Whatta mighty good box!

A Salt N Pepa song popped into my head while I sat thinking about how to convey my love for Carmine's February box to you and if I'm honest I think it sums up this months offering perfectly, so in the words of the hip hop trio:

'Whatta box, whatta box, whatta box, whatta mighty good box! '


Balance Me Rose Otto Body Wash - Full size and fabulous, I already own this 99% natural body wash and love it!

Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique Colour - Again I'm already a fan of Andrea's polishes so I was super happy to see this bottle in the box. I received the shade Naomi, a deep, classic red.

White Glo Extra Strength Whitening Toothpaste - A deluxe sized sample of Australia's No.1 whitening toothpaste, I am yet to use this but I can't wait to brush tonight!!

Diego Dalla Palma The Lipstick - Possibly the cutest lippie I have ever seen, a fab size for on the go.

Yardley London Peony Perfume - A bit of a bonus extra but nice all the same, to my surprise I actually really like the scent. Great if you want to smell just like freshly cut flowers!

Steamcream - I literally squealed when I saw the Steamcream box, I've been a huge fan of the steam-infused, multipurpose cream for years having been through two tins in the past. Hands down this cream is the best lightweight but deeply moisturising cream there is and I love the tins too!


There isn't much more I can say about this months box other than I love it. I think my melodic description above says it all really, it was just that, a mighty good box!

For more information on Carmine and their £12.75 monthly subscription service check out their website here.
xxx

Lana Lips!!

Lana Del Rey's pout, real or fake, is perfect; it's big but not overpowering, plump but not too pillow-like and so even in shape, total dream lips.

I suspect that since she's been on the scene, plastic surgeons have been inundated with requests for 'Lana Lips'; I know that if I was under the knife I'd want hers, sorry Angelina.

Anyway, enough of the surgery talk I won't be resorting to fillers just yet, however, I will doing the next best thing by copying her lipstick instead!

She announced yesterday at #lfw (London Fashion Week) that her current lip love was YSL's Rouge Pur Couture lipstick in #24, Blond Ingenu.

Hurrah! A lipstick I own. Bet you can't guess what I did next can you?

Applied it, of course!

I've had this lipstick in my collection a while but TBH it's sat unloved amongst it's other golden cased friends for most of the time I've owned it, overlooked and undervalued.

This pretty, neutral pink with a hint of peach is just like its name suggests, a very innocent looking lipstick and a great inoffensive pink/nude.

Rouge Pur Couture's are my favourite YSL lipstick range; they are soft but not as meltingly supple as the Volupte's, have great pigmentation, a glossy finish and best of all possess better lasting power.

Blond Ingenu is now firmly in my make-up bag, it's as close to getting Lana Lips as I reckon I'm ever going to get, for now!

What do you think of Lana's pout? Perfect?
xxx

An old flame - Nars Laguna

You may be wondering why there is a red rose in the picture above and it is an odd combination I grant you, but it wouldn't have been had you seen it on Tuesday like you were supposed to have done. Damn computer virus!

Valentines Day was of course just another excuse I used to treat myself to something, does anyone else do this? Justify purchases because it's a holiday or your birthday, hope it's not just me.

Anyway, I popped into Space NK to have a look around and apart from a new brush head for my Clarisonic nothing caught my eye apart from an old flame of mine.

We hadn't seen each other for over a year, you see we had a tough break up. I hit pan and he broke into a million little golden pieces which left me with no choice but to chuck him and move on to Mr.Hoola.

Far from being an awkward experience, seeing Mr.Laguna again brought back all the happy memories of time we'd spent together, luckily he seemed to feel the same way, all was forgiven and he came home with me.

Sure I've been happily using the likes of Bobbi Brown, Dior, Benefit and Bourjois since we split but there's something about this powder that's special, that makes it stand out from the rest, that makes it a keeper for me.

I think it's because it doesn't have any of the orange or reddy undertones to it like most bronzers on the market seem to. Laguna's natural, dusky brown shade is super flattering and the subtle golden shimmer in it isn't overly glittery but simply glowy when applied.

Ever since having Laguna back in my collection I've fallen in love all over again, I'd forgotten just how good we were together and how well he suited me. Fingers crossed second time round works out better than the first!
xxx

The knotted plait

Every time I get my hair done I always leave the hairdressers with that beautiful but painfully boring 'salon done' hair. You know, the big, bouncy, shiny style that you could never in a million years recreate at home.

After years of this and probably due to the fact that I have to sit in those swivel chairs every seven or so weeks, I'm now deadly against the high maintenance blow dry. It's gorgeous but slightly dull, almost too perfect in a way!

So today I asked for something different. Poker straight wasn't an option, neither were curls so my stylist came up with this and I love it, hence the random and somewhat impromptu post.

I've been going to this stylist for the past six months and for the first time in a long time I really feel that my hairdresser gets me and what I want from my hair. As well as working in a salon she also works for GHD on their creative team so always knows the latest looks and techniques.

The look she did on me was one she came up with over the weekend with GHD, a new kind of plait. It has no official name, but I'm going to call it the Knotted Plait, because if you look closely she actually tied/knotted parts of my hair in loops.

I wish I could share with you how she did this but I'm not entirely sure tbh, I will try to recreate it tomorrow and let you know how I get on. Alternatively, those of you with a flair for hair please share if you can work out how to do it from the pictures above :).

Ohh and doesn't my skin look nice if I don't say so myself, I have discovered a new foundation that I truly think is THE ONE, more on this soon.
xxx

An impulsive buy - Chanel Le Vernis in June

My buying habits have changed a lot over the years of being a beauty blogger and I'm much more restrained than I used to be.

It isn't often that I make an impulsive purchase nowadays, however, the occasional slip up does occur and funnily enough it seems to always be when I'm in too close a proximity to the pricier cosmetics counters.

One such slip up happened last week when I experienced a sudden and slightly overwhelming urge to splurge whilst passing Chanel's new Spring collection.

Two things caught my eye, the seriously gorgeous but unnecessary Blush Horizon De Chanel and this polish.

Number 539, June.

I can pinpoint a peach within seconds (talented, hey?) and under the harsh department store lights this did look very peach, almost like a lux version of Barry M's Peach Melba which btw I love.
Frustratingly, those lights can be incredibly misleading. I should have known better and done my research first, because when I got this home it was clear that this was no peach but in fact an orange! A polish imposter!

Swatch on nails

I'm not denying that it's a beautiful shade, it is, in fact it's stunning but just not one that agrees with my skin tone unfortunately. Flattering peaches on me need a little more pink to them, I'm far to pale to pull of a shade this fruity.

I'm gutted, I had hoped this would be my 'go to' spring varnish much like Paradoxal is for me in the winter months. Oh well, but I guess this is what happens when you impulse buy.

For those of you blessed with a great tan or darker skin tone then this would look amazing on your nails, it screams summer. There are also two other shades in this collection, April, a gorgeous garnet and May, a pretty soft pink.

Have you experienced the urge to splurge recently? What did you buy?
xxx

IMATS 2012

If your make-up crazy then I've no doubt you will have heard all about IMATS, the International Make-up Artist Trade Show, which takes place this weekend in London.

It's heaven for the make-up obsessed, a shopaholics dream. Alexandra Palace will be packed full of more lipsticks and brushes than you can ever imagine, but aside from the shopping there are also professional talks and demonstrations from industry experts throughout the day so you can learn a thing or two.

I'll be going this Sunday and it will be my third time attending IMATS. I first went in 2008 when it was a civilised affair, it wasn't packed, there was no pushing and oh, it was a third of the price.

Now it's a little different, I don't know if blogging is to thank for that but the last few times I've been it was manic and absolutely heaving with make-up mad women!

Although I'm not looking forward to the crowds I still can't wait to go this year. I was lucky enough to be given a press pass, I'm not sure my budget would have stretched to the hefty £60 on the door ticket price otherwise!! Eeeek!

If you are going and happen to spot me please come and say hi :)!
xxx

An injection of colour

It's not often I do a style related post as, a) I don't have a boyfriend/photographer, b) there aren't any edgy locations I could use as a backdrop near me, c) I'm no model, nor am I particularly photogenic either and d) my outfits aren't exactly what I'd call inspiring.

I pretty much live in jeans. Day or night, smart or casual. So you see OOTD's wouldn't be the most interesting to read, however, a recent purchase prompted me to blog today about clothes rather than cosmetics.

For the past week I've shunned my many, many pairs of 'play it safe' denim and embraced jeans of the emerald variety, my very first pair of coloured jeans.

This, I presume is no biggie for most of you fashion savvy women, but for me it's a big step as I've always stuck to safe shades and traditional blue jeans in the past.

To be honest I'm not quite sure what prompted me to pick these up in Zara last week, but as soon as I tried them on I just had to have them. The fit wasn't perfect and I didn't expect it to be for £25 but just that slight injection of colour into my wardrobe excited me.

Here's what I wore:

Clothes
Jeans - Zara Basic, skinny leg with a slight stretch and gold zipper detailing at the ankle.
Vest top - H&M
Tunic - Zara
Shoes - Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Anglomania pumps- Link

Accessories
Watch - Micheal Kors- Link
Bangle- Accessorize sale - Link
Necklace - Accessorize
Ring - Isharya Filigree ring - Link
Nails - Barry M Bright Purple
Hair - conical wanded using Babyliss Pro - Link

I know I mentioned the fit wasn't the best, but it isn't bad either and for the price these Zara jeans are really, very nice.

They come in about five colours but non of the others grabbed me like the green did. I am after a cobalt blue pair though so if you know anywhere that does some let me know below :)!
xxx