Summer Shopping List

Hi guys, 

It feels a bit odd writing this as it's currently pouring with rain outside my window, but seeing as i'm going on holiday in a few weeks, it seems apt that I should do a post on some bits and bobs I want to buy for summer... Have a look through and see what you think :)

Cut Out Swimsuit from By Caprice at ASOS

Minkpink 'Sunrise Sunet' Dip Dye Lace Shorts at ASOS

Maxi Dress with Strap Back from ASOS - I actually already have the short version of this in black and I love it!

Corin Bow Back Floral Playsuit from boohoo

Large Leather Pushlock Satchel from Topshop

Red Embellished Cuff Sandals from River Island

I won't bore you with the entire list, it's pretty long, but these are a few select favourites which I hope to buy soon! 

Hope you're all having a warmer summer than I am so far :)

Lily xoxo

GLOSSYBOX - Best and Worst

Hello again! Long time no blog, sorry about that... I keep meaning to start blogging again but things get in the way, like exams and new jobs...

Anyway here I am! Back again with lots of ideas for blog posts!

I'd also like to point out that i'm currently on a hunt for a new camera (and i good place in my house to take photos!) so I apologize in advance for the picture quality in this post...

I'm sure you've all heard about GLOSSYBOX and are familiar with the concept (if not, you can find out about it here). I subscribed to GLOSSYBOX at the beginning of this year so i've got six months worth of boxes to talk about here. In this post i'm going to have a look at my favourite anf least favourite products from each box. It was pretty hard to choose from some of the boxes, so even if a product appears in the 'least favourite' section, it doesn't mean I hate it, it just means I wasnt thrilled with it and there were better products in the box in my opinion. So, here we go...

Favourite Products

• FAB Gentle Body Wash - January Valentine's Box - I was pretty excited to recieve this in my first ever box as i'd heard a lot of hype about this brand. It's a really lovely body wash and fragrance free, which is nice because some shower gels can be a little overpowering. It also says on the packaging that it's meant to 'calm redness.' I dont really suffer from this but i'd be interested to hear if it worked for anyone else.
• DuWop Venom Gloss in 'Buttercup' - February Box - Love the colour. Love the smell. Love the lip plumping effect. Love, love, love (and i'm not normally a lipgloss kind of person..)!
• Bliss Blood Orange and White Pepper Body Butter - March Harrods Box - My first thought when I saw this was 'ugh boring' but i've actually grown to really like this product! It smells delicious, practically edible! I've technically been using this as a hand cream rather than a body butter because the size of the bottle is perfect for popping in your handbag and whipping out during the day when your hands are feeling particularly parched!
• INIKA Certified Organic Eyeliner in Black Caviar - April Organic Box - Again, I was pretty happy to see this product in my april box because i'd been looking for a new black eyeliner, a staple in most girls' make up collection. This is a lovely rich black and goes on very smoothly, creating a neat line. It's also very easily smudged for a smokey eye effect.
• Uniqone All in One Hair Treatment - May Anniversary Box - Although this product is tiny, i love it. It smells unbelieveable! I'm not sure if it really does all the nine things it claims to, but it made my hair feel lovely and smooth and people actually asked me what perfume I was wearing because it smelled so good! The full size is about £14 and you get 150ml so I will consider purchasing this again.
• BM Beauty Summer Warmth Bronzer - June Box - I don't normally get on with loose powders so when I saw this loose bronzer in its tiny pot I thought 'ahh nightmare, it's going to go everywhere!' It did go everywhere. But once I got the hang if it I was able to get more of it on the brush that on the floor, which was an achievement in itself! I'm so glad I persevered because I love this bronzer, it's not too harsh and it givs you a healthy looking glow without too much shimmer. I just wish the pot were bigger...

Least Favourite

• Davines Moisturizing Balm - January Valentine's Box - This product is not actually that bad at all, it has a lot of uses; a moisturizer, a make up remover, a hair mask etc.. I like it but I just cannot get past the smell! I know lots of people like it, but I just find it overpowering, and to me it just smells like a bathroom cleaning product... sorry! It does, however, give you nice soft skin.
• BM Beauty Pure Mineral Eyeshadow in Wolf Howl - February Box - Unlike the bronzer, this product is not worth the mess. It doesn't really go on very well and, although it has a nice shimmer in the pot, the colour doesn't really go well with my skin tone. Of course, this would suit someone else a lot better and this is just my opinion. I like the name though...
• RéVive Intensité Crème Lustre SPF30 - March harrods Box - I found this moisturiser way too thick and a little does NOT go a long way! I'm a fan of lighter moisturisers so I didn't really get on with this product. I did like the high spf though, being very fair skinned I need to be wearing a higher spf every day so putting it in my moisturiser is useful.
• Ayuuri Natural Body Wash - April Organic Box - It was nice to see a full sized product in the April box, but I wish it hadn't been another shower gel! There's only so much body wash a girl can try! I'm also not majorly impressed with the smell if this one, it's meant to be coconut, which is fine, but I just find it way too sweet for my taste.
• Let's Go Lashes - May Anniversary Box -I do normally like wearing false lashes on a night out and these ones were pretty good and stayed on quite well. But I did think that, for me, the style was too.. bold. I'm not really in to extravagant make up so I thought that these didnt really suit my style. Other, braver people might like them though!
• GLOSSYBOX Serie Exclusiv Pro Beauty Brush - June Box - I thought it was quite sweet to put a GLOSSYBOX branded tool in the box, and I had previously really liked the mirror in the anniversary box. This brush, however, wasn't so good... The 'natural goat hair' brush felt quite rough and shed all over my face... Not impressed really.

So that's it! My personal GLOSSYBOX best and worst from the last six months. I've had a bit of a love hate relationship with these boxes and just when i'm about to unsubscribe they go and send me something great! I'm considering subscribing to JolieBox as i've heard some great reviews, but being a student on a smaller budget, i'm going to have to choose one or the other... Which would you recommend?

Thanks for reading!
Lily xoxo

Purchases of Late.

Hello again, I am back on the blogging scene (at last)!

Today I thought i'd show you guys some of my favourite recent purchases. I've been going a bit crazy on the lipstick front for the last couple of months so i've only picked out a few to show you instead of listing every single one.. Enjoy!

(swatches are in the same order as the lipsticks in the photo above)

• Me Me Me Beat the Blues Sunbeam Highlighter - I really love this highlighter, it's relatively inexpensive (around the £5 mark, I think) and it gives you a lovely healthy looking glow. You also get quite a lot of product  for your money.
• 17 Blush Powder in Nude - Again, this is a pretty inexpensive product. It's a lovely colour for me as I have really pale skin and the consistency is perfect for building up colour.
• Saffron London Nail Polish in 07 - This is by far the prettiest nail varnish I own. The sparkles in it are practically sequin sized and it makes any base colour look so pretty and girly. The only downside is that it takes an absolute age to dry...
• Max Factor Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in 01 Ivory - I really wanted a shiny gold nail polish for spring/summer this year and so far I havn't been able to find the right one (i'm very picky when it comes to nails..). I picked up this little bottle at superdrug a couple of weeks ago. Personally, it's a little too sparkly for what I was looking for but if you build up the color with a couple of coats you end up with a very nice soft gold colour. Not bad for the time being! I also really like the shape and size of the bottle.
• Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 415 Pink In The Afternoon - Beautiful colour, beautiful texture, beautiful smell, nice staying power. I think this is a nice all rounder lipstick which'll look as good in winter as it does in the summer. I'm normally a bit conservative with my lipstick colours so this pink is actually a bit unusual for me!
• Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in 005 Sugar Frosting - You've probably all seen the rave reviews about the new revlon lip butter range so I won't go on about it. I was pretty excited when I first saw them in the shops and picked up this one as soon as I saw it. The texture is lovely and glossy and feels hydrating. The colour is very wearable and i'm hoping i'll be able to get my hands on a few more very soon.
• L'Oreal Caresse Lipsticks in 01 Fashionista Pink and 501 Nude Ingenue - I actually prefer these to the Revlon Lip Butters even though they are pretty much the same concept and price. I think what swings it for me is that I prefer the colours in the L'Oreal range (I know the range is tiny, but I just LOVE fashionista pink) and I think the packaging is cuter too (it kind of remins me of YSL lipsticks...).

I'd love to hear your thoughts on these products. Have you tried the Revlon Lip Butters or the L'Oreal Caresse Lipsticks? Which one was your favourite?

Thanks for reading,

Lily xoxo

MUA Haul.

Hello again!

Apologies for the long absence... I'm rather ashamed that this is actually my first post of 2012! So a belated Happy New Year to you all :)

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a couple of bits and bobs at Superdrug from the MUA collection. I've heard loads of rave reviews about MUA, but to be honest, with their products being so cheap, I was a little skeptical. I hope that doesn't make me sound like a make-up snob, but i've had some bad experiences with cheap products before! Anyway, I was actually really impressed with all of the things I bought, it's hard to believe that most of their products are only £1... Here's what I got.

24 Shade Immaculate Collection Palette

Intense Colour Eyeliner Pencil in Jet Black and Eyebrow Pencil in Brunette

Pearl Eyeshadow in Shade 1 and Matte Eyeshadow in Shade 19

I'm really excited to try out some of the lipsticks from this range, so expect reviews on those soon!

Hope, you're all well,

Lily xoxo