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31.1.16

NOTD OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around, with a bit of added sparkle!



Hi everyone,

I wasn’t planning on doing a nail post today but I have interrupted my blogging schedule to share with you one of my new favourite nail polishes with a bit of added sparkle! I wanted something a bit paler as I have been wearing darker shades for the last few weeks which lead me to pick out this gorgeous baby pink colour for a bit of a change.


The shade is called Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around and is from the 2014 spring / summer Brazil collection by OPI. I immediately fell in love with the pretty, girly colour but also wanted to add a little bit of sparkle. I thought adding some glitter to an accent finger would look lovely but I wasn’t sure how the gradient effect would turn out as I haven’t tried it before and wasn’t really sure what I was doing! It was so easy though and I can see it will be something that I keep going back to now I have done it once.

To create the look, all you need to do is dab a clear gel polish or top coat into the glitter of your choice and dab onto the nail. You can start either at the top or bottom of the nail but I decided to start from the bottom and fade it upwards. Once you have a good amount, you just sweep the glitter upwards (or downwards) to get the fading effect. And that’s it!

I hope that I have explained that OK and you get the idea! What do you think of this look? Is it something you would recreate?

Thanks for reading,

Hannah xx

27.1.16

Birthday Makeup Look



Hi everyone,

Like Christmas, birthdays are always a perfect time to do a little something special with your makeup and as mine is coming up this weekend I thought I would share with you guys the look that I will be wearing. I’m just going to Manchester with my boyfriend for a day of shopping, cocktails and some tea out so I didn’t want to go for anything too over the top, but still something more than I would wear on a normal day.


For this look I start by applying my MaxFactor FaceFinity primer followed by Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector. Nothing special here as I use these products constantly but I love how nice and glowing the skin perfector makes me feel. Next I apply the L’oréal True Match foundation (review here) using my Real Techniques Buffing Brush and build it up with a couple of layers to get the coverage that I want. Again, nothing new with the next couple of steps where I hide my under eye circles with Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer and cover any redness or blemishes with Estée Lauder Double Wear concealer. I'm still struggling with really bad skin at the moment as it's so dry in certain patches so it's been difficult to get an even finish. I'm certainly looking forward to the warmer months when hopefully it won't be so bad!

For my eye makeup, I wanted something a little sparkly but not too over the top. Firstly I apply Half Baked from the first Naked palette all over the lid to get a good base. Next I use Enchantment from the Tanya burr Hollywood palette. I have been using this eyeshadow so much recently and find the best way to apply it is by dabbing it on with my Sigma E55 brush. To add a bit of definition I then take the shade Bookworm from the same palette and blend this into the crease. As this is a look I will be wearing out and about in the day, I haven’t been applying eyeliner to the lid and instead I have just been using the Bourjois Khol and Contour eyeliner along my bottom lash line and smudging it out a little. Lashings of Lancôme Hypnôse Drama and Clinique Bottom Lash mascara complete the eye makeup for this look.

You do get quite a bit of fallout from the Tanya Burr eyeshadow so I use the Rimmel Lasting Finish powder with a MAC 150 brush to sweep any excess eyeshadow away and also set my makeup in place. Then I can move on to blusher and I have been using the original Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette. I really like the blusher in here as it gives a lovely, natural flush to the cheeks and the highlighter adds a gorgeous but subtle glow. For the lips I have been mixing it up a little but on my birthday I think I will opt for Dior Addict lipgloss in 257 Venus. I really need to add some more nude lipsticks to my collection so if you have any recommendations please let me know in the comments!

 Finally I fill in my eyebrows with the Benefit Brow Zings palette which I have gone back to recently after using Gimme Brow for ages now. The benefit of using this palette over the gel is that I can get a much more precise finish but I do often prefer the more natural look a gel gives.

And that is my finished birthday makeup look! I hope you have enjoyed this post and maybe got a couple of ideas to try out :)

Thanks for reading,

Hannah xx

24.1.16

Top 5 Holy Grail High Street Products



Hi everyone,

There are some products that I like to spend a little more on, such as foundation and powder, but more and more over the last few months I have been discovering high street products that do just as good a job for half the price. I really think high street brands have upped their game and are making products that can really compete with higher end ones and that provided me with the inspiration for this post. As my makeup collection consists a lot more of the high street brands, I thought it might be a nice idea to share my top 5 Holy Grail high street products at the moment :)


1)  Rimmel Lasting Finish 24 hour Powder - £6.99

My go to powder always used to be Clinique Almost Powder Makeup and although I still really like it, I have discovered that there are plenty of high street powders that I like just as much. My favourite at the moment is the Rimmel Lasting Finish powder which does a great job at keeping the shine at bay as well as providing light coverage.


2)  L’oréal Superliner - £6.49

I have to admit that liquid eyeliner isn’t my favourite and I find it quite difficult to apply. However, the L’oréal Superliner is so easy to use and allows you to obtain a really precise finish that lasts all day without smudging or flaking off. It also gives a really black finish that isn’t too glossy which makes it a huge winner in my books!


3)  Bourjois Shine Edition Lipstick - £7.99

I love the creamy and soft finish of these lipsticks but despite their smooth texture they still last a decent amount of time before you need to reapply. My favourite shade is Grenade In which is a lovely deep berry colour and has excellent colour pay off. I also have Oh My Doll which is a baby pink shade, but I don’t like this one as much due to it being quite pale and more sheer. I have recently converted my mum onto these lipsticks too and she loves how moisturising they feel.


4)  Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer - £5.49

I think this one would be on a lot of peoples Holy Grail list as it seems to have a bit of a cult following. I use this concealer to brighten under my eyes rather than cover blemishes and find that it really does make me look more awake and bright eyed. I bought it in a shade paler than I would go for normally to get that extra brightening effect.



5)  MaxFactor FaceFinity Primer - £10.99

I have mentioned this product quite a lot on my blog but I couldn’t write this post without including it. This is probably the only product that I have used religiously for about a year without being tempted to try any alternatives. For the price, it is a great product and without it my makeup would most definitely be half way down my face by the end of most days!


All of these products are ones which I can’t get enough off and the added bonus is that none of them will break the bank. Which high street products would you recommend? Have you tried any of the ones I have mentioned?

Thanks for reading,

Hannah xx
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