Everyday makeup routine // current favourites

It's been a while since I've had a proper chat about my current makeup routine and my favourites, so I decided to combine the two and discuss what I've been loving so much, that I've been using them all on the regular. It is officially the summer holidays!! So I've spent the last couple of days either shopping for my first ever classroom, or just lounging about and relaxing at long last. So this makeup routine is more what I was doing in the final weeks of term, whist I was supply teaching (more on that in an update post!).

Starting with the base, I have been LOVING using the Charlotte Tilbury Wonder Glow (£38.50) after applying my favourite moisturiser. As I have been so exhausted since way Easter time - really there has been SO much going on, I feel like my skin really has suffered the consequences 😪. Late nights, stress, dehydration, you all know the drill and my skin will need a good amount of pampering this summer to get back on track. As a little cheat, I've been using the wonder glow to add some glow and not only does my foundation look better over the top, but it just adds a gorgeous sheen to the skin. On no makeup days I like mixing a little in with my moisturiser too. I think there are better liquid lighters out there in terms of intensity, but this is a beautiful before foundation step. The base of choice, has been the Wet'n'wild photo foundation in golden beige ($5.99) . I've linked the site where I purchased mine from, and if you don't spend over £15 you won't be charged customs. Anyways this foundation is gorgeous, I love it and I can't believe it's so incredibly affordable! I definitely will be repurchasing it - the shade match is amaaaazing, the coverage is medium and the finish is pretty natural. Let me know if you'd like a full review.

Also it's not often that I talk about foundation brushes, because I am a HUGE beauty blender fan...but I have just gone about 3 months without using one. I really couldn't justify picking another one up whilst I was training and not earning a penny, so I decided to use face brushes and fingers. Don't get me wrong, beauty blenders are still the one and only tool for me if I HAD to pick, but actually the Morphe E6 brush (£15.00) is brilliant. I felt like I was using less product with this brush and with a stippling motion, the size of the brush meant my face was blended in next to no time - perfect for anyone with a busy morning routine. I used to adore the RT buffing brush, but I've literally chucked those out since I've had this in my collection, cause they just do not compare!

Moving on to concealer, old habits die hard here! Well, actually in the last couple of months I did try this phase of going for a lighter coverage undereye, but nothing would work as well as my beloved Kevyn Aucoin Sensual skin enhancer in SX07 (£38.00) reviewed here.  And what I love most about this pot of goodness is that you can actually adjust the coverage if need be. It's my tried and tested and has definitely earned the title of H.G. And to set it, as you can tell from the photo I have been loving yet another U.S drugtore product - the wet'n'wild contouring powder in caramel toffee ($5.99). Majorly hit pan and I will be ordering another one soon, because I love it, the yellow powder is so brightening and its really comparable to more high end powders. I also still do my 'light bake' with whatever loose powder I am using, I don't have a particular favourite at the moment, but just search loose powder in the side bar if you want to know my thoughts on the ones I've used.

Brows...really not much has changed here either! I am still smitten with the ABH dip brow in chocolate (£15.00) and in total shock that it has lasted this long. I have often added a couple of drops of the kiko mixing solution (not on the website for some strange reason!) which works really well at reviving it. The brush I've been obsessed with for the last few months is actually the primark brow brush (£2.50), it honestly rivals brushes that are 4-5X the price, I highly recommend you picking it up.

The eyeshadow palette of choice has been the Zoeva Cocoa blend (£18.00), which is genuinely one of the best palette out there right now. The mattes are creamy enough and have good pigment and the shimmer shades are beautiful on the lid. Colourwise, it is just perfection - with all the shades I need for a basic look. Don't get me wrong, my single shadows palette is still my all time favourite because of the amazing variety and formula - but I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone looking for a daily palette with the basics you need if you're a warm toned lover! The mascara of choice has been the Essence rock n doll (£2.80) because it adds a lovely amount of volume - not the most length, but its a goodie!

Moving on to the face powders, it has been a bit of a Narssist party! The laguna-orgasm duo (which you can get an adorable mini version of for just £15!!), is something I kept with my throughout my time in Pakistan, partly for the mirror but also because laguna is a must have for me. As for that iconic blush shade, I certainly don't mind it, but its not something I would purchase the full size of. That mini size is literally perfection, I mean I've not had the chance to see it in person yet, but what an affordable and great way to try some NARS iconics! The second NARS product is the One shocking moment palette (limited edition). I have loved using the various shades in this and I'm so pleased I picked it up, because again it was a very affordable way to try several of their products in one go! To be honest it was tucked away, for far too long, so I've ensured I'm using it on a regular basis and I've got a really good feel for those, so keep an eye out. And finally a non-nars product! The Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in that glow (£40) reviewed here is just my favourite for everyday, its beautiful and if you don't own a glow kit yet....YA NEED ONE OKAY.

And finally on to the lips, I have been obsessed with my oldschool jordana lip liner in tawny ($),which I saw years ago on Carli Bybel's channel. It is perfect, the ideal MLBB shade and great for slightly over lining. The formula is fantastic too, so much so that I had to pick up a back up last month. The Huda Beauty Liquid Lipstick in bombshell (£18.00) and The Balm Meet Matte Hughes in committed (£15.00) reviewed here are the two liquid lippies that have been used the most recently. They're both beautiful pink shades, with fairly similar formulas actually - neither are too thick or heavy and to be honest they don't have the best longevity, but they're lovely! That colourpop lippie is actually their ultra glossy lip in weho (I think!), because I've been loving to switch it up with a different finish. YES, colourpop is a pain in the butt to ship over, but I am soooo impressed with weho, because it's such a comfortable creamy, non-sticky gloss - big big fan.


And that is just about it everybody! Those are my current favourites and go-to products, a mix of high end and low, U.S and UK.

What have you been loving recently? 

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Everyday makeup routine // current favourites

I.G Tut #1 | Glitter Wing Details

Hello hello, I hope you're all having a great Sunday. I know I only just introduced a brand new series yesterday, but brace yourselves for a new one, because I had another brain wave and I'm really excited to share it with you all (again). I'm not 100% sure what I will be calling this, so atm I've left it as 'I.G Tut', but watch this space haha. Now I have always enjoyed making little makeup clips for the gram, even when the video length was just 15 seconds! I would diligently sit and cut down, speed up, find music and create mini clips, which I personally loved doing and I got a great response from my followers. The chances of me ever starting my own YouTube channel are slim to none, but that doesn't mean I can't utilise one of my favourite platforms and take advantage of their newer 1 minute allowance for videos. At the same time I don't think the videos alone are very useful, so I wanted to combine my main platform (my blog),  with my second largest base I.G and write posts to go along with it. I hope my IG followers find this useful ^_^ I'll be linking products, reviews, talking about techniques and giving you mini reviews of each of the products too.

Video one - base

1. Moisturiser: Embryollise creme concentrate, is the absolute BEST. I very rarely apply anything else before I put on makeup, because it sinks into the skin so well and any foundation applied on top applies beautifully. Especially if its a heavier kind of base. I once tried to use mehron HD over a nivea moisturiser and it just took longer to blend and didn't sit as well. Embryollise does have mineral oil in it, so if your skin doesn't react well with that, perhaps avoid! Otherwise though it's well worth trying out, the best moisturiser for it's price without a doubt.

2. Corrector for under the eyes and around the mouth: I have created my own custom corrector and it was a bit of a spur of the moment thing, but it works SO well! I reviewed the L.A Girl correctors here, and in that post I said how the orange shade just does not work for me because its too strong of an orange. So I decided to try mixing the orange and yellow on the back of my hand and it worked so well! I've not cleaned out a little benefit eyecream pot, and mixed them together which'll save me a lot of time in the morning.

3. Foundation: NARS Sheer Glow in Stromboli (reviewed here) is one of the best bases EVER. I love this and because I've reviewed it already in detail, I won't into too much detail, but basically its the best medium coverage base ever, I adore it! I blended it in with a damp beauty blender, my favourite method of application, the sponge is worth the price I promise.

4. Concealer: I used the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX07 for under the eyes and to highlight of course! I've reviewed this base in full here, and this post also explains the best way to use it and to set it too. I then used the same concealer in the shade SX08 to conceal that horrid spot on my forehead - it can conceal EVERYTHING. I blended it with the same damp beauty blender of course.

5. Set and lightly bake: The Kat Von D Shade and Light palette, which I reviewed here, is my all time favourite and you can see that by how much I have hit pan! 4 shades down, just two to go haha. The shades lyric and levitation mixed together work really well under the eyes. The brush I used is the Real Techniques Setting brush, its fantastic and I need one more in my collection for sure. I then used the orange shade to set over that pesky spot, and it really helped to hide the spot. You wouldn't want to apply the yellow powder over the spot, because it would highlight it and bring it to the surface. The to 'semi-bake' I used the Kat Von D Lock It Setting Powder, which is very lightweight and doesn't appear ashy on the skin. I've not had a chance to talk about this on the blog yet, but I have to say I really like it. For the price you get a lot of product and it does look better than the Coty powder. I use the primark mini sponge for the semi-baking, it is BRILLIANT! Just make sure it's well and truly damp first.

Video two: The Rest Of The Base

1. Brows: I've been using the Colourpop brow pencil in bangin brunette, which is very very similar to the ABH Brow Wiz! I usually wear my pomade, but when I'm in a rush this pencil does an excellent job at drawing out a shape. Plus the spoolie on the other end is perfect for blending the product through - you can't go wrong for the $5 price tag. The next step is to use the essence make me brow in 3 - a total benefit dupe for less than £3! I love this for toning the brows down a little bit, but also for setting them in place and the fibres create a more realistic look too. A real must have. Also for those asking, I always order my essence products online because theres a lot more variety vs. my local store (which also isn't that local by the way).

2. Bronzer: Topshop mohawk, is my all time favourite affordable bronzer', it is the perfect colour for my skintone! I've reviewed it more here. I love using the Real Techniques multi task brush, it is a great size, and ever so slightly tapered so you can apply it at an angle if you want some definition. I use the multi task brush almost every single day, its a must have in my collection, but as far as I remember its only available as part of their sets - they need to sell some of their brushes individually I'd be picking up a lot more!

3. Contour: ABH Refil Shade in Ash Brown, which I bought on sale from beautybay for an unbelievable price of less than a fiver! Although its not one of their more popular shades, I LOVE it so much. It's not quite as grey as a typical contour shade, but it is deep enough to really add definition. For the cheeks I used the Real Techniques Contour Brush and for the nose I used the Real Techniques Flat Foundation Brush, which was actually a first but it works really well! Both of these brushes are available in this kit, which is also on sale atm.

4. Blush: NARS Torrid is one of my favourites, I have reviewed it here. The brush I used is actually an ebay Jessup one. I love it because the bristles aren't very dense and it blends products out in a more natural way - which is useful for highly pigmented products! I can't seem to find the exact brush kit I purchased, but a quick ebay search shows they've improved their kits a lot and I think its the same blush brush in this kit.

5. Highlighter: Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sundipped, a full review for this is coming up in the next week or two - I love it! The shades are beautifully pigmented and a little stronger than the previous glow kits (although not as intense as the newest one, as far as I can tell!). The brush I used is the Morphe M501, which is AMAZING! Its a shame they've increased the price, but I have to say it's still worth it and double, because it applies highlighter better than any other I own.

6. Facial Spritz: Mario Badescu Facial Spray With Aloe Herbs And Rosewater, reviewed here. BEST EVER. Can't speak highly enough!

Video Three: Eyes and Lips

1. Crease: MUG Dessert Sands is a gorgeous mustard shade which I LOVE for the crease! As my favourite colours to wear on the eyes are deep reds and browns, this shade of yellow blends so beautifully with them and it is one of my all time favourites. I used the Morphe M504 brush, which is fantastic for blending in any crease shade quickly and efficiently, a real go-to.

2. Lid: ABH Blazing was then blended all UNDER the crease area, mainly on the outer part of the eyelid. I adore the shade and I'm not sure why it's not more popular to be honest! The brush I used was the Morphe M507, again another MUST have brush in my collection! It is perfect for smaller detail work and its a very unique brush in my collection, I love it for the crease and inner corner too. I then blended out the crease again with the same M504, to make it all look seamless - blending is KEY for any eyeshadow look!

3. Main Lid: ABH Henna, all over the lid with a double ended ecotools brush (reviewed here!). Tbh I wish I had applied this with my finger instead as the pigmentation would have been stronger.

4. Lower Lash Line: Using the Zoeva 238 Luxe Precise Shader reviewed here, I ran Blazing under the lower lash line.

5. Inner Corner: Taking that same brush, I popped some of MUG's Vanilla bean reviewed here, in the inner corner and slightly further into the lid. This reduced the pigmentation and opened the eyes up a little too.

6. Back to the crease: Using the other end of the ecotools brush (the shader side), I roughly applied some of MUG's Wild West, which is a beautiful deep dusty purple which I LOVE for adding some depth to any look. I then blended it out with the same M504. 

7. Lower Lash Line again: Going back in with MUG's Dessert Sands, I blended it all over the lower lashline, because it looks gorgeous with the red hue of blazing, they're a match made in heaven😍. I then went over the lower lashline again with Wild West, because I felt like it needed some definition and depth!

8. Winged Liner: The Balm's Schwing Liner is a gorgeous, very pigmented, long lasting eyeliner which I have really enjoyed. I don't like the fact that the tip is fraying now, but hopefully with a pair of scissors it'll be as good as new! 

9. Glitter! Horaaaaay, the glitz part. Using the paintglow glitter me up fix gel, I applied a little on the edge of the Zoeva Winged Liner Brush, then I carefully used the brush to apply a line of it just above the wing I had created. I could have been a little more precise with this part, but once the lashes were applied it didn't look too intense! The using a double ended primark brush, I dipped my brush into the certifeye rose gold glitter and carefully patted the glitter over where I had just placed the gel. 

10. Lashes: I've not included these in my video, because I plan to write a post about it and create another mini video for IG. But the lashes I'm using are from Anaqa lashes (IG here) in the style Nour. They're VERY dramatic but really made the look appear glamorous. Also the lovely owner Doua, kindly gave my readers a discount code, so use 'Iqra10' for 10% off your order!

11. Lips: And the final step 😅, I used the Rimmel liner in tiramisu, which is a firm favourite. It's excellent for natural lip shades, as well as anything orange toned because it does lean on that side of the colour spectrum. I also really like the formula of these pencils. I then used the Huda Beauty liquid lipstick in trendsetter - another favourite of mine! Whilst it appears more orange, once it's dried down it looks deeper and very sophisticated. 

And that is finally the end haha! I hope you guys found this beneficial, I really enjoyed creating it for you, even though it took ages haha. Thanks for all the good feedback I've already had 😄

Thank-you for reading ♥

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I.G Tut #1 | Glitter Wing Details

Hello hello, I hope you're all having a great Sunday. I know I only just introduced a brand new series yesterday, but brace yourselves for a new one, because I had another brain wave and I'm really excited to share it with you all (again). I'm not 100% sure what I will be calling this, so atm I've left it as 'I.G Tut', but watch this space haha. Now I have always enjoyed making little makeup clips for the gram, even when the video length was just 15 seconds! I would diligently sit and cut down, speed up, find music and create mini clips, which I personally loved doing and I got a great response from my followers. The chances of me ever starting my own YouTube channel are slim to none, but that doesn't mean I can't utilise one of my favourite platforms and take advantage of their newer 1 minute allowance for videos. At the same time I don't think the videos alone are very useful, so I wanted to combine my main platform (my blog),  with my second largest base I.G and write posts to go along with it. I hope my IG followers find this useful ^_^ I'll be linking products, reviews, talking about techniques and giving you mini reviews of each of the products too.

Collective Haul | Typo, Colourpop and Illamasqua

Hello hello, welcome back to the blog! Today I'm sharing the stuff I've purchased over the last few weeks. I've been a bit too spendy because theres yet another haul coming up after this tsk._.  Also I just wanna say I HATE the way these photos came out, hate hate hate them cause the lighting was so awful and although they looked alright on screen, on the laptop....a different story!


Right starting with the only non-beauty items, that marble mug that you see camouflaging was something I couldn't say no to when stepping into the store Typo, for the very first time. When you work in a school, usually you aren't allowed to carry cups of tea around for obvious reasons. However my DIY caramel lattes are usually what gets me through the morning, so not being able to have them was a problem and a half! Luckily this mug is now in my life and I L  OVE IT. Its a really huge size, you could fit two mugs of tea in there no problem, but also it has a secure lid which stops any liquid from getting out and is easy to remove and clean too. Plus you don't get the tiniest amount to sip from, its a large enough size - love it! I also couldn't help but pick up this set of tiny pegs and try and make my own lil polaroid wall. BTW TYPO have a random flash sale for TODAY only, srsly check it out if you want the quirkiest and cutest stationary/items/gifts.

It had been a while since I had shopped from the essence range, because its not the most easy brand available. However you can find essence at your local Wilko store if you're from the U.K (I tend to order them online though!). I picked up a couple of mascaras, which I have now given as part of gifts because they're the BEST mascaras from the highstreet! Nothing compares. I especially love this one, but I wanted to try some others from their range, so I purchased a topcoat mascara this time called forbidden volume (£2.80). It has lash fibres in it and I'm so excited to try it out and see if its as good as my favourite! I also repurchased one of their matte lip things, no idea why they call them lip glosses because they clearly aren't...but this is the shade 3 and its stunning! One of my favourite everyday shades, very comfortable more of a cream that dries down a little matte and it's just super effortless.

This haul post photography wise is such a fail, but I also picked up the make me brow (£2.50) in shade 3, which is an exact dupe for the Benefit one...honestly idk why anyone would actually pay a silly amount for a brow mascara - BUY THIS ONE. It's great, my brows stay in place all day and the colour helps to tone them down, which really is always a good thing haha.

Moving on to slightly more high end makeup, Illamasqua were one of the only stores this year to have a decent sale on (thankyou Illamasqua for understanding the word sale!). I didn't want to splurge on too much but honestly I could have easily spent £80+ because I know that what I'm getting is really fantastic quality makeup. I have a post coming up on my fave blushers from the brand, because they don't get as much love as they deserve! The first thing I picked up in the sale, was the Illamasqua precision liner in Wisdom (£20.50), which I got for less than half price! I purchased it because its a KHAKI eyeliner, and y'all may know that khaki is my all time favourite colour. Recently I've been wearing it instead of black and I LOVE how it looks! Still a sharp wing, but a lot less intense which is perfection for a normal school day. I also couldn't resist picking up their vintage cream shadow in bibelot, which is out of stock from their site but I've linked it from the selfridges site. This isn't quite as dark as it appears when first applied, but you can build it up and I love the soft golden shimmers too. Its been a while since I've purchased new Illamasqua products, so I'm really glad to have these two beauties to play with!

I did a lil shopping on beautyjoint.com, which is my go to site for U.S beauty items! I purchased two shades of the Wet n Wild come correct celebrity concealer ($4.99), because I heard its a dupe for the IT cosmetics one. I've not used it much so far, but of course I'll be sharing it with you all when I come to a verdict. I also picked up the L.A Girl Pro Primer ($2.00) which is skin coloured and is basically a matte pencil. So far so good with this, especially for that bargain of a price! A product that looks a lot nicer than it is, that glitter thing from wet'n'wild...awful. Don't bother purchasing this because its pretty much useless, I feel like they got vaseline and dunked a bunch of glitter in it and then pressed it down...nah certifeye glitter is a LOT better!

The eyeliner I've really been enjoying lately is one from boots, the collection extreme 24 hour liner (£3), which is super black and lasts really well throughout the day. I don't remember liking it this much last time I picked it up, which makes me wonder if they changed the formula? Either way, I'm a big fan. Ohhh and how could I not mention these primark NON-LATEX mini blender sponges?! They are fantastic, you get FOUR for only £2.50 and nothing blends in concealer better, ditch those brushes for the under eye cause this is what you need for flawless application. I love how easily they double in size and how super soft they feel on the skin - definitely giving the original beauty blender a run for their money haha.

And I also placed a cheeky colourpop order in the holidays - they always get me with their free shipping over $50! When they released their peachy collection, I was instantly drawn in (although I do think it was an odd time of the year to be doing so!). I was unsure about which ones to purchase, but then I saw this had put together a trio called Just Peachy ($15.00) which includes two mattes and a satin. You don't save a tonne, but its a lovely little kit and I have been obsessed with the shades, fingers crossed the review and swatches will be up tomorrow! I picked up a few bits for friends, and so I just had enough for one more eyeshadow...game face! It's a gorgeous metallic copper shade which is so easy to apply and beautifully pigmented. Game face all over the lid, blended out with warm mattes is going to look stunning. Finally they gave me a free liquid lip, in the shade wild nothing, which is a deeper mauvy rose colour and I LOVE the frosted packaging of this one! Not had too long to try the shade out, but I will be reporting back soon.

And here are some of the swatches! I'm so glad I've finally been able to publish this blog post, its literally been a draft for about 6 weeks ._. I hope you can take advantage of the Typo sale - if not today don't worry, if you sign up to their newsletter you get 20% off! And no this post isn't sponsored by them loool, I wish!! I just really enjoy the store and the quirky range of products they have, so I wanna share it with you all.

P.S I'm really sorry I didn't get this up in time for you to also take advantage of the sale, but please do follow me on social media for the best deals - especially twitter (@blushinggiraffe), because I can share things MUCH quicker on there!

Have you tried anything in my haul? What have you been buying recently? 

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Collective Haul | Typo, Colourpop and Illamasqua

Hello hello, welcome back to the blog! Today I'm sharing the stuff I've purchased over the last few weeks. I've been a bit too spendy because theres yet another haul coming up after this tsk._.  Also I just wanna say I HATE the way these photos came out, hate hate hate them cause the lighting was so awful and although they looked alright on screen, on the laptop....a different story!

Review | Primark £1 Nails

Hello everyone! Last week I stopped by Primark and decided to pick up some of their false nails. I’d gone past them many times before but no colour or pattern really caught my eye, until I saw this beautiful dusty/nude pink! This is my ideal nail polish shade because its so simple, classy and flattering at the same time. I have been wearing these nails for two days now and thought I’d type up a quick review for you all, because for the price tag I think more people should hear about them!

Firstly I love the shape of them, they’re not too long nor too short and if I could change my nail shape to any it would be this one! I must admit I’ve been admiring them kind of all the time, whilst driving, typing, even just doing my makeup haha. As I don’t wear false nails often, it’s not something I’m too used to, however I didn’t feel like I had to be more gentle with day-to-day activities because the length isn’t ridiculous, its just right. Also my natural finger nails are pretty wide and I don’t have the patience to file and shape them, so I just keep them short. Having these false nails on have made my hands looks SO slender and feminine (I almost don't recognise them!). 

You get 36 nails in the box and it was relatively easy to find ones that match my fingers, though I do feel like there was a closer match on one hand than the other! Also some of them could have done with a little filing to make them rounder which’d match them closer with my cuticles. These nails come with a little tube of glue, which has a tip but for whatever reason mine didn’t work so I had to screw the opposite end off. This made application of the glue quite messy and also it was difficult to see exactly where on the nail I had put the glue as the glue is a clear shade. Because of this two of the nails came off without any warning, one while I was at work and the other after dinner. As there are so many nails in the pack it was easy to find a replacement, however if the glue was better it would be easier to rely on them for longer than one or two days! When reapplying the nails I found that the more glue the better and I held it down for over 10 seconds which also made the replacements feel more secure. You might also be able to see that some of the nails are a little jagged, as the material of these are pretty thin but personally I’d rather this than a thicker type which can feel uncomfy sometimes. 

All in all for £1 I really don’t think you can go wrong with these and I need to pick up a couple more of this particular shade because it is GORGEOUS! I do plan on purchasing some of those nail sticky tabs, or perhaps a nail glue which is stronger and has good reviews. That way I am confident they’ll last a week at least which is the longest I would want to wear them. They're not perfect, but they're probably the best false nails I have tried on a budget and the ease of finding the correct size was awesome too! If you want a change from just applying a bit of polish, pick these up and give them a go next time you’re passing Primark - they might surprise you just as they have me. 

Have you tried the Primark £1 nail range? What are your thoughts? 

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Review | Primark £1 Nails

Hello everyone! Last week I stopped by Primark and decided to pick up some of their false nails. I’d gone past them many times before but no colour or pattern really caught my eye, until I saw this beautiful dusty/nude pink! This is my ideal nail polish shade because its so simple, classy and flattering at the same time. I have been wearing these nails for two days now and thought I’d type up a quick review for you all, because for the price tag I think more people should hear about them!

Haul | Primark! June 2014

Hello! Ahhhh another good ol’ Primark haul! I visited Primark twice in June, once specifically for shoes as I hadn’t gone to London prepared, and the second time as a general shop :)

These shoes cost only £6 each, and are perfect for the summertime. They are extremely flat, and so aren’t super comfortable for a lot of walking but for a few hours out they’re lovely and go well with skirts, dresses and jeans. Unfortunately for me I am a 5.5 in Primark….and yes there is no five and a half so I have to go up to a size 6 which can be a little uncomfy as they do rub a little.. but for the price I can’t complain. I also love how the strap goes diagonally across the feet, just the little details ^_^

I also picked these up for a tenner, which oddly fit me better than the ones above.  I like the gold strap detailing, and the zip at the back. The point is classy and the colour makes them super versatile. I wore these to a wedding the other day and loved how comfortable I was the whole evening! I’m normally balancing in heels, a good 3 or 4 inches taller than everyone else and so feeling uncomfortable and awkward, these are perfect for any occasion ^_^

Finally from the shoe department I picked up a pair of heels, they’re not super tall and they’re fairly comfortable. I won’t get a lot of use out of these, but I did need a pair for my shoe wardrobe,on those odd occasions where one does need heels x)

The bracelets at Primark right now are so pretty! You get 6 or £2 and there are three different packs to choose from. Sorry I couldn’t get a better photo of the second set, but  check these out for sure next time you’re in a Primark. I’d expect to see these in an accessorize, the quality is great and I love how there is gold detailing mixed among the coloured threads.

A pair of super cheap and cheerful sunnies, ones that I can just chuck into my handbag and not worry about them being broken. These were only a quid, and even came with a cute little fabric case for it!

One of my favourite purchases have to be this bag. Its a pretty huge, leather look spacious bag which will be brilliant for Uni. The only thing I’m a tad worried about is that it won’t be strong enough to hold folders, a laptop etc. but I’ll try and get an extra lining sewn in which should hopefully help the thing straps!

The small gold detailing makes the bag look more expensive (only £9 by the way) and I was pretty shocked to see a VERY similar bag in Lily Pebble’s latest haul from Zara! They even included a small tablet pouch in which will be very useful for keeping things like lipbalm, a pen, keys etc. in as the depth of the bag means it could be easy for small things to get lost – and now they don’t have too!

Can you tell I love bags? I’m defo a bags over shoes kinda girl haha.

Finally I picked up this really cute bed cover, for only £12 and I adore the neutral colours and the cute Aztec elephant print. It’s one of those reversible types, so you can switch it up by flipping the duvet over ^_^

And that is about it aside from basics like leggings, socks and other things that are standard! Have you bought anything from Primarni recently?  

Thanks so much for reading!

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Haul | Primark! June 2014

Hello! Ahhhh another good ol’ Primark haul! I visited Primark twice in June, once specifically for shoes as I hadn’t gone to London prepared, and the second time as a general shop :)

Primark Haul!

Hey beauts, on Friday I popped into Primark with my lovely friend Ayesha and picked up a few home essentials. As I have 85% moved out the two things I was missing were a mattress and hangers. I thought I’d share with you all most of the things I picked up, including a very adorable pair of giraffe slipper socks WHICH HAVE EYELASHES!!

I should just point out that these photos have been taken in poor lighting, at around 11pm so they won’t be the best quality! However I was determined to experiment with my camera as I literally JUST got a tripod today (eeeek) so I persevered!

heart cushion X2 (£3) each

Non-slip hangers set of 10 X2 (£4 each)

Set of three gaudy rings for when I’m feeling zat look - £3

Patterned maxi dress - £13 – not sure about the belt but I’ll probably wear this as a maxi and a skirt (layered with shorter tops) I love that the material of this is great for hotter months, and not clingy in the slightest.

Elephant patterned PJ bottoms - £6 – Not only are the material for these perfect for the hotter nights, but these are the cutest and possibly most chique sleep wear I have purchased to date! (they also have pockets!)

Giraffe slipper socks, which were basically MADE FOR ME - £3

Basic shopper - £1.50 – Just a bag I can use for my uni library books, rather than risking breaking my main bag!

Finally some ‘luxury flannels’ which came in at £1.50 for two. I use flannels soooo often these days so buying a few backups was essential!

Oh and I almost forgot, this elephant print throw was also one of my favourite Primark purchases! £5 for the softest most adorable throw ever, B A R G A I N! ^_^

I did pick up a few other bits, including a cardigan in the style of a kimono which will be so pretty for spring!   However it’s black so the camera wasn’t doing it justice. I also purchased a necklace, and only when coming to photograph it did I realise it was broken ._. but all in all Primark's home section is gorgeous right now, especially these fluffy cushions for £3 a pop no wonder they were flying off the shelf! Have you picked up anything nice from there recently?

Thanks for reading! :)

Primark Haul!

Hey beauts, on Friday I popped into Primark with my lovely friend Ayesha and picked up a few home essentials. As I have 85% moved out the two things I was missing were a mattress and hangers. I thought I’d share with you all most of the things I picked up, including a very adorable pair of giraffe slipper socks WHICH HAVE EYELASHES!!

August Haul

Hello my lovelies ^_^

I wanted to show you some of the bits and pieces I’ve bought this month and a couple of kind gifts too ^_^

I wasn’t intending to splurge or treat myself as early this month...

I got myself an iPhone 4S (finally) so I was slightly skint..but since Eid (eidi money) and also getting results and lots of lovely congratulations cards, I’ve also been treated to some monies from my overly generous and ever thoughtful family.

Starting with clothing (though this isn’t a fashion blog in the slightest, it’s still somewhat interesting right D: you tell me?) - The two stars of this month have been H&M and Primarni. Ok guys the sheer difficulty to photography these was the most frustrating challenge I've faced since starting this blog ._____.

The H&M pictures come out terribly so I’ll link them instead-

1. Black cardigan • £10 • link basically this is what it is, simply a black cardie, a must have in every wardrobe. I already had a lovely one from H&M that I purchased a while back. It’s perfect for summer with slightly rolled up sleeves and was looking for a back up of that actually as I wear one to work but I couldn't find it so settled for this.

2. Plum T-shirt • £6.99 •  anyone who knows me will know I am slightly obsessed with autumn/winter colours. I love khaki and am instantly drawn towards it and its the same for burgundy's, mustards and maroons. I think these colours especially compliment medium skin tones and that's why? Or maybe it's just a long phase..whatever the reason I picked this his tee out because H&M are great for layering and they make good quality goods ^_^ Also the material of these t-shirts light and perfect for layering (great for all seasons!)

Primark

apologies for how unironed these are ._. I promise when I wear them they will feel the heat of the iron

1. Beatles T-shirt • £8 • This is an oversized black t-shirt with the iconic photo of the Beatles crossing the road. It looks more faded than it actually it is as because I had to adjust the colour so the colour of the cardigan would look more accurate. But anyways I'm a big lover of larger tees and also men’s t-shirts as they look more modest and feel more comfy. They’re also great for layering too. I’ve wanted a Beatles T for the longest time, but when H&M made them they ran on the shorter side, so I had to pick this up as soon as I saw it.

2. Burgundy long cardie • £8 • I’ve been looking for long cardies for a long time that are good quality and not that stretchy sorta material. Primark are doing a range of autumn colours with these cardigans, which are a sort of granddad style. The fit is lovely, with tighter sleeves and a longer style and I just adore this colour. Also the price for this was brilliant, I was expecting between £12-£15 so I'm going to be stocking up on these in the near future.

3. Patterned white and black tee • £5 • I saw this tee with a white background and black pattern at first and liked the style of it, but when I saw the black one I had to pick it up. It’s sort of reminds me of that dress Kim K wore, similar to Kayne’s album cover?  Anyways the awesome thing about this is the colour is slightly off-white and the pattern isn’t printed on but, ok how do I explain this, like you can feel it?? Basically it’s a textured top and I think it would look great with a pair of black chinos and a blazer with heeled boots, or maybe a long cardie for a more casual look.

4. Oversized black tee with leather/suede sleeves • £4 • that's right guys FOUR POUNDS, ok this is pretty basic but sometimes when I’m shopping I get these fantastic visions of how certain pieces could look and be styled (not that they do looks that fantastic in real life but hey hey) So anyways I thought this would look lovely with a long sleeved royal blue top and matching hijab and a maxi skirt. Again oversized so super comfy, it would have been good if I had been drawn to a colour other than black (you can see a theme here right D:) but I’ll style it with brighter colours for the pop :)

4. Black make-up bag • £3 • I don’t really get drawn to makeup bags in other stores, but Primark always have such a nice range of sizes and styles sometimes I can’t resist! I have another similar to this size but for some odd reason I bought it in white (a year ago) and you can imagine the horrific state it is in now. For my holiday to Turkey I bought a larger one with silver cube studs, brilliant for carrying a large selection of makeup but far to large to lug around day-to-day. So this one was exactly what I was looking for, the perfect size to slip into my bag, two compartments (one for makeup the the other for hand sanitizer, tissues, lip balm etc.) and it even has a cute little bow to jazz it up a little.

5. Black Suede heels • £12 • This is a purchase you’ll not see very often on my blog, and I doubt I’ll see in my shopping bag because heels are a type of shoe I seldom wear. Firstly I am 5’6.5 which is tall enough for me! I find towering over people uncomfortable ._. and in all honesty I’m all about the comfort when it comes to feet! Having said that the heels I do own aren’t really to my taste, pretty but impractical and easy to trip in due to the heel part being stiletto-ish. I was in the mood to try on some heels and instantly feel in love with these. They look so classy and would look great with pretty much any outfit, plus they’re fairly comfortable and don't you just love the straps?! Safe to say these are the first pair of heels I’ve bought and not wanted to take off (for longer than 20 minutes)

TEETH WHITENING

Please excuse the old fleecy blanket..didn’t realise it’d age showed up so much till I took the photos…oh well old is gold as they say right??

3D Crest Whitestrips • link

Ok so a few weeks ago I was going through bloglovin’ and reading various different reviews. I came across this one for teeth whitening and was seriously impressed. So as it was around Eid time and I was in the mood to treat myself, I decided to purchase these. I’ve always had confidence issues regarding my teeth. Yes I’ve been through braces (double blocks – the whole lot basically) and they did make a difference, but what's the use of straightish teeth when they don’t shine WHITE like a diamond?? Tea lovers like myself will understand the pain of TEA STAINS urgh, and teeth are important (communication!)you are meant to get them whitened by the orthos once the braces come off but that was rubbish 

anyways so the pictures from that review were great and so were others I searched online, and I have around 2 days left now till I’ve completed my 10 day pack. I don’t think I’ll be doing a full review of these as the before pictures didn’t turn out so brilliant…in short they do the job. My teeth are whiter..not quite as white as I expected and also I feel abit ripped off by the sizes of the strips, they’ve made the top ones quite short and wide and the bottom really long..my front teeth are big so it means the other visible teeth on the top row (other than the front 4/5 teeth) aren’t as white?? *sigh*   FINAL VERDICT: not too sure if they were worth the monies, but yes my teeth do look whiter. They taste horrible but they do stick properly if you dry your teeth and  I may try these again in the distant future. Also the sensitive teeth ones, you only have to keep the strips in for five minutes (professional –30mins)

Makeup

I picked up 3 Maybelline products after work this month, because who really can resist a 3for2?? Also I’d never seen this concealer in boots or Superdrug before yet heard so many raves from across za pond it was like a force drew me to the makeup stand in Sainsbury's for that very reason

1. Maybelline Tattoos in ‘On and On Bronze’ and ‘Eternal Gold’ • £4.99 • link

I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with these, and although I'm still going to be youtubing and googling different eye tutorials with these, I'm pretty impressed. I mean a fiver is still a lot of money for a one colour eyeshadow product (you could get a whole MUA palette for less than that!) it does make eye looks and especially Smokey eyes simpler. Also you can easily add other colours and blend..obviously I’ve hardly had a chance to play around with them but with 3for2 they were £2.50 each and we shall see if I do actually use them often.

2. Maybelline Instant Anti-Age, The Eraser Eye, Perfect cover concealer • £7.99 • link

The only link I could find was from the Superdrug website. Anyway despite the slightly high price tag for a drugstore concealer, I really do love this. I have it in the shade nude and find that it is quite literally the perfect shade for my skin tone. It blends like a dream and whilst it can’t replace collection lasting perfection for under the eyes (they’re quite a tough battle) it is brilliant for blemishes. I also love the applicator, which apparently is self-cleaning o_0 works for me!

My auntie actually gave me some of those lovely treats to keep (too kind!) but I forgot to photograph them..it's ok though reviews will be coming up at some point in the future!

Stationary!

Probably the only enjoyable thought about going back to school has got to be stattionary shopping..just statnding by all the stationary isles in various stores and basking in the glorious rays of pretty new stationary..how can anyone not love stationary?! maybe I want to be a teacher so I can continuously buy new stationary for ever idk

1. Pencil Case • £7.99 • link - currently on sale! • Mum picked this up for me from WHSmith, mainly because its been around 3 years since I’ve have a proper pencil case (been stuck with the clear plastic ones) and I adore the birds and the whole colour scheme of it (similar to my bedroom) It has a really cute theme about it, it’s made of the shiny material so it won’t soak in ink stains and there’s three compartments :)

2. Sharpies ‘80’s Glam’ set • £6.99 (I think) • link • WHSmith had this deal on with where you could purchase these for more than half-price (they're usually £20!)  I’ve always been tempted by sharpies and there's pretty much all the colours you could need want and ask for here! I’m a big user of colour when it comes to revision notes so these were a good deal.

The other two notebooks were gifts one from an auntie and one from an uncle. The 2014 diary should hopefully come in handy and I’ve decided to use the notebook for my blog. As the academic year begins my time will be alot more limited, so hopefully I'll keep ontop of blogging using this. Also I have so many ideas whizzing around it’s brilliant to have one central place to jot them all down!

What have you been buying this month?