Latest In Beauty Box

If none of you have ever heard of this service, you really should! Latest In Beauty are a beauty box service, but not like the others. They have made up boxes on their website, which change every month or so. You get to see everything in the box, and buy the box you want. Therefore, you know what you are getting, you know whether you want it, and you only receive products you are interested in. I have purchased numerous numbers of these over the pass and have loved them all. It's a great idea!

But, they also have a 'Build You Own' feature, where you can chose the products you want in your box. The prices are really reasonable and it's a great way of trying products that are either harder to get hold of, from brands you would never have tried, or sample sizes of products you could never afford. You have to be careful when you order you know whether the product you are buying if full size or a sample. but they always tell you the ml or weight, so they don't allude you.

I personally love this service, and I ordered one a week ago, and this is what it contains;

Percy & Reed Hairspray 50ml

Percy & Reed Volumising Mousse 50ml

Exuviance Purifying Clay Mask

Good Things Manuka Honey Radience Mask 15ml

Ciate Nail Polish

Jane Iredale Smooth Affaire 7ml

 (Facial Primer and Brightener)

Burts Bees Lip Gloss 239

Burts Bees Lip Gloss 221

I'm really happy to give everything a go, and any products I love/hate will probably work their way on this blog at some point in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled.

Have you ever had one of these boxes before? or know a service similar? If so, let me know in the comments.

Collective Highstreet/Drugstore Makeup Haul

The first place I went was Superdrug, where I did a bit of damage (to my bank account, not the store, I'm not a vandal...) I love the Superdrug in my home town, because it has stands for so many brands of Makeup that Boots doesn't. So here's what I bought;

There was two Barry M Nail Polishes for £6, so obviously I picked up two. I absolutely love Barry M Nails, and am trying to collect the whole Gelly Collection. So I picked up the two shades Rose Hip (a very pale pink), and Satsuma (a pretty orange shade). These are such summery shades, and I absolutely love them! 

I know I'm very late to this trend, but I picked up the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair, I've been wanting this for ages, but every time I go in Boots, there's never one left in my shade, even the tester is missing! It's now reduced to £2.99, so a complete bargain! 

I've recently bought another MUA Lipstick, and really licked it, so thought I would pick up another, this time in a shade that I have never worn, because I thought I'd pick up a cheaper one to see if I get into it. I bought the shade Wild Berry, which is a matt shade, and only £1.

I absolutely love Rimmel Lipsticks, and so when Kate released a new range of lipsticks, I just had to pick one up, so my first shade I've bought it the shade Berry Nude, 48, it was £5.49, and I'm really exited to wear this shade, as any nude shades are my fav.

I got another product half price from Rimmel (it was buy one get one half price), so I picked up a Rimmel 60 Seconds Super Shine Nail Polish in the shade Lovey Dovey, as I am yet to try this range of nail polish, and this shade caught my eye. At full price this is only £2.99

I've been wanting a Sleek Blush for a long time, but my Boots don't stock Sleek, so when I went into Superdrug, I couldn't resist. So I picked up the shade Flamingo which caught my eye, because it's just so gorgeous, and was only £4.49 

I went on a bit of a nail splurge in various other shops, which wasn't intentional, but just happened. 

I had £1 left on a Topshop voucher, and this shade was in the sale for only £2, so I had to pick up this shade; 401, Moviestar. It is a really nice, shimmery, metallic purple, and it absolutely gorgeous, I can't wait to wear it.

I picked up this Aquarium Collection Barry M Nail Polish, Mediterranean 441, because, well just look at it, it's gorgeous. And it was in a sale in River Island (of all places) for only £2. Omg I am in love, like completely in love,

My last purchase was more of a fascination than anything, it was only £1.20, and it's the Accessorise Nail Polish, Ombr Lilac, which, to be honest, I don't know how to use, but I'm sure I will learn.

I do this a lot, I didn't intend to buy any of this stuff, but I was in town waiting for my boyfriend, and it just sort of happened.. whoops...

Filthy Gorgeous Magnetic Nail Polish

I picked one of these Nail Polishes up while I was in Norwich, as it was on sale and it really fascinated me. They had two colours on sale; a metallic red one and a metallic green one, and I thought I would get more wear out of the red one and so I picked this one up. I couldn't wait to try it out and see how it actually looked on my nails...

The science behind this nail polish is relatively simple. The nail polish contains magnetically charged iron oxide pigments which create the rippled effect when they are magnetised with the magnet.

This is the shade Heartbreaker, and I have to admit, I absolutely love this shade, I think it's absolutely gorgeous. The polish is designed to be applied in one coat, which to start off with I wasn't convinced it was going to work, but it looks absolutely stunning. The colour pigmentation is really strong and it didn't chip for days. Absolutely love this shade as a standard nail polish.

To create the rippled effect, you apply one finger at a time and while the polish is drying, you hold the end of the nail against the small ridge. It says the magnet needs to be held near the nail for 5 seconds, but simply 1 second does the job. It's a really simple process, and although I smudged the nail polish a few times this go round, it got easier by the third nail and it would be something that would be really easy to pick up.

However, I really don't like the effect it creates, it makes your nails look clumpy and strange, and although I think this nail varnish looks stunning without the magnet, it's not something I think I'll be doing again all too soon. Although, it may be because either my magnet was faulty, or I was just doing it massively wrong, but this was how I felt about this nail polish.

My Summer Essentials

Summer is my favourite season of the year! I love the sun, I love the beach and I love warmth. So, I look forward to these type of things every year! This is just a collection of all my summer essentials, that I use on (very nearly) an every day basis, they are my go to things, and summer would not be the same without them.

An honorary mention has to go to bikinis, which I haven't got here, and that's not because I don't think they're an essential... it's just because my washing machine decided to eat mine (as well as some other stuff of mine) when I put things in the wash a while ago... argh.

But, as we're in the middle of summer, this is what I've been using and will continue to until the days become colder and shorter (NOOOO!) 

 Sunglasses - I own a few more pairs than these three, but these are my favourite. The front and back pair I've owned for a few years, and are from New Look and I have loved these for ages, the middle pair is fairly new. I love sunglasses, they add an extra layer to your outfit which I love. Plus, there's nothing more unattractive than walking around, scrunching up your face because it's too bright...

 Kimonos - Once again, there is a mixture here between new and old. I have fallen in love with  these this year, and these are the 3 that I've been wearing on rotation recently. They are absolutely great because they add an extra layer in the day to cover your shoulders from the sun (as I burn like crazy), and add a light layer to keep you warmer when the evenings cool down.

 Pastel Coloured Nail Polishes - most of these are in my favourite range of nail polish (Barry M Gelly), and the last one is a 2True nail polish. But I absolutely love pastels in the summer, because they are, well, summery. Pastel colours look so great with a tan, and these 5 colours get me by perfectly, the 2True being a more natural pastel colour, while the others being brighter and more colourful.

 Coral Toned Lips - lipsticks have to be my favourite make up item, ever! I find coral colours are perfect for the summer months, and these are my favourite three. I have a my Rimmel Kate Moss in the shade 38, Max Factor Colour Elixir in the shade English Rose and my favourite, Christian Dior Diorific in the shade Diva - which is a gorgeous red-coral and stays in put for absolutely hours and feels so creamy on the lips, I am in love.

 SPFs - I burn like crazy, and so these are essential for me, as they should be for everyone. I've gathered all these products together in this category (and these by far aren't my only SPFs) because I have a few different products with SPF in them, starting from SPF 15. They all help to protect my skin from the sun.

Hair Flowers - There's something about summer and putting flowers in your hair. I'm going to upload a post in the next week or two about how I use some of these to create my go-to summer hair styles, but I absolutely love to use these. When I grew my hair out, I gathered together a huge collection of hair accessories to 'jazz' up my hair with minimal efforts. Most of the hair accessories in the left photos are from Primark (who do some great hair things), and the paper flowers on the right are just from a craft shop and I love them so much. 

Denim Shorts - Need I say more?! These go with everything, they should be a staple in everyone's wardrobe. I live in denim shorts (and skirts.. but still) in the summer. I have a light washed, high waisted pair and a darker denim pair, both from New Look. New Look do some great denim shorts, go check them out!





Body Butter - this is my last summer essential. In the summer you usually show a bit more skin, and so this deeper moisturiser gets your skin looking soft and beautiful to be shown off to the world. During the summer I love to use fruity scents, such as Raspberry, and yeah, not more I can say about this really.

My Summer Holiday Makeup Bag

So I've packed all of my makeup for my holiday, and thought you'd like to see what I chose to take with me on holiday. It's all able to be picked up from the drugstore, and so all really affordable.

During the summer, I like to wear a light coverage foundation, and so I decided to take me favourite; Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in the shade Ivory. This foundation is amazing, it makes your skin look really awake and healthy. For the days we chose to spend being lazy, or I'm just being lazy, I'm bringing my Collection BB Secret Beauty Balm in the colour light, for a light coverage. Both of this products have SPF15, which, for a girl who burns really easily and goes bright red, is really handy.

For concealer I'm taking my trusty Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer also in the shade Ivory (I'm really pale..), I absolutely love this, and it is great at covering up bags under your eyes. I really want the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, but it's always sold out in my shade.. so I'm still waiting.

For setting powder I literally couldn't make up my mind between two powders, because I love them both so so much... so I'm bringing both, because I am incredibly indecisive. Bourjois Healthy Balance unifying powder is great for adding a healthy glow to your skin, and the packaging is really compact, and so will definitely be the one I carry round with me to touch up with. However I have recently (I know, really late) discovered the Rimmel Stay Matt Pressed Powder, and it's really new to me and so I really want to try it out. The packaging it not quite so compact, and doesn't come with a mirror (which my Bourjois does), but I just had to take it because it's so great at keeping your foundation/concealer put.

I'm taking my Bourjois Bronzer and Highlighter, and I love the smell of this, it smells divine, and the highlighter is wonderful. But, the bronzing powder has a bit of a shimmer to it and so I prefer to use my Rimmel Natural Bronzer because, as the name suggests, it looks far more natural, which is that I really like about this product. It only comes in one shade, but it really works for my skin, and so I'm not complaining. 

In terms of eyes, I'm taking my two neutral Maybelline Colour Tattoos in the colours 65 - Pink Gold and 35 - On and On Bronze. I tend to use this as an eye base and they are such beautiful summery shades. To add the extra highlights and to go over the top of this I am taking my Revolution Redemption Palette Essential Mattes, because it contains every shade I would ever need, and I tend to wear matt eye shadow in the crease of my eye, and so this palette is perfect!

For my eye pencils, I'm taking my Maybelline Scandal Eyes, which is a liquid eye liner pen, with a perfect thin pen, it's like just using a felt tip! So easy! and it stays put all day. Absolutely love this product. In terms of pencils I'm taking my MUA Intense Colour Pencil in the colour Rich Brown for those more subtle days, I love wearing brown eye liner when I'm going for a more natural look. I'm also bringing my No. 7 Stay Perfect Eye Pencil in the colour Bronze, which I love to apply and smudge out, and it creates a really quick, natural and lovely eye look!

I'm taking my favourite mascara, ever, like ever. It's the Maybelline the Falsies Volume Express, the waterproof formula, because this makes my eye lashes look incredible! It's also great because it's waterproof, so while I'm getting in and out the pool, and maybe even in the sea... or maybe not.. it'll stay put and I wont be walking round with panda eyes until I get hold of some make up wipes...

For lips I'm taking my two Nivea Lip Balms. I own both the Hydro-Care one, which is great because it has an SPF15 to keep my lips safe and it's also really moisturising, but also rather boring, and the Pearly Shine one which makes it look like you're wearing a really moisturising lip gloss.  I'm then taking my three favourite Rimmel Kate Moss Lipsticks, in the shades 38 (a perfect pink-nude for those days when I'm going natural), 32 (a coral colour, absolutely perfect for summer, it is the most summery shade, ever) and 1 (which is their Red Nose Day special, and is a vibrant, bright red, for those days when all you want is a bright red lip). I'm taking my No. 7 Precision Lip Pencil in the colour Soft Blush to help my lipstick stay in place for longer, I absolutely love this because it's so easy to apply, and you don't need to sharpen it, I mean yes! (I hate sharpening makeup pencils.. it's the bane of my life)

For nails it has to be the Barry M Gelly range, because they're so easy to apply, they stay put for ages, they don't chip easily, and they are really glossy and gorgeous. I am absolutely in love, I mean I think me and these nail polishes need to get a room.... I've only photographed two shades here, but I'm taking five.. whoops, just couldn't choose. In the summer I love to wear pastels on my nails, and so the colours I'm taking are all pastel shades, and I love them so much! I have the shades  11 (a baby/pastel pink), 6 (the most gorgeous pastel purple ever), 5 (a sky blue), 13 (a pink toned orange) and 21 (which is an unusual colour for me, but I love it, it's a pastel, mint green, you should really buy this one) . I'll insert a pictures here;

I'm storing all my makeup in my new Primark Makeup Bag, I absolutely love it, it's such a summery makeup bag, the colours are just wonderful, and it's huge! And it was only £3, what more could you want?!

I know I'm probably taking way more than I need, but I'm driving to where I'm going, and it's only me and my boyfriend, so.. don't need to worry too much about space! Which is great for me, because I am the worst for making decisions! But I love all these products, they're great value for money, and this is basically my summer makeup bag, so I thought I'd show you. I hope you found this interesting, as these are the products I use all the time, and so am completely loving.

Barry M Gelly Nail Polish

If there's one thing I hate, it's having to apply coat after coat of nail polish just to get a solid colour. And then, after all of that, it then chips, in a matter of hours. It's for this reason that I've never really been one for painting my nails.

When I was younger Barry M nail polishes were by far my favourite, they're also great value for money and last a long time, and they have always been my favourite brand of nail polish of the drugstore options.

I'd heard great things of these nail polishes, and so I bought shade 11 (a sky blue colour) a while ago and completely loved the fact that it provided a glossy, pigmented colour in only one coat. The formula is also chip resistant and creates a gel-like finish.

So I went back to Boots and fell in love with the range of  'pop colours', and so purchased 3 more colours; shade 11 (a barbie pink), 33 (a warm toned red), and 1 (a deep purple, ideal for Winter/Autumn). In the furutre I really want to collect the entire range!