NOTD: Rawr

Well howdy bandwagon, won't ya stop whilst I hop on? I saw these beautiful nails on Sophie's blog (go follow, it's a bit awesome) and she'd done a really fab tutorial, so I had to give it a go!

Products Used

Illamasqua Base Coat
Bourjois So Laque Ultra Shine Nail Enamel in Bleu Model
17 Pink Grapefruit
GOSH Wild Lilac

Illamasqua Lament

Barry M Yellow
elf Black
Illamasqua Top Coat
Flexibrush Striper Polish
Generic foam eyeshadow applicator
Dotting tool

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Are you a fan of the ombre animal print nail trend?

Favourite Fragrances

♥ Designer ♥

Oh ye of expensive tastes. These four fragrances are my absolute must haves and I've repurchased them all. Marc Jacobs fragrances never fail to wow me. The packaging is amazing! Is it just me? - I can never bring myself to throw an empty bottle out! Daisy Eau So Fresh was my first foray into the world of Marc Jacobs and it's my favourite fragrance for summer. 


Oh, Lola! was a birthday present and it's perfect balance of fruity and floral notes soon became my new favourite scent. It's sweet and lovely and I'm gutted that it's almost empty!

A long time favourite of mine is Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue. The refreshing citrus scent has never been far from my reach and I've repurchased countless times since I discovered it in my teens! It's definitely a compliment winner.

My final designer fragrance is the original Jimmy Choo perfume. It's deliciously sweet, full on, heady scent lasts all day long on the skin.

♥ Celebrity ♥

I'm not really a fan of celebrity fragrances but these two have been a couple of failsafe choices in my collection.

Intimately Beckham was introduced to me by my sister a few years ago. It's a gorgeous floral scent with a hint of musk and despite being an Eau de Toilette, it lingers on skin all day long.

I've tried a few of the Britney fragrances but Curious is my absolute favourite. I came across this at uni. I was in need of a new perfume that wouldn't break the bank and I found the large version of this for something silly like a fiver in our Students Union. Bargain. The scent is absolutely gorgeous, just a pity it doesn't last all day on the skin (one for the Travalo methinks!), although I've found it lingers on clothing and smells amazing.

♥ Brand ♥

Being a huge Illamasqua fan, I couldn't not treat myself to Freak when it was launched last year. Initially I was intrigued and a tad cautious as it was a unisex fragrance - I'd not come across one before. It's dark and captivating and different from anything I've ever tried before. Freak definitely has a hint of the masculine about it but I think thats what I love the most about it.

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Which fragrances are your absolute must haves?

FOTD: No-makeup makeup

Following on from my Illamasqua Light Liquid Foundation Review, I thought I might as well show you what it looks like on the skin! This is my go to make up if I'm just bobbing around running errands or working on a weekend. Quick and effortless (I'll take a lie-in ta very much) but gives the illusion of radiant, flawless skin.

Face: Illamasqua Light Liquid Foundation in LF120, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer, MAC MSF Natural, Topshop Cream Blush in Flush, 17 Highlight & Bronze Powder, Illamasqua Brow Cake in Gaze

Eyes: UDPP, 17 Ivory Coast, Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Liner in Chocolate Shimmer Ink, Illamasqua Vow, No 7 Exquisite Curl Mascara in Brown/Black

Lips: Lanolips (this stuff is amazing!)

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Do you have a go to make up look when you want to look presentable but not overly made up?

Review: Illamasqua Light Liquid Foundation

I'm not going to lie, I've been having a love/slight dislike relationship with this foundation. It all started back in February when I snapped it up at IMATS for around £7. Right there I've saved 2/3 off it's RRP. Brilliant. Now application wise, I wasn't wowed by it until Leanne told me that using the Real Techniques Buffing Brush with Light Liquid was a match made in heaven. And (as per usual) she wasn't wrong! With the right brush, this applies like an absolute dream. The one thing that stood out to me was its sweet vanilla scent - gorgeous! And it's the most perfect colour match for my skin. I should mention that I am naturally very pale so I picked the lightest of the shades available at IMATS - LF120. I can't remember the last time I was so thrilled with a foundation. And as I'm between shades in Skinbase (therefore needing 2 bottles at £25 each - ouch!), this works out to be a lot more purse friendly at £21.50 :)

As the name suggests, this is a light formulation - if you've tried Rich Liquid, you'll definitely notice the difference! I couldn't get on with Rich Liquid at all, and I'd previously enjoyed using Skinbase which is a lighter foundation so I had to give this a go too. I used to be a full coverage kinda gal but oh how things have changed! Light Liquid gives me just enough coverage and it's buildable if required. This is definitely a 'my skin but better' foundation, giving me just the right amount of coverage whilst evening out my skintone and allowing my features to show through. Freckles anyone?! Being a light foundation, it doesn't cover everything and I still use an under-eye concealer and a slightly heavier concealer if there's anything that needs covering up.

Now, I've been trying (and pretty much failing) to embrace the dewy foundation look. I'm getting there, but not 100% cool with it yet. I'm sure these things take time. I found that Light Liquid definitely needs setting on my skin. Otherwise I'm left looking less than flawless after an 8 hour stint at work. I don't have particularly oily skin but I do get a bit of shine on my T-zone as the day wears on. So I've been setting with either MAC MSF in Natural or my trusted Kryolan Anti-Shine Powder. Setting it certainly helps increase the longevity of the foundation and leaves my skin looking positively flawless and radiant but it doesn't give that perfect 'just applied' look for as long as my beloved BB cream.

I'll quickly mention packaging, the bottle is the same as the other liquid foundations from Illamasqua. When it's full, it's great. A slight squeeze will dispense the product easily. When you're reaching the end of your bottle, I've found it harder to dispense and have also noticed that the colour seems to separate slightly so needs a good shake before using although this is advised on the box it comes in. Which I still haven't thrown away. Does anyone else hoard packaging like I do?

I've had my bottle of Light Liquid since IMATS and I still haven't finished it - I'd say I'm about halfway through it - and I've been using it a lot - practically daily until the sun came out and I switched to a BB cream for added sun protection.

Overall, I'd say this is definitely worth a try if you have good skin and like a dewy finish. If you're more of a matte skin lover, or have oily skin, or hate touching up throughout the day, this probably won't be for you.

Available from: Illamasqua and Debenhams
Size: 30ml
Price: £21.50

Ratings

Product: 8/10

Price: 8/10

Packaging: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

Repurchase: Maybe if I can forgive the longevity thing! Will keep you posted!

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Are you a fan of Illamasqua foundations? Which products do you use to achieve the illusion of flawless skin?

Arm Candy

Won't you admire my latest bit of arm candy*?! This beautiful plaited leather wrap charm bracelet is from Smooch Boutique. The name may seem familiar as it's the gorgeous May's online jewellery store! I'd been toying the idea of getting a charm bracelet for a while but I didn't want something everyone else was wearing. I like to be individual and cool *ahem* ;)

May's designs are right up my street! Cute, comfortable and stylish with lovely little charms. I've been wearing this constantly since postie delivered it and I've had so many compliments on it.

If you'd like some new arm candy, hop over to Smooch Boutique now. You'll have to form an orderly queue behind me though!

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* Received as a gift - this bears no reflection on the content of this post :)

Terrific Topknot

A while ago I bought into the whole 'let's buy a hair doughnut and create awesome hairstyles' thing but I confess mine is still sat in my hair accessories collection, untouched. Because basically, I didn't have a clue what I was doing with it. Now the fab folks over at John Frieda have created this super easy topknot tutorial using a doughnut, a hair tie, a kirby grip and some hairspray. Simples!

NOTD: Barry M Retro Purple

This is totally a lesson about how I shouldn't disregard products because I don't like the packaging. It is without a doubt the most beautiful polish I have bought this year. Absolutely flipping gorgeous and this photo does it no justice. It's a beautiful blue purple with incredibly tiny flecks of red glitter that you can see super close up in certain lights. It sort of reminds me of the colour of ink from a really good rollerball. It's awesome. And you need it. And it's free if you spend over £6 on Barry M in both Boots and Superdrug. What are you waiting for?!

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Beehive babe

On the quest for perfect volumised hair, the beehive has been a long dreamt about and wished for thing. Now the lovely folks at John Frieda have stepped in with some handy top tips and have made it look so easy! Now all I need is to grow an extra pair of hands, or hire my own awesome personal hairstylist for every hair whim. I can dream eh?

NOTD: Pretty Lizzie

Products Used

Nailene Ultra Bond Tabs

Elegant Touch Union Jack Pretty Lizzie false nails

Since I discovered Nailene's Ultra Bond Tabs, I've been using false nails. Pop the tabs on your nails, peel off the clear plastic, press your false nail on to the tab, hold for a few seconds, and voila! When you're ready to remove, just push the nail from the base of your natural nail to the tip. It *usually* rolls the sticky glue tab off. Then just take remove the tab residue from the nail and they're good to use again! No damaged nails from nail glue! And it makes false nails much better value as you can re-use them!

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These nails are so super shiny, I love them! Have you tried the Union Jack range?

These are a few of my favourite things

♥ Topshop Cream Blush in Flush

For a cream blush this is incredibly long lasting and it gives such a beautiful, natural pop of colour to the cheeks. It's my go to shade at the moment!

♥ Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Furore

The one where I should have listened to Leanne ages ago. Beautiful pigment, I've been using it as a wash of colour all over my lid, accompanied by various different liners to switch up the look. Gorgeous!

♥ La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat Sebo-Regulating Moisturizer

Blimey that's a long name. I finally decided to take the plunge and try this brand and I have to say I'm really impressed. I've been using this under my foundation and I've noticed the shine is held at bay for a lot longer whilst leaving my skin lovely and soft.

♥ No 7 Fanomenal Lashes Mascara
I picked this up on a complete whim. I've loved the No 7 mascaras that I've tried in the past so I thought I'd give this a go. So far I'm pretty impressed! It claims to give a fuller lash fan thanks to its awesome new star brush. Well worth picking up. If you've got a £5 No 7 voucher that makes it £7.95 :)

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Which products have you been loving this month? Can anyone recommend any other La Roche-Posay products suitable for combination skin?

P.S. There won't be a 'Things I've learnt in June' post because, erm, well, I forgot to do one. Hashtag forgetful Freda.