Topshop Make-up brushes

Hey pals, I hope you've all had a smashing weekend? 
I've had a crazy, wonderful, busy one... Nandos Gignics (where I met Lydia Bright from TOWIE) and Kensington Rooftop gardens, lovely.

Anyway, I've read a few not so great reviews of Topshop make up brushes floating around on blogosphere, so I thought I'd add my two cents.

I haven't used make up brushes for a long time, I had a previous bad experience with a malting Max Factor brush which put me off. I reverted to using my fingertips for the application and blending of everything. I was pretty impressed with this foundation brush though, so that might have all changed for me.  

Little tip for you, I washed both of these brushes before using them. I know they are brand spanking new, but I just find that this helps prevent bristles from shedding with the first use.

The foundation brush was a really great size, unbelievably soft on my face and I found it blended my foundation in really well, leaving no brush strokes. 
I really liked the look of my skin after using this brush, I found that the foundation looked much more natural buffed in with a brush.
Using fingertips alone means that the foundation tends to just sit on top of your skin. So I would really recommend this brush, at £7 you can't really go wrong. 

I didn't have so much success with the powder brush (RRP £10), I found that the bristles where far to scratchy on my face and the actual brush itself felt too big for my face. I also had a few stray bristles, so I'd stay clear of this one unfortunately. 

P.S Lydia and I are basically best friends now. Basically. 

Mac Face and Body Foundation

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a bit of a make-up nerd.

I don’t believe in products that just talk the talk. No matter what the brand, I'm not easily sold, unless it works.
I've  strayed from my comfort zone and give Mac Face and Body foundation a whirl.

I honestly think I'm the only lady in blog-land who isn’t crazy about this?

The first thing is that I noticed is that that it smelt like sweeties, fruit salad to be exact…yum.
The consistency is VERY watery (well, duh, it's a water based foundation).
On application it felt strangely quite sticky on my skin, and I found it hard to blend. Maybe I should have used a brush. I had to apply two layers to get any kind of coverage.
I was a little happier with it once it had settled, and it left a kind of nice dewy luminous finish.
As the day went on I found it settled in my dry patches, and just didn't look great at all, sob. It doesn’t offer any sun protection either, which most foundations tend to do. 


I would say this is low to medium coverage, but buildable.
Personally I like quite a lot of coverage, so this was a little too natural looking for me.
It would be great if you have minimal skin issues and no blemishes, and I certainly felt like my skin could breathe whilst wearing this.  

The packaging is rather big and bluky, which is fine if you're going to leave it at home, but I like to carry my foundation around with me in my handbag, so this isn't the best for me.
I do like the nozzle on the bottle, nice and sanitary so it can't slip back in once you've touched it. The twist on cap is always a trustworthy bet too, no spillages.

Although I would still class MAC as being high-end make up, the price tag of this particular foundation are a little friendlier, £25.50 for 120mls... this helps justify the price.

Overall I would recommend this foundation for those of you who have mostly blemish free skin, are looking for a nice light summer foundation, or if you like tinted moisturizers.

Mac Studio Fix Boldblack Lash Mascara

Hello chummys, should I tell you more about my nail polish obsession?!
 Mmm... I should probably go easy on that. Okay, let's talk mascara.

I stand before you with a giant smile on my face.

This little gem now has a permanent place in my make-up bag. And in my heart.

I seriously love the effect this mascara has on my eye lashes.

I'm a girl who is all about the lash lengthening; I prefer a more subtle look. If you’re looking for thickness and volume, look elsewhere.

As you can see Mac Studio Fix Boldblack Lash mascara has a plastic wand. Personally I am a huge fan of plastic wands, I just don't get on with the bristle ones. But hey, that's just me.
This wand is particularly fabulous because it is so thin, meaning you can easily get to the outer and inner corners of your eye, those pesky little lashes that get missed if you have a big wand. I also found it really great for separating the lashes without clumping. No clumping at all in fact, praise the Lord!

Studio fix is a great subtle yet noticeable daytime mascara. It's easy to build up, if you do want a more dramatic look, 2 or 3 coats will work. It has quite a wet formula, doesn't smudge throughout the day and is easy to remove. You can't ask for any more than that, can you?

Top marks from me, I can't recommend this mascara enough!

Celestrial and Ice Crush

Another nail polish post!? What can I say, I like my polishes. I do, I do.
Meet Topshop nail polishes  'Celestial' and 'Ice Crush'.
These were one of those 'purchasing just for the sake of it' moments.
I feel like this is a little bright compared to some shades I've been wearing recently, but saying that, it has really grown on me. What do you think?

I am really liking the formula of Topshop nail polishes, I applied two coats of 'Celestial' (the blue shade), but could have gotten away with just one.
I then applied 'Ice Crush' (clear silver glittery polish) over the top on one random nail. I think 'Ice Crush' will look cute over any other colour too, particularly pastel colours.  

At £6 a pop, these little beauties are more on the pricy side of high-street brands, but I'm quite happy to pay this nice mid-way price for a decent nail polish. The range of colours is fantastic and the formula is great, I always feel like I need to own more of them.

Blue Moon

This is my current nail obsession. And I mean OBSESSION. 

Every time I think about applying a new colour, I always seem to go running back to Blue Moon by Barry M like a complete crack addict. I’m even carrying it around with me in my handbag right now. Seriously, I think I have a problem.

I love this shade so much, it’s so light and summery, and brings out your tan too.

I'll be totally honest though, I’m not the biggest fan of their formula. 
I think Barry M have changed there formula and it isn't anywhere near as good as it used to be, some of the shades are very watery. Has anyone else noticed this?
I remember the good old days where you'd only need one coat.
I had to apply about 3 layers of Varnish to get the desired colour. Time consuming, yes, but I'm in love. It happens.

Anyhoo, if you like it as much as me you can buy it HERE for a barginous £2.99.

Chocolate Chunk and rasberry pancakes

Pancakes make me happy, FACT. 

These particular chocolate chunk, raspberry and maple syrup pancakes are an ABSOLUTE TREAT. I found this gorgeous pancake recipe from a secret source, and I'm telling you're a fool if you don't try it out. A fool.

Besides, who says you can't eat chocolate at breakfast? Pfft! Do it!  I wont tell anyone, I promise.

Ingredients

1 cup of all-purpose (plain) flour 1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

dash of ground cinnamon

1 cup of buttermilk (you can find this in any supermarket next to the cream)

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 large egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/3 cup of dark chocolate chunks

1/2 cup of fresh raspberries

Maple syrup

Method

1) Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

2) In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract.

3) Add the dry ingredients, all at once to the wet ingredients.  Whisk. Don't worry too much about a few lumps. Stir in chocolate chips.

4) Add about 1/2 tablespoon of butter to the non-stick frying pan and heat.

5) Add 2 tablespoon of batter to the pan for each pancake.  Cook until browned, flip once and cook on the other side until golden brown.

6) Smash a small handful of raspberries with a fork. Serve on top of the pancakes and add maple syrup as desired.

Most importantly of all, share them with your breakfast partner and enjoy!

What heaven smells like

Yesterday I paid off a big chunk of my overdraft. 
Eugh, it was PAINFUL. Oh so very painful.
After this hideousness, I thought to myself 'heck, I deserve a little treat for being a good grown up'.

So, off I trotted to MAC, armed with the boyfriends discount card (woop).

I purchased this Mac Turquatic Perfume . I've tried the testers a few times recently and fallen in love.

Oh...MAC Turquatic, where have you been all my life?? I'm pretty sure this is what heaven smells like.

Turquatic is such a clean fresh scent, a perfect blend for summer. For me, less is more with fragrances. I like light and refreshing. Subtle, but always noticeable. Turquatic ticks all these boxes, I absolutely love it. It's actually a unisex fragrance, but I think it most definitely leans towards the ladies.  

But, like all the great things in life, this one ends just a little too soon. I found it wore off after a few hours, unlike some of the more expensive perfumes. The only other thing I feel I should mention, is that it is actually only the middle part of the bottle which contains perfume (the bottle is a little deceiving), so don't be surprised if it runs out a little quicker than you think.

Other than that I can't fault it. Great for everyday use, it's such a lovely daytime scent, but please don't expect it to last all day.

People have generally been quite shocked to find that Turquatic is very affordable. This perfume is £20 for 20mls or £36 for 50mls.

I bought the 20mls, a perfect size if you want to throw it in your handbag, not to heavy or clumpy. 

A very classy affair that will have everyone asking what you're wearing!