Boots Haul

Oops, I did it again.

Boots is just one of those places that lures me in and I just cannot leave without spending far too much money. I had a list as long as my arms of things I wanted to try out so I would say that all things considered I did quite well to only purchase these products. Bloggers always make me believe that I just NEED a particular product and many of these products are the result of that NEED.

Charles Worthington Volume & Bounce Texturising Spray 

This was a repurchase as I'm not too sure how I would live without this, it is an absolute must for me. It gives amazing texture and the best thing is that it has a hairspray style hold so the volume it provides actually holds. An absolute must for any flat haired girls.

Elegant Touch Rapid Dry for Nails

I am one of those people that paints their nails and then has the overriding need to do something that is inevitably going to ruin them so when I saw this and at just £3 I thought it would be rude not to give it a try. You simply spray it over the nails once painted and it is dry to the touch in 60 seconds, or so it claims. I have only used this once so I will have to report back on its effectiveness once I have tested it a few more times.

Bourgois Rouge Edition Velvet - Hot Pepper

Now this is a typical "the blogger made me buy it" purchase. These have been so hyped and all the reviews have been fantastic so I had to give it a go myself. This colour is the most striking red and applying it literally feels like applying velvet, it is so silky smooth. It drys matte and sticks around amazingly well. I think I am going to have to pick up some more shades now I know how fantastic the formula is.

Dream Touch Lumi Highlighting Concealer 

I figured it was time to try out a concealer other than the Collection 2000 lasting perfection as it is literally all I use and I really wanted something brightening for under my eyes so I picked up this to give it a try. It is fairly light coverage, with a brush applicator its early days but on first try it seemed okay - nothing overly fabulous though.






 No7 Stay Perfect Shade and Define 

These are eyeshadow sticks which are a dupe of the By Terry Ombre Blackstar. These are very shimmery and creamy and lovely. I got the shades cool mink and glistening ray as I thought these were the best two everyday shades. I really like the concept of this product. I am not an avid eyeshadow wearer but this is so quick and easy and looks so beautiful that I want to wear it, when normally I wouldn't bother.

So these are my most recent purchases, if you have bought anything recently that you would recommend let me know and I will add it to my list of things to buy.

Until next time,

RebeccaAnn.

The Marmite Shoe

                       

Hey everyone, 

No I'm not discussing shoes made from marmite because that would be sticky and unconventional. The shoe in question is the Birkenstock.

I recently purchased a pair of the Arizona Birkenstocks and man do I love them.

I haven't had a chance to wear them for hours on end because of the wonderful British weather but Birkenstocks are famous for being comfy so I have no qualms about that.

Now I call this a Marmite shoe as the likelihood is you will love them or hate them and after seeing ThePersianBabe styling them I knew I had to own a pair. I think they are the epitome of granny chic.

They were £50, £45 with student discount which is expensive but will be something that last ages and will definitely get their fair share of use. 

I have tonnes of posts planned and my exams finish in a weeks time so after that I will be posting regularly, promise!! 

Catch up with me and twitter and Instagram, if you want to hear me moan about how hard my degree is. I'm totally selling it, right? Bet you are already on my twitter, I made it sound so appealing! 

Until next time guys, 

RebeccaAnn. 

Primark Haul

Hey Guys,

Okay, okay I admit it...My name is Rebecca and I am a Primark'oholic.

Primark has seriously upped its game recently and I have found some absolute beauties in there and obviously being Primark they are super reasonably priced too! I found a lot of products in there that are dupes of Topshop items and when I have worn them people have actually asked whether they are Topshop, so I would say they are pretty good dupes.

I got very excited when I found these Mom jeans on a recently shopping trip with MaquillageMagic. I have wanted a pair for a very long time but didn't want to spend £40 on them because I wasn't sure how much use I would get out of them. So when I found these for just £13, you can imagine how happy I was. I tried them on in the shop and they are true to size and in this lovely light vintage wash. I don't doubt that there are differences between these and the Topshop ones but I think they look pretty good.

Next I got a pair of dupes of the Topshop Joni Jeans. My black jeans were looking worse for wear so once again when I found these for just £10 I was so impressed. I really like these and I personally feel like the Joni jeans are soo stretchy and full of elastic that they don't last to well, mine usually last 6 months at a push. Now I can't say anything about the lasting power of these yet but to my mind they feel like a thicker fabric yet are still elastic and not stiff.

Lastly, I thought this light blue gingham print would be adorable for spring and these were just £13, again bang on trend and super comfy. Only thing is I didn't try these on assuming they would be okay as they are the same style as the black ones which I had tried on but for some reason these ones were huge in comparison and I really should have sized down.

I know this seems like I am hating on Topshop but I am not I promise I will always love Topshop, but so many of the items I found really are comparable, obviously I don't know about durability but I will keep you guys updated on that front.

Sorry for the lack of posts but I have been revising like a crazy person and had absolutely no time, but my exams will be over soon and then I will be back to posting regularly.

Also thinking about doing a Spring/Summer lookbook including these jeans and some other recent purchases so let me know if you would like to see that.

Don't forget to follow me on bloglovin // twitter // instagram.

Until next time,

RebeccaAnn.

Everyday Make-Up Routine

Hello All,

I thought it would be quite nice to show you guys my everyday make-up routine, although there are times I will change up the products these are generally the ones I reach for. I also will begin with a moisturiser and primer but haven't included those in here.

I begin by applying the Bobbi Brown Corrector under my eyes in the shade light peach with my finger. This really helps to brighten the under eye and even out those dark circles.

I then use the Borjois Healthy Mix Serum in the shade 53. I love this foundation; I blend this in with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush and it gives a nice medium coverage.

My skin right now is a bit of a mess, with a lot of blemishes so the next step is a necessary one. I use the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in medium. This concealer is so cheap, yet so creamy and has fantastic coverage. I use this over my blemishes and again under my eyes.

Due to my oily/combination skin I need to use a powder to stop my face looking like a frying pan. I use this Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder in transparent. This is just a setting powder so doesn't add any extra colour.

I then add my Nars Laguna Bronzer using my Real Techniques Blush Brush just under my cheekbones, up my temples and along my jawline. This for me is as perfect as a bronzer can get and I cannot imagine it not being in my routine.

I am not a massive blusher wearer but RoseGold by Sleek is an absolute beauty. It adds a really nice glow and the best thing is that you can be a bit heavy handed with this unlike some blushers.

Next on to what I believe is the most important part of any persons face - eyebrows. I use Browzings by Benefit with a spooley and an angled brush. I enjoy using a powder as I feel that the effect is more natural and this stuff is expensive but excellent and will last you a lifetime.

Eyes are next and I generally only use eyeshadow if I am going somewhere or have plenty of time on my hands. So usually I will just use mascara and my one of choice at the moment is Lash Potion by Revlon. This seperates the lashes really nicely and build decent volume. If I do anything with my eyes it is always a winged liner and my favourite product to use is the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner. 

Lastly is lips and I bought MAC Shy Girl and boy was it a good decision. Its a lovely peachy nude and it makes for the perfect everyday look.

So here is the finished look, hope you guys like it. 

Until next time, 

RebeccaAnn. 

Battle of the liquid eyeliner

Hello All,

I don't know about you guys but liquid eyeliner is something I struggle with and I don't just mean applying it. Finding a liner that is truly black, has staying power and is easy to apply is a big ask. Like most people I don't tend to have more than one liner in my collection at a time but I have made the effort to stock up and test out a few different ones to hopefully make your lives easier if ever you are in the market for a new liner. 

L'oreal superliner ultra precision

I purchased this after reading some pretty fab reviews, but I cannot say I agree with them. For me this product appears to be empty from when you first purchase it. It is a real struggle to get a decent amount of product on the applicator and therefore isn't very black. Application wise it has a decent size nib thats neither too small or big. I personally have quite sensitive eyes which water a lot and therefore most eyeliners don't stay on too well, so it might just be me but this one doesn't stay on all that well, its not terrible it would probably last about half a day before disappearing.





Staying power: 3/5 
Ease of application: 3/5 
Colour pay-off: 2/5

Soap & Glory Supercat liner

This one is a felt tip liner which I personally find easier to apply, the shape of the tip just makes it easier to draw a precise line. The staying power of this one is quite good but again my sensitive eyes make it quite a challenge. The only thing I find is that it's not buildable so you can't go back over the cat flick as it will just rub it off - I don't know if this issue is universal or just me so if you guys have any tips let me know. This particular liner has been repurchased which is a sign that I do really like it. 

Staying power: 3/5 
Ease of application: 4/5 
Colour pay-off: 3/5


Collection waterproof fast stroke eyeliner

This liner is probably the blackest of all because it has a very wet formula, but this can also be a negative especially if you are a novice at the art of eyeliner; because it is wet, it smudges very easily before it completely dries *potential disaster*. The formula and the nib also means that a steady hand is an essential requirement if you ever want to have a straight line. Lastly, because it is waterproof you would assume the staying power would be good and overall it is - not amazing but not terrible.




Staying power: 3/5 
Ease of application: 2/5 
Colour pay-off: 4/5


Stila stay all day waterproof liner

Now this eyeliner is the most expensive of all of them and it does makes the pretty bold claim of - "stay all day", so my expectation was pretty high. I purchased this after seeing EssieButton rave about it. I must say that this one is most certainly my favourite of the lot, even though I have only had it about a month. It has a felt tip nib which are my preference so I find that this glides on really nicely. In terms of staying power this is excellent, I went on a night out recently wearing this and I woke up in the morning, having not removed my makeup (naughty I know), but the liner was still in perfect condition! I was shocked. In terms of colour it didn't wow me, but then again it would appear that I am very picky. It is good and more buildable than the Supercat liner but I just don't feel that felt tip liners are as black as actual liquid liners.




Staying power: 5/5 
Ease of application: 4/5 
Colour pay-off: 3/5


I hope this has helped you somewhat in deciding what liner is for you, in order to make that tough decision a little easier. Let me know if you are enjoying the "battle of" series so far and which battle you would like to see next.

Until next time,

RebeccaAnn.

When in Rome

Hello All,

I recently went on a city break to the beautiful Rome. It is a stunning city with so much history and so much to see and do. I thought I would show you guys some of my outfits and some of the wonderful sites I saw. While we were there we walked pretty much the whole of Rome and visited all the most famous sites such as: Colosseum, Vatican City, Trevi Fountain, Piazza di Spagna etc. The weather while we were there was beautiful, between 20-25 degrees every day.

Outfit One: Floral midi skirt, Primark // Black cami, Dorothy Perkins // Black sandals, Boohoo // Handbag, Primark // Sunglasses, New Look (and a very attractive bright blue lanyard holding the radio from the tour).

Outfit Two: Grey midi dress, Boohoo // Shoes, Bag, Sunglasses - as above.

Outfit Three: Grey t-shirt, Topshop // Black jeans, Miss Selfridge // Sunglasses - as above.

Outfit Four: Smock dress, Boohoo // Denim jacket, Camden market // Black pumps, Primark // Sunglasses and Bag - as above.

 

The food was incredible, this in particular was our favourite meal which was in Campo de Fiori. I ate nothing but pizza, pasta and ice cream, not exactly sticking to my diet plan but, when in Rome....

This shows the cheer size of some of the buildings; I found it hard to believe that they managed to build things like this so long ago, with so little equipment!!  

Rome is a fantastic city and I would recommend it to anyone, be warned though wear comfy footwear as there is A LOT of walking! 

Until next time, 

RebeccaAnn. 

Spring Nails

Hello All,

As its coming into Spring it is time to banish those dark nails and bring out the pastels. Here is a selection of my favourite colours.

As you may have noticed they are all Rimmel and Topshop. I think the Rimmel polishes are really good considering they are around £2-3 and they have a huge shade range. The Topshop nail polishes are more expensive but I absolutely love them! They have the most gorgeous shade range and you do find some really unusual colours in there.

List of colours from left to right:
Rimmel - Round and round the garden
Topshop - Parma Violet
Rimmel - Tangy Tangerine
Topshop - Domestic Goddess
Rimmel - Ring a ring o' roses

I will most certainly be adding more pastels to this collection so let me know if there are any you would recommend.

Until next time,

RebeccaAnn.