Essie Bikini So Teeny & Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover.

I picked this pair up in Boots recently. I have been looking for the Bourjois pot for a long time as it has a sponge in the lid for toes and the usual sponge inside for fingers. I love pots like these as they are so quick and negate the need for separate cotton pads. This one is especially cool as it leaves a red fruit and vanilla scent on the skin afterwards (the bottle doesn't smell good but the scent left behind does!). 

Essie Bikini So Teeny is a colour I wouldn't have gravitated towards as I prefer corals and warm nudes, however I saw it on Desi Perkins and fell for the cornflower blue tone. It's something a bit different for me but I really like it for Spring. 

Look away now if you hate feet!!

I gave myself a pedicure since I can't paint my fingernails for work. The Bourjois remover worked perfectly in removing the coral colour I had on, and I love the new blue colour! 

Happy toes :)

Statement Lip - MAC Darkside.

It was a gloomy day on Friday and I was meeting a friend in town for drinks. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to pull out a dark lip shade before summer truly begins and corals reign supreme. 

I picked up Darkside recently and haven't actually worn it outside of the house until now. I'm not going to lie, this was SO outside my comfort zone! I almost took it off in the car, but persevered and ended up being pretty comfortable in it. It is high maintenance and I had to check my mirror after eating, but paired with simple makeup I didn't feel it looked 'too much'. 

I've decided to be more adventurous with lip colour this summer... What are your favourite bold lip colours?

Dolce & Gabbana - L'Imperatrice No.3

I picked this up in the duty free shop on my way to Scotland last weekend. I was intending to browse only but this was so beautiful I couldn't resist. It was one of those scents where I walked away and couldn't stop sniffing my arm trying to work out what notes I recognised. It smells very fruity but in a totally new and unexpected way. It doesn't have the saccharine sweet notes that many fruity perfumes have, I'd describe it as juicy. 

The notes are listed as;

Top: Rhubarb, red currant, kiwi

Heart: Watermelon

Base: Sandalwood, musk, grapefruit

This perfume is part of the Anthology campaign that D&G came out with a couple of years ago, fronted by a few very famous models. This scent was created for Naomi Campbell. Honestly none of that matters to me, I bought this on scent alone and I am in love. 

The only con to this fragrance is that is EDT, and so by nature it is not as long lasting as my beloved D&G Rose The One. But it layers very well on top of Rose The One, and the 100ml bottle will last a good amount of time even with multiple sprays per day. I've actually filled up my little Sephora travel spray bottle with this perfume so I can respray when I need to. It last a couple of hours on me as far as I can tell.

I paid £24 in duty free which is a bargain for 100mls of any designer scent, however when I repurchase (and I will!) it will probably be from fragrancedirect.co.uk where it is online at £31.99 (RRP is £39.99).

I've been told multiple times this week that I smell great, which is the best thing you can hear when you have a new perfume on. I'm smitten. 

Spring Wedding Outfit.

I went to a beautiful wedding in Perthshire this weekend and picked out a lovely Spring inspired outfit. 

I bought the dress about a month ago from ASOS, it's my favourite mint green colour and the scuba fabric is super flattering. It's wedding appropriate in that it's mid-length and not too revealing, but at the same time it is feminine and pretty. 

I paired it with a periwinkle/ lavender coloured Dune bag that I found in my local TK Maxx. I thought the bag gave a bit of a contrast colour, but still stayed in the pastel theme. The shoes are Dune also, but new season from ASOS. They are rose gold platforms with a good chunky heel, and they were surprisingly comfortable for the entire 12 hours I had them on! They looked so beautiful and will go with pretty much everything! 

I accessorised with my Arosha Taglia ring and a flash tattoo from Topshop on my inner forearm, and covered up with a white crochet shawl that I picked up in Primark. My outfit was comfortable and I felt it flattered my shape. I have another wedding in May so it will be getting recycled!! A definite winner!

It was a stunning wedding and perfect weather for a ceremony in the gardens. I was rather distracted by a beautiful pair of big brown eyes though...

All in all a brilliant day. 

Spring-Summer Makeup 2015.

So my ideal Spring-Summer face goes a little something like this...

Skin.

I apply BECCA Bronzing Skin Perfector onto my forehead, nose and cheeks to give an overall golden glow. I dot a small amount of NARS Tinted Moisturiser in St Moritz onto my cheeks, nose, chin and forehead and blend outwards to give a decent amount of coverage and sun protection in one (SPF 30!). Then I pop some concealer under my eyes and onto any blemishes. Maybelline Under Eye Eraser Concealer in Light works really well in both areas as it is creamy and quite high coverage. 

I use a small amount of BECCA Beach Tint in Grapefruit to give myself a natural but flattering flush of coral pink on the cheeks. I'm quite oily so need a dusting of powder foundation, especially around the t-zone. My favourite is the NARS All Day Luminous Powder Foundation in Fiji as it isn't too matte, adds some natural looking coverage and is perfect for touch ups throughout the day.

I finish the skin off with some highlighter applied onto the high points of my face to make me look fresh and bring out my features without heavy contouring. Benefit Watts Up gives a champagne coloured glow to the skin without obvious shimmer. I apply on my cheekbones, down my nose and on my Cupid's bow. 

Eyes.

I like to keep my eyes pretty neutral most of the time, so I gravitate towards champagne, gold and brown tones. MAC Uninterrupted eyeshadow is a staple crease and lower lash lone colour for me. It gives definition and warmth without too much drama and is a dream to blend! I then use something like MAC Honey Lust for a bit of light bronze shimmer on the lid and to highlight the inner corners of  my eyes.

I skip liner unless it's a special occasion as my eyes are already quite large. I like to focus on getting big black lashes to frame my eyes, and my Fairydrops Scandal Queen mascara gives me the best dramatic (yet non-clumpy) lashes ever. 

For brows I use Benefit Gimme Brow in Light-Medium to fill in the body of my brows and groom them. I then use the Anastasia Perfect Brow Pencil in Taupe to extend the tail and sharpen up the shape of each brow. I aim to get them as natural as possible but I also like them to be pretty symmetrical (which is often frustratingly impossible!!). 

Lips. 

This is the part of my face which I like to switch up day to day. At the moment my favourites are MAC Flamingo (peach toned sheer pink), Burberry Devon Sunset (satin finish apricot peach) or for a bit of gloss NARS Greek Holiday (sheer gold sparkle gloss). I like to keep things neutral, sheer and brightening on the lips so it doesn't look too 'try hard'!

So there's my natural but polished makeup look for the warmer months! What are your Spring-Summer staples? Have you tried any of these products? 

Boots Haul.

I went into boots innocently the other day whilst killing time before my Yoga class and left a significant amount of money lighter. I DONT KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENS! I picked up the usual boring bits like toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo. But I got a few new bits that I thought might be interesting to show you. 

I hadn't seen any reviews prior to picking these up, but I was on the hunt for new serum and I've been having some breakouts the last few weeks. I saw these and to be honest the colour and name drew me in. But when I read the words 'hyaluronic acid' and 'salycilic acid' I was sold. Salycilic acid is a saviour for spotty skin, but the combination of hyaluronic acid means this shouldn't be drying (I'm noticing my first fine lines so keeping my skin plump is a growing priority!). This seems to have all the answers. I've been using it for less than a week so I can't give a proper review, but I have my fingers crossed for this combo.

I picked up this Soap & Glory face wash as a basic daily use wash; I have La Roche Posay Effeclar face wash for spotty times but it can be a bit drying. This one is a good morning face freshener and smells really great. 

The Garnier body scrub was a bit of a random one as I prefer to use exfoliating gloves generally. But this looked good and smelled fresh so I thought I'd see if it worked for pre- and post- tanning.

The original Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze is one of my fave gradual tanners for giving a natural deep colour but I find the 'butter' element a bit heavy for my skin. When I saw this I had to try it! Im going to do a separate review because *SPOILER* I am seriously in love with this! 

The makeup goodies! I have seen loads of positive reviews for the L'Oreal Infallible Matte foundation and being an oil slick myself, I had to pick it up. I don't wear liquid foundation in the daytime (I'm a powder foundation girl) but for nights out this will hopefully come in handy. I got the shade Sand to go with my skin when it is tanned. I'm yet to try it out but I have high hopes!

The L'Oreal Lumi concealer/highlighter pen was an impulse buy but so far I like it. I have bad under eye darkness and just wanted something to give a natural lift to the area. 

I picked up Essie Blanc nail varnish to get those white nails I've been lusting after, and I got the Barry M nail varnish in Treasure to use as an accent nail. I'm off work next week so I will be using this combination as soon as I can! Painting my nails always gets me in the relaxed frame of mind as I know I'm off work for more than a couple of days :)

Finally, I picked up some fruity hand sanitizer to carry in my bag, and a full size tube of the Hand Chemistry hand cream. I got a small tube in my British Beauty Blogger Dreambox 3 last month and it is seriously luxurious. It makes my hands feel like silk and absorbs quickly. Also it smells lush. It was £20 which now I think about it is ridiculous for hand cream but... I love it. 

I've got a few new bits to try out and I will post reviews on some of them soon! Hope you enjoyed a nosy into my boots bags! 

Have you picked up anything good from the drugstore recently?

Summer Inspirations.

We've been enjoying some sunny days and warm weather in the UK, and that can only mean Summer is round the corner! The island I live on becomes a holiday destination for lots of British families due to its beaches and laid back atmosphere. Having grown up in cold Scotland I really appreciate the hot summers here! So I've been thinking about what kind of things I'd like to wear this summer and here are a few of my current inspirations... My own personal Pinterest board :)

Flared Jeans

Flares with a tank top or white tee would be a great casual outfit. Dress them up with lots of gold accessories and heels.

Body Chains

I picked one up from Primark for a couple pounds and I'm obsessed! Over a tee or light knit jumper it looks so cool and adds something a bit different. 

Birkenstock Gizeh Sandals

Bit of a marmite choice (you either love them or hate them!) but I saw lots of girls wearing these in Rome last year and it really fits into the effortless boho look I'm into at the moment. Paired with a beachy dress or yoga pants, I think these look cool. I bought the pearl white colour which is a sort of champagne-gold-white shade. Looks good with tanned feet and coral toenails!

Flash Tattoos

So these dominated last summers Pinterest boards but they are still pretty popular. I picked up some from Orelia and Topshop; they are much easier to find this year and there are a variety of styles colours and prices. I like simple gold on us kissed skin. Devine. 

White Boho Dresses

You may have noticed a theme here heehee. I love these dresses, they look effortless and summery but kind of sexy. I got a nice one from ASOS last year but I'm on the hunt for another.

White Nails

I can't paint my nails for work (I work in healthcare) but at the weekends and any time off from work I will be painting my nails white! I tend to go between coral, white and nude in summer but this picture has me hunting out my white nail varnishes!

What trends will you be trying this summer? What is your summer style? Let me know in the comments!

Picture sources in order are; www.lifestylemirror.com ; www.onlinejewellryclass.biz ; www.birkenstock-france.com ; www.ypulse.com ; www.missesdressy.com ; www.pixshark.com

My MAC Lipsticks.

I have to say I have never been a great lover of MAC. I always would rather have spent my money on Chanel or NARS, but recently I've seen MAC for what it is... Actually rather great. It's not as expensive as high end, but better quality and so many choices compared to drugstore. I was always overwhelmed by the lipstick counter and preferred the more curated choices available at other high end counters, but with google images and many bloggers inspirational posts (my poor bank account) I've found a few shades that I actually really like! And at £14 a pop (versus £26 and up for Chanel and Burberry) I really don't feel so guilty when I splurge on a few.

L-R: bottom row; Shy Girl, Freckletone, Touch, Cosmo, Flamingo, Up The Amp, Morange; 

Top row; Russian Red, Darkside. 

I bought all of these except Russian Red, Cosmo and Touch which were given to me by a friend who had them in his makeup artist kit and was having a clearout! I personally wouldn't have bought them but they are quite useful to have anyway!

So the nudes;

The brights;

At the moment my favourite is Flamingo. I saw Shaaanxo swatch it in her MAC lipstick video a few weeks back and it looked so nice on her! I don't tend to like pinks and would never have gone near it in a store, but I think the peach tone and the sheerness bring it back into my territory. It's gonna be a summer fave!

Flamingo on my lips.

Any MAC shades you love? Suggestions welcome!

The Leibster Award.

I will admit that being new to this whole blogging thing is daunting. For me it is just an enjoyable hobby, but it can sometimes feel as though I'm writing to myself and that no one in the world will see my posts. Which is why it was so exciting and uplifting when the lovely Mira from booksandmacarons.blogspot.co.uk nominated me for this award! I've been following her on Bloglovin' and have thoroughly enjoyed reading her blog! Check it out, lots of well written and varied posts about books, films and lifestyle! 

So the Leibster Award is a way for us small bloggers to get our names out there and to point our readers in the direction of other lovely blogs! I have 11 questions from Mira to answer and at the end of the post I will nominate some of my favourite blogs with less than 200 subscribers to answer 11 of my own questions 😊

So without further ado...

1. What is your most favourite book?

My favourite non-fiction book is probably Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers front man). He's had the craziest life and got through some unbelievable lows to become a healthy and spiritual person. It's a great read and I loved learning a bit more about the early days of my favourite band! 

My favourite fiction book would be The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen. It was the first book I read by her and it lead me to read her whole back catalogue. So gripping, so gruesome and so addictive. Not for the faint hearted! 

2. If you could move to one city in the world, what would it be?

Easy! Vancouver, B.C.would be my number one choice. I've been several times as I have family there and I dream of living there one day. I am visiting in August and it will be my boyfriends first time there. Hopefully he likes it and we can look into moving there someday. 

It's the perfect blend of city and beautiful mountain landscapes. I love the chilled armosphere and the way of life. I'll do a post when I go and try to show you what's so great about it!

3. What is your favourite holiday spot?

Apart from Vancouver, my ideal holiday would be Italy. I was in Rome in September and fell in love. I'd heard mixed reviews but I was seriously impressed. Every corner you turn you find something that takes your breath away. And the whole city is covered in beautiful statues, churches and ruins, it's not just all crammed into one corner. The food was perfect, the people were typically Italian (no cheesy smiles or over familiarity but still friendly) and the shopping was heaven. Expensive but worth it. 

4. Do you prefer a month skiing in the Alps or a month sunbathing in California?

Hmmm... Both sound tempting. But I have the Alps on my list of places to go soon so I'd pick the Alps. Not sure about skiing as I've never tried but I could definitely get on with the Après Ski 😜

Plus the views would be unreal, and little towns around Switzerland and Austria look so cute and well worth exploring! 

5. What is the best dessert you have ever had?

Anything with caramel, salted or unsalted. So caramel tart with ice cream would be my all time favourite sweet treat! I wouldn't say no to good old cheesecake though either!

6. Pizza or Pasta?

Pizza. All day. Err' day. 

7. Who is your style icon?

Karissa Pukas from YouTube has the best boho hippy style, and I'm really into that at the moment! I find that although I love a lot of celebrities, Youtubers and bloggers styles I have such a different body shape that I have to stick to what I know flatters me. But I definitely still take inspiration from people like Scarlett Johansson, Olivia Palermo, The Persian Babe (YT), Clothes Encounters (YT) and Chloe Morello (YT). 

8. What is your favourite reading place?

My bed! Or on a plane, there's something so exciting about reading a good book knowing you're on your way to somewhere new and exciting. Makes me happy just thinking about it! 

9. How do you have your eggs?

I had an unfortunate incident with eggs that resulted in me hanging my head over the toilet for two days... So safe to say I can't look at them the same way anymore! ;)

10. Chris Hemsworth or James McAvoy?

Chris Hemsworth. All day. Err' day. I imagine that James McAvoy would be a good laugh (fellow Scot!) and I'd love to go to the pub with him... But, I mean....

Do I really need an explanation?

11. What do you love most about blogging?

I love sharing new things that I'm excited about! I like having my own little hobby that I can enjoy. I hope to make some friends through blogging, it would be amazing to meet like-minded people and I think the internet is a great way of speaking to people you might never have known otherwise! 

So there we have it! I would like to nominate;

Otterlyme.blogspot.co.uk

Caitlinjane14.blogspot.com

Paledelune.wordpress.com

Itsmisstazmin.com

My questions to you lovely ladies are:

1. Why did you start blogging?

2. What would be your ideal day?

3. Where is your favourite holiday place? (Such a good question I have to reuse it!)

4. Who is your girl-crush?

5. What is your favourite style trend this year?

6. What beauty products could you not live without?

7. Favourite animal?

8. Favourite fictional character? (Film, TV or book)

9. Where do you live and what do you like about it?

10. Cheese or chocolate?

11. Dog or cat?

This was fun! Thanks Mira and looking forward to reading the answers to my questions!

Arosha Taglia Coral Ring.

Its my birthday soon and I hadn't really thought of anything I needed. Then I saw THIS on Etsy:

I. Fell. So. Hard. 

I didn't need it but I wanted it! I ordered it with the FedEx delivery and it arrived within 3 weeks. It's custom made, gold plated silver with a sky blue topaz. Drool.

Excuse my washed out hands in the last one, but doesn't it sparkle? I'd recommend giving Arosha Taglia's shop a look on Etsy, there's so many beautiful rings but the coral ones are my favourite. He does silver, rose gold and yellow gold with many gemstones. He was very lovely and emailed me to let me know when my ring was shipped as well. 

Here's the link to his page: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AroshaTaglia

If you've got big bucks to spend he also does solid gold versions! 

I love my new ring, I don't want to take it off!! Happy birthday to me!

** I paid for this with my own pennies, and am just sharing this with you as a happy customer!