!


Eyeshadow Pallet - £12.50

This is where things get interesting. This is a beautiful eye shadow pallet and the high shine gold packaging is to die for (although it does get fingerprints on it very easily!). The colours are a range of matt and shimmer nude tones, perfect for creating an every day work make-up look or a sultry smoky evening look. There's even a handy little guide to the colours and what to do with them on the reverse - what's not to love?!

The dark colour on the far right hand side (called slate fyi) has got quite chunky bits of pink glitter in it, not too Disney Princess though, it's still a very grown up pallet.

Pigmentation varies across the shades with the darker ones tending to have the bigger pay off, but all perfectly buildable. A very pretty and handy little pallet. The brush that comes with the pallet is also worth a mention, it's actually a nice little brush - makes a change not to be given one of those hideous little sponge applicators!


Illumination Touch Radiance Primer - £12.00

I've only used this primer once and I must be honest, I wasn't too keen. It's one of those annoying primers that doesn't make your skin look or feel any different. However, I was impressed by how much longer my foundation seemed to stay in place, it was definitely showing some signs of wear by bedtime but was noticeably fresher looking on my skin than usual. I'll keep you posted on this one, I'm going to stick with it and see if fall in love with it after a few more uses.


High Definition Eyeliner - £7.50

I find it really hard to review eyeliners but I will say this one is very soft, very black and lasts all day. I am very happy with it! It's one of those crayon types that just go on so smoothly and it's very very black. It's a very good dupe for Mac's Smolder eyeliner which is my all time favourite.


Ultimate Shine Lip Gloss - Nude - £10.00

I've never been a wearer of a nude lip, I'm a pale pink sort of girl but nevertheless I thought this looked pretty so I picked it up. It's actually more of a clear gloss with a bit of glitter in it than a nude but it goes on smoothly (I don't like the brush, it's too small!) and is pretty glossy once it's on the lips. I have a pet hate when it comes to lip gloss which is when it starts to feel bitty on your lips, I hate that and this does it. I know it's all that pesky glitter that's in it but it's so annoying - it ruins what would be quite a nice lip gloss. The other thing is the smell, it smells like chocolate - which at first is lovely but by the end of the night I was pretty sick of it to be honest!

I'm not sure I'll be purchasing any more of the lip glosses but as a whole, I was pretty impressed with the line and think it's definitely worth a second look when you're next in M&S.

Have you tried anything from the Autograph line? I'd love to know...

Love
Lullahblog
xx

Review: L'Oreal Color Riche Nail Varnish (Saphir Treasure)

Hello hello!

Hope you're all well.

So, after over a year off from Lullahblog (and finally investing in a new laptop), I am back... hopefully for good! I mentioned a few posts ago that I was pregnant and 17 months ago we welcomed a little boy who's now a very active toddler, full of mischief and smiles! Here's a pic of the little fella...

 

So, that's where I've been for the past year and a half! Being a mum (and now a working mum as my maternity leave is over - boo!), has definitely been a challenge so far, an amazing challenge - but still hard work! I'm trying to get back into the beauty world and I'm going to do my best to make time to add a new blog post hopefully at least once a week.

 

Anyway, onto the nail varnish...

 

I don't often get the chance to sit and paint my nails these days but I decided last night that I would take the time to have a bit of a pamper, so I had a lovely bath, used one of the Lush bath bombs I treat myself to before Christmas and then sat down to paint my nails.

 

I've heard a lot about the Color Riche nail colours and was intrigued enough to go out and purchase one to try. I picked this colour as it looked like an almost petrol blue, metallic with colourful swirls and I thought it was gorgeous. Here it is in the bottle:

 



The first thing I noticed when applying was how lovely it went onto my nails, literally went on perfectly the first time and was so opaque that really only one coat was necessary. I wish all nail varnishes were this lovely to apply.

The second thing I noticed was that the colour when it was on my nails was not the same as it appeared on the bottle. It was a metallic grey/blue with no colourful swirls in sight!

I still think it's really pretty even though it's different to on the bottle and I would've said beyond doubt that I would wear it again apart from the fact that it chips so easily! now, I literally applied this last night, ok I didn't use a top coat but I never do - I'm lazy! - and my nail varnish still manages to last me a week. This didn't make it 24 hours. This is what my nails look like now...

All in all, a very disappointing product. I'd wear it again but definitely with a top cot and would only wear it if I only needed it to last a few hours. To be honest, I'm disappointed in L'Oreal - I definitely expect a longer lasting product from these guys - tut!!

So there you have it. Have you used this type of nail varnish? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience.

Loadsa love

Lullahblog
xx

Empties!

Well hello there everyone!

Hope you're all well.

So today I thought I'd do an Empties post as I have been on Project Use Up for a good while now and have a few things to share with you, so here goes...


Creightons Vanilla & Macadamia Cocoon Bath and Shower Gel and the Cherry and Wild Fig Sensual Bath & Shower Gel

I bought this because I fancied trying something different and I spotted this in my local Morrison's and thought "why not?" and at first I loved it. However, the smell of this is just so overpowering and it started to make me feel a bit sick. It smells like really really strong vanilla and is really sugary and sweet. I don't think it helped that I was in my first trimester of pregnancy and a bit sensitive shall we say, to strong sweet smells. I ended up putting this away and I came back across it and few months later and decided to use it up. The great thing about this range is that you can use them as either a shower gel or bubble bath and they do leave your skin feeling lovely and soft. I didn't repurchase this scent but I did purchase the Cherry & Wild Fig version which I absolutely loved. It smells really fruity but in a grown up way, so not that fake fruit smell but that lovely luxurious fruity smell. I'm rubbish at describing scents so if you come across these, have a sniff!!

Tropic Organic Hot Bamboo Smoothing Cleanser and Tropic Skin Revive Firming Nourishing Cream

I've written a full blog post on this range of products so I'm not going to go into too much detail. If you would like to read my review, then the post is here. I have most of the range and I absolutely love every single item from the line. The brand has recently expanded into make-up which I haven't tried yet but will be doing so in the near future and will let you know what I think. If you want to order from this line, here is the website. I've already started my second bottle of the cleanser, I love it so much!

Simple Moisturise Bath Cream

I bought this because it was on offer, there's no two ways about it! I like my bubble baths to feel luxurious and leave my skin feeling and smelling pampered and this did neither. It was 'ok', created a fair amount of bubbles, obviously it doesn't have a scent but I knew that when I bought it. It does it's job but didn't leave any sort of lasting impression on me and I won't be buying it again.

Nivea Invisible for Black and White Deodorant.

This is actually my go-to roll on deodorant, it smells so feminine and fresh, it's lovely. It's one of those roll-ons that you can still smell at the end of the day and genuinely does leave you feeling fresh for hours on end. I've already repurchased this and highly recommend it! It does claim to last 48 hours but really I can't say that I've tested it out for that long!! The only thing I don't like about this is that it comes in glass bottle which makes it quite heavy if you're carrying it around in your bag.

Champneys Oriental Bath Float

 

Where to start with this, omg the smell is divine. It smells quite musky but sweet and not heavy at all. This product stays on your skin and leaves you  feeling like you've been to the spa for the day! It's honestly one of the most luxurious bubble baths I've ever used and it's on my repurchase list! If you come across this, please have a smell as it's divine! I've been using it sparingly as I wanted it to last as long as possible and I nearly cried when it ran out! I keep smelling the empty bottle longingly! The packaging is gorgeous as well. I just love Champneys as a brand, their products always leave me feeling like I've had a real treat!

Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter - 50ml

OK, I have to admit, I have an obsession with the Body Shop Body Butters and I went through a stage of collecting the 50ml tubs and I have literally about 25 of them. So, as I'm on Project Use Up and as they are taking up quite a bit of space, I thought I'd make a start of them. I adore this scent in particular - it reminds me of strawberry milkshake and just smells amazing. The beauty of this line is that not only do they all smell gorgeous but they are actually really good body butters as well! They sink in easily, they don't leave your skin feeling greasy and your skin feels soft and nourished as well. If you haven't tried these (which I'm sure most people will have), I advise you to run down to your nearest Body Shop immediately!! I'm on the Satsuma one now and it's just as delish!

And that's it! I've really enjoyed using the majority of these products and once I've managed to clear some more space in my bathroom, I'll definitely be repurchasing!

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Lotsa love

Lullahblog xx

Make Up Collection and Storage

Well hello there everyone!

It feels like such a long time since I've written a post for my blog, I think time has just slipped away from me and I can't believe it's the end of May already!

So, as promised, I'vc been working on a Make Up Collection and Storage post, this has taken quite some time as you can imagine but here goes.

I'm actually quite proud of the fact that I seem to be sticking with drug store brands more and more and my high end collection is actually quite minimal at the moment. As you know if you read my last post, myself and my husband are expecting our first child at the beginning of August and it really has made me assess just how much money I am spending on cosmetics and I've really reined it in. There are some fantastic drug store products out there and the online beauty community has really helped me make some good drug store purchases!

Anyway, lets get on with it!

OK, so I keep my make-up in two places and this is the first, it is basically a hidden drawer within my chest of drawers. Here's the drawers, they're just Ikea ones but I really like them...

Here's what the top drawer looks like when it's open (the other two have just got my clothes in)...

The main part of the top drawer is where I keep underwear mainly, but its a pretty big drawer so I also keep scarves and sunglasses in here (the little white bag to the left is where my sunglasses are). Can you see the 'hidden' drawer?? Here it is open...

This is the bulk of my make-up collection. I just use the little drawers that were part of the old system I used to use which were just little plastic drawers stacked up on top of each other. So, I'll go into each compartment in more detail...



This contains the face products (excluding foundation) that I mainly use. So at the moment I'm using the Collection Lasting Perfection pressed powder along with a Stila bronzer and Mac's Band of Roses blusher. I'm not going to list each product individually cos it would take forever but other brands I'm using at the moment include Revlon, Almay, Vie and I think there's another cheeky Mac blusher under there somewhere as well!

Next are products that I don't use as much so there is an Accessorize highlighter, a lip and cheek stain by Jemma Kidd which I have had forever and I actually really like (and it tastes like roses!), I have a Body Shop blush, the Boujois 'Chocolate Box' bronzer,'s a blush by Accessorize and Benefit's Benetint as well. All good stuff!

On to eyeliners, I have both liquid and pencil eyeliners in this compartment. My favourites are Mac's Smoulder and the Avon Supershock gel eyeliners are amazing as well. Other brands I have are Smashbox, MUA (who do amazing eyeliners, I'm a big fan of the brand in general), Rimmel, Vie etc.

Single eyeshadows are next. In this compartment it's mainly MUA ones as I have nearly all of them, there's also a couple of Maybelline 24 Hr Colour Tattoo shadows (or whatever they're called). I have On and On Bronze and a metallicy pink colour - can't remember the name - and I really love them, I usually use them as a base and they are quite tacky and great for getting your powder eyeshadows to stick! I also have the MUA brow pallet which was a bargain at £4 and it's really really good. Finally, a Mac eyeshadow pallet that has a cute snow globe on the top which I think was limited edition at Christmas - that's when I got it anyway, from my lovely in-laws in my Christmas stocking!

This is my second single eyeshadow compartment and this one contains some Mac, Rimmel (which are so nice and pigmented), Collection, a random metallic trio that I don't know the name of and my trusty Urban Decay Primer Potion, this is just a mini version of the original one. I also have an Accessorize single eyeshadow and a few of the Vie liquid shadows, that come in pen form.

This is my 'can't live without' drawer - concealer! I suffer with under eye circles and just could not live without concealer. Now, I am usually pretty faithful to both Collection Lasting Perfection concealer and Mac Moisturecover concealer but as they have both recently run out, I thought I'd use up some of the other gems in my collection! At the moment I'm using up the Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer which I have been really impressed with. I won't be repurchasing though as I have a few others to get through first. In this drawer I also have Benefit's Erase Paste, Boi-ing and Lemon-Aid as well as the Garnier one and a few others. I keep my Eyeko cream here as well as it's the only place it fits.

Onto mascara, I'm currently using the Bobbi Brown mascara and I absolutely love it, it really makes my lashes look thicker and longer and the formula isn't too wet. It has quite a small brush as well so can get to all the smaller lashes. I was also really impressed with the Nivea Extreme Resist mascara, I always get comments when I use it and I love it - I just wish I'd got it in black instead of brown. Other brands I have in here include Mac's Zoom Lash, Daniel Sander, Collection, Stila, MUA, Clinique and I have a CK one in the bottom somewhere.

This is all my pigments. My favourite by far are the Collection Dazzle Me dusts and they are what my collection is mainly made up of. There are a couple of MUA ones and a few Body Shop ones thrown in for good measure though! If want to see my Dazzle Me collection in more detail, including swatches, read my post here.

OK, onto lipsticks. I have a bit of a lipstick fetish and I have quite a lot. My favourites are definitely the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains but I also have Rimmel, 17, Body Shop etc. I mainly have Rimmel and they are fantastic lipsticks, in fact - I have a whole post dedicated to them which you can read here.

And to go with lipsticks - lip gloss!! I'm not a massive fan of lip gloss which I think is why I have so many and why I don't use them up very often. I just don't like the stickiness of them and much prefer just to use a lipstick. However, I do like the prettiness of them and the smell of them and I keep buying them!! I have mainly Benefit ones but I do also have Stila, Clinique and Barry M. I have a couple of the Clinique Juicy Tubes which I have used since I was a teenager and I still absolutely love, they are definitely an old faithful that I will keep going back to. One of my favourites is the sparkly Barry M one I have which smells and tastes like cherry drops - yum!

OK, nearly there folks! Here is where I keep my foundation. There was a bit of space down the side of the drawer so I just shoved them in! I'm using Revlon Photo Ready at the moment but I also have Stila, No17, MUA, Maybelline and Vie.

I keep all my pallets separately but I use my Urban Decay Naked pallet nearly every day so I just lay it on top of the drawer so it's easy to reach for.

OK, I also have this cute little cabinet that I keep other bits and pieces in, so I'll briefly run through it...

The top left drawer just has bits and pieces in it that I wasn't sure where to put, such as tape measure, ear phones, face paints (from Halloween) etc so I won't bore you with that! On top I just have some of my costume jewellery and a wedding picture (nawww!).

The other small drawer has in some samples that I've not used yet, along with a few of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail sticker thingies. I also have a lip tattoo and some spot treatment bits, nothing too exciting!

This is my main eyeshadow pallet drawer, I have a lot of the MUA pallets which are amazing quality. I also have my tinted Eyeko cream and a couple of Kabuki brushes in here.

I also keep my 120 Pallet in this drawer which has some amazing colours in it. As they're all very bright, I tend to use this pallet for fancy dress more than for day to day use but I love it, the colours are fab!

Ok, we're nearly there now - only two more drawers to go - well done if you're still with me!!!!

This is my nail varnish collection. I have rather a lot of nail varnish and there are about three layers in this drawer! My favourite brands are Essie, Nails Inc and Barry M but the Rimmel range is amazing as well.

Ok, the final drawer....

This is all my false nail stuff, so nail tips, acrylic, nail files, gems, nail art etc. I have all different coloured tips as well as white and clear and although I haven't done my nails with any of this while I've been pregnant, once the baby has been born, I can't wait to get cracking again!

So that is is! Wow, that was a long long post! Thank you if you haven't got bored and stopped reading! It's taken quite a lot of work to get this post up!

If you'd like to see a review on any of the products I've mentioned or any product that you may have spotted in any of the pictures, just let me know and I'll be happy to do it for you.

I hope you enjoyed this post and that it wasn't too long and boring!

Also, if you'd like to see a post of my beauty products collection then I'm happy to do that - just let me know.

Lotsa love

Lullahblog xx

Update and News!

Hello everyone!

Long time no see! I've been AWOL since November (I think) so thought I needed to write a post to you explaining where I've been and why I've needed to take such a long break.

Which brings me on to my news....!

I'm pregnant!!! I'm so excited to be able to share this with you and while it was completely planned, the way I felt for the first three months was not and knocked me for six! Without going into too much detail (I'll spare you!) I've had the usual morning sickness and exhaustion. I'm well into my fifth month now and feeling so much better. It has affected me in other ways than how I feel, my beauty regime and make up application has gone completely out of the window, seriously you should see the state of my eyebrows!!

So anyway, I'm back! I'm going to post as often as I can, hopefully as I did before.

So, what else have I been up to? Well, I've actually been studying hard for my GCSE Maths resit. I got my results this week and managed a B! I'm so proud of myself especially as its a subject I haven't studied in 15 years and I've taught myself from revision books in between feeling like death and sleeping!! So for me, a massive achievement. I'm putting all study on hold now until the baby's born so I can prepare myself for that and look after my health etc.

I've also been on a huge beauty product no-buy as I have so much stuff it's actually disgusting! So I've had a massive clear out this weekend and got rid of all the things I know I'm never going to use, things I've bought purely because they're on sale etc. I still have a lot so I'm still on a buy ban but I can realistically use up what I've got and will do product reviews and empties posts as well.

I have a few products I would like to share with you, so going to try get some regular posts up and get into a routine again.

All in all, I'm very excited to be back and I've really missed my blog, it's my baby!!

On another note, this is a blog about my life in general as well as beauty products so baby type posts may pop up every now and again. I'll try not to do too many, I don't want to force it on you! But if you would like to see these types of posts, please let me know!

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough so will go carry on with my house clear out!

I'm working on a make-up collection and storage post at the moment, so that should be up in the next day or so.

Lotsa love

Lullahblog xx

Mini Make-Up Bag

So, I spotted this little beauty in M&S a little while ago and thought I'd share it cos it's so cute!

I think it's meant to be a make-up bag but, seriously, with the amount of make-up I take with me, it's just nowhere big enough! I tend to use this when I'm staying away from home to keep the jewellery in that I take with me. At the moment, I have a pair of earrings and a few different bracelets in.

It's pink fabric with rose gold sequins all over it and a pretty rose gold metallic zipper on it. It's super cute and I absolutely love it! I think it was about £4.00 so a really inexpensive way to keep all your bits and pieces safe when you're travelling. Would make a good Christmas gift as well...

What do you think?

Lotsa love

Lullahblog xx

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips

I wasn't sure what to call this post as it's not a review, it's not a haul, I just wanted to show you them and talk a little about them.

I've seen these little kits in quite a few different shops for about £4.00 each but I ended up spotting them in Poundland of all places so got three different ones.
 

I got pink, black and white aztec type print and some silver sparkly ones. I can't wait to try them as they look so pretty and sound very simple and easy to apply.

Inside the kit you get the actual nails (which I couldn't get a good picture of as the light has gone!) but you get lots of different sizes so you can fit them to your nail size. You also get a mini nail file and a little wooden stick for pushing your cuticles back as well as full instructions.

Apparently, as you can see from the above picture, all you need to do it pull off the backing, apply to your nail and shape to your natural nail shape. Now I'm a little dubious as I always find this kind of thing really fiddly and end up messing it up so I will have a go and let you know how I find them.

Have you ever used these? If so, how easy did you find the application?

Lotsa love

Lullahblog xx