SHOPPED MY STASH | RIMMEL APOCALIPS ‘LUNA’ REVIEW & SWATCHES

So I probably should have started writing ‘shop the stash’ posts a long time ago, they are one of my favourite kinds of posts to read and I often find myself having to go through my make up collection in order to force myself not to spend anything more!  It’s also quite embarrassing when I am looking through and find something that I haven’t even used before – that’s when I realise that I own too much make up.

I found this Rimmel Apocalips lip lacquer in the shade ‘Luna’, and having read some positive reviews on it in the past I can’t really think how it got forgotten.  Never mind, I have seen the error of my ways and have been wearing it all week!  When swatched, it looks like a bit of an unusual shade of orange and not the most appealing I have to say.  But once on, it is the perfect peachy daytime shade that has great pigmentation and pretty impressive staying power too.  The finish is not overly glossy, but more of a satin sheen instead which I like because it is fairly subtle yet still packs a fair old punch colour wise.  I will definitely keep this in my make up bag from now on, it’s too pretty to forget about again!

Have you tried this shade?  What do you think of it? xx

FOTD | ft. Rimmel & Laura Mercier

Hey :).  So…this is my face lately..!  The general look I stick to is the same but I have (for the 358234059.0897th time) changed foundation, and am currently trying out Rimmel Match Perfection which I know has had a lot of blogger love lately.  Another most welcome addition to my routine is a splurge in the form of Laura Mercier Secret Camoflage Powder, which I will review in full very soon but I will just say now that it has been a serious game changer!  Really good stuff.  Another change is my mascara, I usually never stray from my favourite Maxfactor ones, but a hurried shop one morning led me to get this Scandaleyes one from Rimmel.  I have never had much luck with Rimmel mascaras before, but this one is pretty good so far so I have decided to carry on using it for now.

I forgot to include the lipstick in the photo, but it is a new addition again by Maybelline which again deserves its own review.  It is brighter than it looks in this photo, and I was really pleasantly surprised to find a new type of lip product that I loved as much as my Revlon Lip Butters.  But anyway, a full review will give this new little gem the attention it deserves!

This photo was taken a couple of days ago, to be precise the first day when I started to notice the onset of my annual winter girl-flu (as opposed to man flu, which is no worse yet has more of a drama made about it), so to me I look bloody awful here!  I have since come down with a cold which I could have predicted, and I never really moan about them but each time I get sick with one I can 100% guarantee that it will result in the complete loss of my voice.  This has happened for as long as I can remember really, I must just have a really weak throat…….  So anyway, I took a few days off from the whole blogging thing, but I didn’t take any time off work which in hindsight was really stupid of me as going in to work mute for three days is obviously a bit odd to say the least.  Needless to say, I have endured days of my friends and colleagues taking the piss out of my feeble little croaks of communication!  And the main reason why I endured this and took no time off?  Because I couldn’t decide how I would be able to call in sick if I had no voice…my boss would have picked up the phone and heard a few deep little grunts and most likely have passed my number on to the police.  Naturally I now realise that I was just really stupid for not even considering getting someone else to call in for me!  Obviously I know that a cold is nothing in comparison to loads of other things, but I guess that at the time it seemed like the most annoying thing in the world! 

So now I’m sat at home slightly less hoarse but much redder in the face, writing up this post that on reflection is actually more about me moaning than anything else!  xx

Sarah x

NOTD | Glitter Manicure with Barry M & Rimmel

Hey!  I haven’t done a nail related post for a long time, mainly because during the week I have to keep them subtle and natural looking for work.  However, I soon tired of looking at my boring hands and thought that I would experiment and try to make the most of a bad situation.  This look is my latest experiment and I have been wearing it on my nails for a couple of weeks so far.  It is made by using Rimmel Brit Manicure in Ivory Tower as the base, and Barry M Glitter Polish where the white tip would usually be.  I created the slight graduated glitter effect by first scraping most of the excess back into the bottle, so it’s small pieces of glitter rather than large that are left on the brush, and putting it halfway up my nails.  Then I wait for that to dry and get some of the bigger pieces of glitter and dot them carefully (ish) along the top of my nail.  Lastly I add a top coat to hold it all together and add shine, and voila! 

It is a really simple look, but I think it looks really pretty and is a nice alternative to having a regular french mani or just one colour on the whole nail. 

Rimmel and Barry M are two of my favourite brands for nail polish; I love Rimmel for their Pro collection and the flat brushes that create an even finish, and Barry M’s Gelly polishes have the most gorgeous range of colours and all have such a high shine. 

 Do you like this look?  What is your favourite daytime nail polish? xx

Review | Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

Hey!  I cannot believe that I haven’t already reviewed this concealer!  I have had it for over a month now and have been wearing it religiously every day with my make up.  I bought this in a panic actually, I got to work at a ridiculously early hour, caught sight of my reflection and immediately realised that I needed some more concealer on my eye bags (the bane of my life).  Luckily we have a Rimmel stand in the shop so I hurried down and picked this up without really thinking about it, I was just desperate to get back upstairs and make my eyes look better!  This product did the trick better than I expected, so I put it into my make up bag and thought I would test it out for a few days. 

I had low expectations of this product because I was not madly in love with the Wake Me Up foundation (I think I’m the only person ever to say that) and I wasn’t expecting this to be any better, and apart from a couple of Kate Moss lipsticks and some nail polishes I don’t really buy from Rimmel very often.  Well, I can say now that I have been proven very wrong.  This stuff is great!  The formula is creamy and not as thick as the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer that everyone and their dog loves, and it therefore is less gloopy and doesn’t sink into my skin to reveal awful little lines that I didn’t realise were there before.  I suffer really badly not only with the bags but also the horrible dark colour of them, and this meant I was putting quite a bit of the Collection concealer on and it was just too thick for that area.  The Rimmel one, however, covers the dark circles really well and blends nicely into my foundation.  I really am pleasantly surprised with this, and it was a bargain too at only £5.49.  I have used lots of it up already and there is no doubt whatsoever that I will be repurchasing it once I have used it up! 

It is quite a big thing for me to say that I have found a concealer that does the job for me, my dark circles are awful so I really struggle to keep them at bay.  This product is definitely the closest I have come to solving the problem, so I highly recommend it! 

Have you tried this concealer? xx

OOTD | Buried Alive By Love

Buried Alive By Love-HIM

 

Coat:H&M (old)

Disco Pants:American Apparel

 

Hey!  I hope you are all having a lovely week so far :).  I was looking through one of my wardrobes earlier, looking through the various coats and jackets I have to see which ones to keep for another season, and I came across this black 50s style coat from H&M.  I have had this for a couple of years now at least, but somehow it got lost amongst more recent purchases and I haven’t worn it in absolutely ages!  It’s quite a dressy style, with the belt going round the waist and giving it a really feminine shape.  I do feel a bit dressed up in this, but there’s nothing wrong with that!  I definitely think I will start wearing this again, what with the whole monochrome thing being huge right now, and black is very much a staple colour in my wardrobe and always has been, it just always looks good! 

I busted out my new Rimmel Apocalips again today too, the plummy pink colour really stands out against all the black and I can’t get over the pigment in the stuff!! xx

Sarah x

Rimmel Apocalips in ‘Apocaliptic’

Rimmel Apocalips in Apocaliptic

 

Hey :)!  This is my first Saturday off from work in what feels like a life time!  It is snowing a stupid amount outside, but I battled through it all to get to town and do some shopping.  It was definitely worth it, I got a few goodies which I will show in the next few posts, but for now I thought I would catch up with pretty much every other blogger and review my first Rimmel Apocalips purchase!  I bought the shade ‘apocaliptic’ which is actually a bit more of a plum colour than the photos show.  I had read very good things about this collection, and I was not disappointed, the pigmentation is amazing!  It completely covers my lips in vibrant glossy colour in one go without having to go over it at all, it’s the sort of result I would expect from a high end brand, so I am very very impressed with Rimmel right now!  It goes on really nicely with the doe foot applicator, and the finish is glossy but not sticky which can be a let down in some other lacquers.  

I will definitely be trying out more colours from this range, as my first impressions of this one are so great.  What do you think of the Rimmel Apocalips range? xx

Sarah x 

Review | Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

 

Heyy :).  I realise that I’m probably the last person ever to review this product, but I bought it after reading so many good reviews from other bloggers!  I was hesitating for ages whether or not to go ahead and try it, because apart from lipsticks I generally avoid Rimmel due to bad experiences with some of their other products. 

 

I was quite eager to try it when I bought it because of all the good reviews, but when I did…. I was less than impressed :(.  As soon as I put it on I straight away didn’t like the feel of it on my skin, to me it felt cakey and sticky like it would transfer on to everything else.  The colour was an ok match but despite being a dewy, highlighting finish I found it also quite dull and dark for ‘Ivory’.  As you can tell, I’m no expert at describing these things!  But I just thought I would do a review because it’s not as positive as most of the others.

 

One good thing I found about it was the dewy finish which does look quite radiant and fresh, but to me this is no good when the colour isn’t right and makes my face look dull! 

 

I won’t be repurchasing this, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be using it up either, but I may keep it to use when I really want a radiant look and am willing to put up with the colour and transfer issues! xx

 

Sarah x

OOTD: Wedding Outfit

Dress:Lipsy

Jacket:Jessica's Attic @ Republic (old)

Hair Flower:Claire's Accessories

Heyy everyone!  Thought my OOTD post today would be of the outfit I wore to a friend's wedding that I was photographing a few days ago.  I never usually wear colours like this, but I was looking around for AGES for a dress and none really stood out to me from the usual shops.  I finally settled on this one from Lipsy because I loved the pleated overlay skirt and the lacy top half. The colour is quite summery and unlike any colour I would normally choose, and I chose to wear it with pink accessories just because i love pink and I hoped that once it was all put together they would all match!  The jacket type thing was a last minute decision when I found out that it was supposed to rain (it actually didn't in the end), I bought it online from Republic ages ago and have never worn it out before.  The only thing that bothered me a bit was that the dress didn't really have a shape around the waist, it just kind of hung there and made me look a bit wider than I am, but I can look past this because I love everything else about it!  

The wedding itself was lovely,  I got a bit of a shock when I found out that the bride wanted me at the front of the room next to the Registrar(?) to take photos of them exchanging the rings etc, I had a mini panic about it which I had to quickly get over!

But apart from that it was fine, and I got a couple of hundred photos that looked lovely mainly because of how gorgeous the bride looked!  The evening was filled with food and drink, and suddenly I was grateful that my dress was a little bigger around the waist!  

OH and I just thought I'd add that my lipstick was actually made up of three different brands and colours believe it or not!  Just because the colours on their own didn't look right so I first put on Topshop Lipstick in Infrared, then layered Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Liptick in 20 Rosetto over the top, and finished it off with a clear lipgloss by Mabelline.  It sounds a bit much, but by putting on a couple of light layers of each colour on they belended to make a colour that I thought was juuuuust about right for the outfit!  Hope you are having a great week xx

Make Up of the Moment

Today I thought I would show you what make up I wear day to day.  I'm always trying new products and brands so these are literally the ones I'm using at the moment.  The foundation I've been wearing is Estee Lauder Double Wear, because 1) I've seen a lot of good reviews about it and 2) I had a 'lovetoshop' voucher from xmas to spend which made it easier to buy than actually pay the £26 or something with my own money!  It has the best coverage by far than any other products I've used, and I never thought it would beat Mabelline Dream Satin Liquid, but it does.  You don't need much of it at all which means it lasts longer and you therefore should get your money's worth.  I bought it because I always look for full coverage foundations because I'm so pale that any blackheads, spots or uneven skin tone are really noticeable, and this foundation completely covers all of these up so well that I hardly need to use any concealer (I use Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer)  This especially is true for around my eyes, because I get very dark circles that are always needing concealer, but I don't use it anymore because Double Wear covers them perfectly!  I would definitely recommend this product but only if you need full coverage, because otherwise it is quite expensive.  I use Maxfactor Creme Puff just to seal my make up and keep any shine away.  It is really light and lasts for ages because again you don't need much of it at all.  I use Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes pallette because there are three neutral colours in it that can be worn in all kinds of ways that are perfect for evening or daytime looks.  It also comes with handy little brushes to apply it all, and I also sometimes use the darkest brown in there to colour in my eyebrows - it is great because it makes them look much thicker, and then any touch ups are done with the Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil.  Also, for daytime make up I use the darkest shade under my lashes instead of eye liner as it can be blended to give a subtle and more natural colour.  Rimmel Flash Eyeliner is what I use on my top lash line, because you use it like a pen and this makes it very easy to do a smooth, straight line.  The staying power is really good too.  Then there is the Benefit Coralista blusher, which is a peachy coral colour and is great for my pale skin because it gives it a rosy glow without being too bold or fake-looking.  Finally, there is the MaxFactor Masterpiece Max mascara, which I only started using very recently.  It does lengthen my lashes quite a lot, but I definitely prefer their False Lash Effect mascara - in fact I've never found one that is better than this yet, it makes my lashes really thick without the spidery effect and also really lengthens them, so I will be going back to it in future.  

Hope you enjoyed my longest post yet!! xx 

Handbags at Dawn

Not the most imaginative post today as I'm posting inbetween getting ready for work!  I've seen a lot of bloggers do posts similar to this showing the contents of their handbags so I thought I would be a sheep and follow along just for today.  Well I'm not gonna lie, this is what my handbag looked like before I cleared it out:

It was a dark and cluttered place before, filled with old bus tickets, receipts, sweet wrappers and even a menu for the Harvester (incidentally I used that today and ordered a Harvester Burger.  The bad stuff always tastes the best I find).

This is what it looks like now, all the rubbish is gone and these are the only things left it it.  The bag itself is from Primark.

1.Purse.  Needs no explaining really, apart from that I got it in a River Island sale last year and it hasn't gone tatty yet like my old ones used to.

2.Pressed powder from The Body Shop.  This isn't what I wear day to day, it's only in there for shine emergencies and because it has a good mirror in it!

3.Glasses by Red or Dead.  I use them for reading, computers, work etc or sometimes just to feel more clever :)

4.iPhone.  Again, needs no explaining.  For anyone that has one, you must download Temple Run as it is extremely addictive and if you play it on the bus you may even miss your stop! 

5.Benefit Benetint.  I love this product so much, it lasts longer than any gloss I've ever used and it is a lovely coral colour that suits my pasty skin, and it works well for daytime looks as well as evening ones.

6.Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer.  It's in here because it is a really good cover up, but I find it doesn't actually last as long as it says it does, so I sometimes need top-ups.

7.Rimmel eyebrow pencil.  Stupidly, my eyebrows are much lighter than my hair, so they quite literally are nothing without this pencil. 

8.Headphones, to put into my iPhone.  The last songs I were listening to were from Pearl Jam's 'Riot Act' album.

9.Things you can't see:  My camera, because I was using it to take these photos!  It is a Nikon D5000, I've noticed that quite a few bloggers favour the Canon 550d, which is more expensive than mine.  I haven't upgraded for a while because I find that this camera takes high quality photos etc and also because I believe that anyone can take great photos on any camera, not just high end ones!  (And I also can't afford one! 8-) ).  Also missing is the book I'm reading at the moment, 'The Boleyn Inheritance'.  I'm obsessed with all things Tudor, it started with the tv series 'The Tudors' which I watch almost every day (Johnathan Rhys Meyers & Henry Cavill are in it so you can't blame me really), and I've started reading books on them ever since.  

So there you have it!  If you made it to the end of this rambling post then thank you and well done! xx