March Favourites

So it's been a while since I've posted on here. The last couple of months have been a little crazy with uni deadlines, lots going on in media filming and shoot wise, and FINALLY turning the big 2-1! So I thought I would rekindle my blogging love with my March beauty favourites.

Topshop Clueless Lip Crayon

 I know I’ve talked about this before but it was a new purchase then. I still think it is the perfect bright pink to brighten up these horrible dull days we’ve been having, and everytime I wear this, it gets so many compliments. Additional bonus, I’ve just gone from mid-blonde to dark brown and it still looks amazing!

Revlon nearly naked foundation in shell 130

I do love a new beauty launch and this foundation is great! It has a buildable medium coverage and I love that it doesn’t hide my freckles but masks dull patches. Seriously it’s great and I would highly recommend it, although perhaps try a sample first if you have quite oily skin as it leaves a slight dewy finish. The only downside to this is that the foundation doesn’t have a pump so you can sometimes pour a little too much out.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balmstain in Romantic

Another Revlon product! I think Revlon have had such a great year in terms of new products. This is the second balmstain I’ve tried from the range and I can’t get enough of them. The sheerness of the balm is actually quite pigmented so the colour pay off is true to how the product looks, and the wear time is a few hours before needing to reapply.

Essie Nails Polishes in Tart Deco (peachy-orange) and Not Just a Pretty Face (nude)

So I’d quite like to know where the sunshine is. I guess we’ll be waiting a while so until then I have been loving on-trend bright colours on my nails to perk up my layers of winter clothes. Essie is slowly becoming one of my favourite nail brands and this peachy-orange colour brings life to fair skin, and I know it will look great with a tan come summer. Now get me on a plane to the Bahamas!

Neal’s Yard Rejuvenating Frankincense Firming Mask

I’d never tried anything from Neal’s Yard until I was given this mask as a gift and I’ve been so impressed with it. I love that it uses organic ingredients and doesn’t contain parabens or silicones so it doesn’t irritate the skin. It says you should wash it off, but I prefer to leave it on and let my skin fully absorb it. It also contains hyaluronic acid which helps skin retain optimum moisture levels and leave you with baby soft skin.

L’Oreal CC cream in Anti-Redness

There’s been some hype about CC creams in the industry for a couple of months now, so when L’Oreal released their CC creams in January I pretty much ran to Boots to try them. Honestly I wasn’t a fan of their Anti-Fatigue one, it was too orange for a cool-toned skin so it may look better on a warm-toned skin. However, the Anti-Redness version is really good. You don’t need a lot, I only use it on my cheeks and around my nose, but the difference a green toned cream makes on redness, is definitely worth the money, saving you from having to build up layers of foundation and concealer.

Benefit Hoola

As I quickly mentioned earlier, I have recently become brunette. After years of being more on the blonde side of ‘bronde’ I took the plunge and went dark. This has been a saviour in my make-up bag, warming up my complexion until the sun finally decides to make an appearance and preventing me from looking a little gothic while the colour still settles. I have loved this bronzer for years and if I had a beauty hall of fame, this would definitely be in it!

Garnier Summer Body

Sensing a theme this month? Hmm so it seems my desire to have a bit of a spring tan has taken over! This builds a light natural looking tan over a couple of days and since I’m not a huge fan of layers of St Tropez this early in the year, it will give me the perfect sun-kissed look for NASTAs (National Student Television Awards) in a couple of days.

Gucci Premiere Perfume

Last but not least my Gucci perfume. This was a Christmas present but for the last couple of weeks I’ve been reaching for this over my other perfumes and I’m loving it. It’s quite a heavy perfume so I wouldn’t recommend going overboard with it for the daytime, but it’s such a great scent for the evening.  Even boys have said ‘oh you smell nice’, which I think is nice as normally (well in my experience) they don’t really notice. Plus the packaging is gorgeous!

I love to know what products other people have been loving and trying, so if there is a product you think everyone needs to know about let me know! 

Girl About Town

One of my favourite trends is having a colour overhaul. I have loved the dark vampy lips from the past season, and my staple going out look has been a block berry colour lip and barely-there eye make-up.  But this spring it’s all about pink. Fuchsia, cerise, hot pink and magenta are all on the wish list. Same bold statement, different bold colour.

Bright pink lips adorned the runways at Dries Van Noten, Missoni, Giles, and Richard Nicoll’s S/S 13 shows. This trend is definitely in my top three of the season. Bright colours can perk up a fair skin tone adding luminosity to dulled winter skin, and come summer they will look beautiful with a golden tan.

It’s a fun and playful trend so keep the rest of your make-up fairly minimal, a touch of nude or light gold on the eyes will complement the lip, but try to avoid the eyeliner you may end up looking a little Avril Lavigne circa 2004.

Below are some of my favourite bright pinks. I’ll be honest, not all five may work for you in the exact same way as me because I have quite fair skin, blue-green eyes and what can only be described as ‘bronde’ hair. I’m in between going from blonde to brown. However, I hope that there is at least one that appeals to you or you find a different shade from the brand that is perfect for you.  

Mac Amplified Lipstick in Girl About Town £14

I had to start with my ultimate pink! The pigmentation is amazing, goes on effortlessly, lasts all night and it even smells great. The blue undertones in it make it a great colour for pretty much every skin tone and not many lip colours can make that claim. It’s such a bold and feminine colour that makes you walk with just a little more confidence and is the perfect accompaniment to an outfit. I honestly think that Girl About Town is one of those products that every girl should have in her make-up bag.

   

 Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Fuchsia  £7.99

My initial reaction when I saw this was ‘Wow that’s such a good dupe for Girl About Town!’ It’s got a hint of shimmer to it so is the perfect colour for a night out with the girls, or push it into your lips with your fingers to get a stain for an understated daytime look.

  

 Topshop Lipstick Crayon in Clueless £7

I’ve been really impressed with Topshop’s make-up range over the last couple of years, and I’m pretty much in love with Clueless. It’s so pigmented yet really soft and easy to apply. Some heavily pigmented colours can be quite hard but this just glides on like a little dream! It reminds me of Lancome’s In Love but at a fraction of the cost. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and this is the perfect shade for the most romantic of celebrations.

 YSL Glossy Stain in Golden Fuchsia (number 14)  £22.50 

Ok so I know that it’s a little pricey, but for me it’s one of the best make-up investments I’ve made. They’ve had mixed reviews because of the texture and consistency, some people think it’s quite drying, but I think if you prep well then you should avoid that problem.  The trend leans more toward brighter poppy toned pinks, but this is more berry-toned. I think it’s amazing for night, but if you’re feeling brave wear it in the daytime. I love a simple outfit dressed up with a beautiful lip colour. Blot it and layer to get a matte finish or one layer to get a glossy look.

  Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart £7.99 

Sweet Tart is a beautiful hot pink but the consistency is on the sheer side so it’s perfect for making the trend much more wearable for daytime. Lip butters for those who aren’t too familiar, I think are the lip equivalent of a BB Cream. They’re not a tinted lip balm, nor a lipstick, they’re in between. They have the glossiness of a lip balm but similar colour pigmentation to lipstick.  The buttery texture also gives your lips a little TLC, which is perfect as lips need to be in good condition to pull of this eye catching look.

Day 1

So for the next two weeks I am on work experience at More! magazine, and am aiming to use my blog as an online diary of what's been going on, what I've learnt, my London adventures etc... I know this is already a day late but last night I was exhausted! For someone who rarely sees before 9am (I'm a bit nocturnal) getting up around half six in the morning is quite a challenge! So here is a quick low down on my first day at More! HQ.

After a quick outfit change and making it to the train station on time, I had a good feeling today was going to go well. So far so good for someone who usually says that they're just leaving when they're still running around trying to get ready.

Waiting in the reception area, surrounded by other nervous looking aspiring journo's I can only assume that this is what happens every week, work experience Monday. We all had beaming smiles, hoping to have the time of our lives for the next few weeks.

Now normally I don't really get nervous, but this morning I was. I think it was a combination of fears that they wouldn't like me and that I wouldn't be any good in the job. But as the day went on, and under the friendly guidance from the lovely Sam and Lucy, I definitely felt more at ease and really excited for what I'd be getting up to during the rest of my time in London.

Things I got up to today

• A tour of Bauer Media
• Trying to learn who everyone is and where they sit
• Writing up the weekly 'In this weeks issue you'll find...' subscribers email
• Writing the weekly 'Welcome to the issue' for online which I will link once it is up!
• Learnt what archiving is and why it is important.
• How to use a mac, well sort of, it's more of a work in progress but I'm sure I'll get the hang of them eventually
• A critique for editor Channy on the new redesign of the magazine against the older version. It was nice to know that she really values the opinions of people on work experience.
• Researching famous brit boys with normal ex-girlfriends for a future article. 

Embarrassing things that happened today (things like this happen a lot to me!)

1. Had to ask the security guards if the ground floor was actually ground floor or was it actually level one...they laughed at me.
2. Accidentally walked into the wrong end of Heat's office when doing the weekly exchange of magazines. They asked me if I was ok but I got too flustered so said yes. hi. sorry. and walked back out again.
3. Awkwardly asked a stranger if I had any dirt on the seat of my white jeans, sitting on the steps of Covent Garden wasn't my greatest idea. They said no. Got home, turns out they lied.

What I wore

• A snake print blouse from HM
• White jeans rolled up to 7/8s from Dorothy Perkins
• A pale pink blazer from HM
• Nude ballet shoes from Topshop
• Multi strand feather necklace from Dorothy Perkins

I wish I had a picture of this to show you, but unfortunately I forgot until I was in my pjs. So instead here is a picture of the Chanel taxis in Covent Garden outside their pop-up beauty shop, which I will be visiting at some point this week! I want a ride in one of these so badly! 

So far so good so I think, well a girl can hope!