Current favourites | #2


Barry M textured nail varnish - lady
Revlon lash potion mascara - blackened brown
MAC eyeshadow - satin taupe
Bourjois happy light serum primer - matte

Barry M recently came out with a new textured line of nail varnishes called the ‘royal textured glitter’ collection. I picked up the colour ‘lady’ and have really been enjoying it. Two coats gives an opaque finish and the varnish itself is really pretty. Its part iridescent sparkle, part white glitter and part matte white flecks with an interesting textured finish. Barry M previously came out with a textured line of polishes during the summer and they didn’t catch my eye however this time around they have and I will be looking at picking up some more shades. The best part is they last a lot longer on the nails than a regular varnish because they’re textured. 


I’ve done a full review on the new Bourjois matte primer - which can be seen here - and since I bought it a couple weeks ago and I haven’t stopped wearing it. 

I picked up MAC’s eyeshadow in satin taupe when I was in London a few weeks back and I think I’ve fallen in love. I don’t usually go for cool tone eyeshadows as I don’t think they particularly suit me however satin taupe is great to pair with a warm toned champagne colour and adds just the right amount of smokey-ness for a daytime look. 

I’ve been trying out a new mascara recently and although I picked up the wrong colour - I’m a true black mascara girl all the way - I’ve been really liking this new option from Revlon. It adds just enough length and volume without my lashes looking too spidery or too full. 

Finally I’ve been in love with my contour brush from real techniques. Originally I used this for what the name suggests - contouring - however recently I’ve been using it to buff in my concealer. It’s the perfect size and as it’s duo-fibered and synthetic it doesn’t soak up too much product or make concealer look heavy and caky which I can sometimes find when I use a heavy duty concealer like my MAC pro-longwear



What are your current favourites?

~ Jade

L'Oreal Paris Skin Perfection 15 Second Miracle Cleansing Oil | Review

Recently I was in boots and I wanted to try something new. I have never been too into skin care before as I'd say I have pretty average skin. My skin isn't at all perfect, but I don’t have problematic skin either. So I wanted something that would help to take off make up and just keep my skin clean. I had previously tried the Simple Triple Action Face Wash, but I wasn't too impressed with it as it didn't really do much to my skin and I noticed no difference after using it. So a few weeks ago I picked up the new L'Oreal Skin Perfection15 Second Miracle Cleansing Oil to try as it was on at the introductory price of around £5. It is now £7.99, for a 150ml bottle, which I think is a great price.


The description describes it to instantly dissolve make-up, even waterproof, re-balances and purifies for healthy looking skin and is lightweight and non-greasy. I do agree with this. Although it hasn’t cleared up any spots, it also didn’t break me out. I did notice a difference in my skin and it looks healthier overall.

My face feels cleaner at night and very soft. This product can be used to remove make up, however it can take a while to remove mascara as you have to be gentle around the eyes. It didn’t irritate my eyes, but I do tend to use a makeup wipe before cleansing with this as it is easier and just to make sure I get off all of my make-up.

Overall, I think this is a lovely product to just make your face feel that extra bit cleaner and softer and has improved the look of my skin.



Do you have any recommendations for skincare?

~ Lucy xx

Bourjois happy light matte serum primer | Review



I’ve heard a lot about Bourjois’ new ‘happy light’ range around the blogger-sphere recently so I decided to pick up the matte primer. I chose the matte version since I have oily skin so the ‘luminous’ version just wouldn’t work for my skin type.

The matte version is aimed at those who have combination to oily skin - like myself - and as the name suggests it is serum based. I much prefer that it’s a serum to other more cream based primers I’ve tried in the past as it feels like a serum creates more of a barrier between my skin and my make-up which in my mind makes me think that my oil is less likely to show through and my make-up is less likely to sink into my pores and make them look more visible. 

I mainly concentrate the product around my t-zone and smile lines as this is where I get most oily and where my make-up tends to move around the most. I find that patting the product into my skin works best rather than smoothing it on or rubbing it in - and is also rather therapeutic first thing in the morning. The primer has a pink tinge to it when first pumped out of the bottle but dries clear and is a tacky-like texture when first applied. 

For oil control I definitely do still get oily and do have to blot but certainly not as much as I would normally. Usually in an eight hour day I’ll blot around four times - like I said, I have super oily skin - but whilst using this primer I’ve found I only need to blot a couple of times. However, what I really like about this product is that despite the fact I still have to blot, my makeup does not budge. It stays in place across my T-zone and more specifically my smile lines which I always struggle with and have usually lost all the foundation around my nose by mid-day.

Price wise I picked this up from Boots on a special introductory offer for £6.99 but the original price is £10.99 which I personally think isn’t too bad. For a high street brand/product I would expect the price to be slightly lower but when compared to something like the Smashbox photo finish light primer which is £25 it is definitely a good, more affordable price. 




Have you tried the new Bourjois line?

~ Jade xx

My MAC quad



Left to right: Smut, Kid, Woodwinked, Satin taupe

Today I thought I’d share with you all my MAC quad. I recently slipped the fourth pan into my palette after switching from buying eyeshadows in pot form to pan form - it’s a great money and space saver.

Smut - a very dark almost black purple shade - perfect for adding sultry smoky definition to the outer corner or using as a powder eyeliner as it’s less harsh than liquid or gel and blends for a softer look.

Kid - my favourite definition shade for when you don’t want to wear a lot of colour but want a little something to give some dimension. Great for when if you want to have dramatic liner but not too much going on, on the lid. It’s not too cool or too warm toned so gives a very natural look.

Woodwinked - out of my small but growing MAC eyeshadow collection woodwinked is definitely my favourite. A warm toned golden shadow I tend to wear packed across the lid and then blended throughout the crease as where blended woodwinked changes to a more warm toned matte brown - perfect for when you’re in a rush and don’t have time to faff around with shadows - but I also wear this with a lighter, shimmery shadow on the first half of my lid and then woodwinked packed onto the outer half and blended.

Satin taupe - my most recent edition to my collection. A purple, silver, brown-y mix matched shade. Great for adding to the outer corner for a subtle smoky day-time look for for using underneath the eyes in a smoky eye to balance the look out. Also great to use as a lid colour in a smoky eye.



And that’s it! What colours do you have in your MAC palette?

~ Jade xxx

Face of the day #2 | 06.10.13





Products used:

MAC eyeshadow - omega
Sleek blush - rose gold
Rimmel natural bronzer - 021 sun light
Topshop lipstick - Brighton rock
Revlon lash potion mascara - Blackened brown

This eyeshadow look has been my go-to for the past month or so if I’m in a rush or don’t have a specific look in mind. It’s really quick and simple with a base of my favourite cream shadow - which makes any shadow used stay put all day - and a swipe of my favourite shade from the naked palette. It’s quite low-key however I have teamed this with ‘hustle’ eyeshadow from the naked palette on the outer corner and added some winged liner to amp it up for a more night-time look.



What’s your go-to look?

~ Jade xxx

Transitioning Summer clothes into Autumn | Lucy's picks

So summer has gone and we are, rather quickly, moving into autumnal - or 'fall' - months here in England. We actually had quite a lovely summer this year so I could wear my summer clothes. However, if you're like me and can't fork out for a whole new autumn wardrobe, then here are some ideas to transform your summer outfits into cosy, warm outfits for autumn.

This first outfit is a simple dress that was quite simple to change for autumn. It was perfect for summer as it is light weight and easy to wear.

Dress: Primark £5.  (bargin!!)

To make it warmer for autumn all I did to this outfit was add an oversized jumper and scarf. This gives the dress versatility as you can also make it look like a skirt.

Photography information

Canon 600D with 18-55mm lens, Canon 24mm lens or Sigma 70-300mm lens. Canon EOS M with 18-55mm lens or Canon 24mm lens. Any edited photos are edited using Photoshop CS6. Picture source is given for any photo used that is not directly ours.