Monday 30 August 2010

SNIP!

Hey sweeties,
I'll let this do the talking...

Confession? Okay, so this is just a trickery hair-do. I've never been brave enough to go this short... I think the shortest my hair's ever been is about 3 inches below my shoulders. But I want your opinions, do you think I should go for the kill and get the chop?

PROS
  • low maintainence
  • manageable
  • time saving
  • less products, save money!
  • the change I feel I desperately need!
CONS
  • less choice of hairstyles
  • will probably miss my long hair
  • takes ages to grow back
I'm so stuck, help me please :) lol
Natalieslovex

Thursday 26 August 2010

FOTD

Hola,
Another face of the day post today, as I quite liked the overall look and thought I'd share... nothing major!


My mouth looks very strange in this photo, I think I was mid-pose ;) lol! I really liked the lip combo I used today, it's a little more vibrant in real life, so I thought I'd swatch the combo and what not. But first, the products...
  • Boujours Healthy Mix Foundation
  • MAC Peachykeen blush
  • Elf Golden bronzer
  • Elf High Definition powder
  • A neutral brown eye using YDK and Twice Baked (Urban Decay)
  • L'Oreal Voluminous
  • NYX round lipstick Gem
  • NYX round lipstick Strawberry Milk
  • Body Shop tantalising lip butter
Okay so onto the lip combo, I really like it... it's a bright lip but a bit more wearable and I think looks beautiful on brunettes especially...
These are the products separately in their containers/tubes. L-R Body Shop Tantalising Lip Butter, NYX Gem and NYX Strawberry milk. And here they are swatched by themselves (excluding the lip butter)...

On the left is Strawberry Milk and on the right is Gem both alone. They're both a good example of NYX lipsticks, really creamy and easy to apply, not chalky at all. Strawberry Milk doesn't have any shimmer, whereas Gem has slight glitter in it (not very noticeable).

On the left are both of the lipsticks combined, with the lip butter on the top and on the right is both of the lipsticks combined, alone with nothing over the top. I love the effect the lip butter gives... it makes the shade much more wearable by giving it a sort of milky hue. The one of the left is the one that I'm wearing in the picture, and the swatch is a truer representation.

Sorry for that ginormous ramble about a couple of lipsticks and lip butter - lol! But I get very excited about these things... apparently. Oh and this lip butter smells amazing and a portion of the money goes towards the MTV Aids charity :)
Natalieslovex

Wednesday 25 August 2010

Product Rave: 2true

Hello beautiful people,
I just wanted to do a quick product rave. My mum recently gave me 3 nail polishes because she decided she liked her nails better au naturale (obviously adopted??). When I first saw them, I saw the brand and did turn up my nose a bit, I know, I know. Now I'm all for drugstore products, in fact most of my make up is drugstore... but this brand I'd just never tried anything from, and they're just so cheap I thought they could never compare to the Barry M's of the nail polish world.

So, the brand in questions is 2true - which is available in most Superdrug stores. As far as I'm aware you can only get it in superdrug, sort of like a Natural Collection or 17 at Boots. They sell for £1.95 each but they're on offer now... 3 for £5.

These nail polishes don't have names, only numbers... which annoys me slightly, but I can deal with it lol. They are 'glossywear' polishes, do you expect the outcome to be quite shiny (doesn't disappoint). They also make quite a bold claim to last for 5 days on the nails! 

Shade No. 14 - A beautiful navy blue which is brightened by the gorgeous blue glitter inside. Not chunky glitter, very, very fine glitter. It looks beautiful in every sort of light. Other than purple, navy nails are my favourite.

Shade No. 41 - A beautiful telephone box red, again brightened with tiny red glitter particles. It's a really nice bright red for a classic nail with a twist (the glossyness).

Shade No. 35 - This is kind of a dusty rose/pink with lots of sliver glitter, again not chunky, fine but there is a lot of it. In the bottle this is my least favourite and I thought I'd dislike this, but when I did a quick swatch on my nail it was really pretty and unusual. Think I'll wear this at new year!

Now for a quick NOTD and what I think of these polishes and their claims...
First off... the application. Amazing. I didn't have any kind of hopes, especially as the first coat didn't give much colour, however the second coat gave the exact colour in the bottle and I was really impressed. The brush is so easy to use, and the application is smooth. The consistency isn't too thick, nor too watery.

Does it last 5 days? I'd say... at a squeeze! It's my fourth day of wearing this polish and so far Ive only got very slight 'typing' wear that any nail polish suffers from... but no big chips to report about. That is without wearing a base coat or topcoat.

Overall I was really pleasantly surprised by these polishes and I think I might pop out and buy some more! I've never really noticed these in Superdrug, and I've never seen them floating around on blogs... I really recommend them, for £1.95 you cant go wrong and they have a reasonable collection of colours. 

Have you ever tried any of these? What product has surprised you the most?
Natalieslovex

Tuesday 24 August 2010

Small Sigma and MAC haul

Good morning,
Just gonna post a quick post on the products I recently ordered - 3 brushes from Sigma and 4 products from MAC. I wasn't supposed to... but I got home after collecting my results last week and they weren't exactly what I wanted, they were okay I guess but just a bit meh. Anyway... good luck everyone picking up their GCSE's today!

I'm so pleased with these brushes, I haven't yet used them... but they seem sturdy, very high quality and soft. I still don't understand how they can get away with naming pretty much all of the brushes with the same number as MAC... it amazes me that they haven't been stopped?!
  • Eyeliner brush SS209 $9.00 [£5.84ish]
  • Tapered blending brush E35 $9.00 [£5.84ish]
  • Small duo fibre brush SS188 $14.00 [£9.10ish]
Much cheaper than MAC! I think the delivery was around the equivalent of £6 which seeing as though it's coming all the way from the states... is pretty reasonable. I wasn't expecting the brushes to turn up at my door within a week, I was imagining more 14 days sort of time, but I think they only took about 8 days to get here! Really impressed so far, and I think I'll be ordering some more!

I bought the bush Harmony from MAC - to use as a contour. Admittedly, in a swatch it doesn't look very pretty... but I know it's going to be an amazing, natural contour colour. I think I will get a lot of use out of this! I ordered both my blushes in pan form... and I don't know why I never did?? It's much cheaper, and I have a blush palette anyway so... It's a matte finish, so perfect for contour. £13.50 for pan form, £16.50 for clam compact.

Next blush is Well Dressed, I've wanted this blush forever... I think it's going to turn into my everyday favourite. It's a cool toned pink, proper pink lady pink is what I think the MAC website describe it as. It has a Satin finish, which is a first for me. It does have tiny shimmers in it, but just the right amount. £13.50 for pan form, £16.50 for clam compact.

On the left of both pictures we have Patisserie, and on the right we have Velvet Teddy. Below are going to be some shoddy swatches, with crappy quality. All I can do is apologise!

This is Patisserie... it's a Lustre finish, so feels quite nourishing on the lips and has that beautiful glossy finish. The website describes it as a creamy neutral pink, and I think that's true. I really like it, nothing unusual or amazing about it... but it's pretty :) It also has glitter particles, but it doesn't make it gritty at all, which when I saw them, I thought it would be. £12.50.

And this, is Velvet Teddy. I haven't heard about Velvet Teddy... ever I don't think? It's a Matte finish, which scared me slightly. I've now found out, when MAC say Matte they mean Matte. I thought this was going to make my lips shrink and look smaller, but they look surprising full! MAC say this is deep tone beige, and they're right. It's a brown toned nude, it's something a bit different for me as it's quite a dark nude, but it looks quite natural and I really quite like it! £12.50.

Once again good luck to those year 11's getting their results today. Have you tried Velvet Teddy - have you ever heard of it?
Natalieslovex

Monday 23 August 2010

Review: Elf Powder Brush

Hello ladies and gents,
Today I'm gonna do a review on a product that there's been a lot of raving about, and I can confirm that the raving is backed up by this fabulous brush! Of course, it's Elf's Powder Brush...


This brush looks very sleek in it's shiny black packaging, as do all of the brushes from the Studio line and can be bought for £3.50.

This is a flat top brush, with densely packed bristles. There are so many uses for this brush and I absolutely love it - it's so versatile and such good quality for a few quid!

This amazed me when I used it to apply my liquid foundation, which I usually use my MAC 187 for. It does an equally good job as my MAC brush, if not a bit better... dare I say? Because the bristles are so densely packed, it really buffs the foundation into the skin, give flawless coverage, as well as a kind of 'skin' finish. Which is what we all strive for.. make up that looks natural and as if it is our own skin, right? I love this for liquid foundation application and found it very easy to apply.

Another use is bronzer and blusher, as well as contour. This is good for apply Sheertone blushes, I find I need to dip my brush in a few times when using a Sheertone blush such as Pink Swoon... but with this brush it seems to pick up a lot more of a the product giving desired colour. You can also use the edges of this brush to contour the cheeks, and then use the top to blend it out - which is great!

But, what I've been using this for most frequently is using my HD powder. It packs on enough of it to give the wanted affect, but then buff it out so well... making sure the cakey, powder look stays at bay!

I cannot recommend this brush highly enough, you can definitely find a use for it no matter who you are, and is so cheap!!
Natalieslovex

Sunday 22 August 2010

Inspirational

Hello lovelies,
It's a Sunday evening after a long day filled with a lot, a lot of rain! Lol. So, of course I'm laying in bed on my laptop watching youtube videos and looking up quotes (as you do). I love quotes, and I found one that I think must be my all time favourite. It's exactly how I see life... although I think it could be interpreted in a number of ways....

The photo/picture is from weheartit, then I just added the words myself. I interpret it as - everyone will go through hard times, rough patches in their life... some won't be able to deal with it, and others will continue to stay positive and keep in mind the silver lining. Life is precious and you should make all you can out of every situation.

What do you think, how do you guys see it? And what are your favourite quotes? I'd love to know them :)
Natalieslovex

Saturday 21 August 2010

Love for...

Bonjourno!
Okay so today I wanted to do a little post about something that I love, but that a lot of other people seem to do anything to cover them up. What am I talking about? Freckles!

I adore freckles, I have a small smattering of them on my nose in the summer... and I wish I had more actually. I have a few friends that have a beautiful ammount of freckles on their face and they wish they weren't there! It upsets me when I see people applying concealer and foundation in an attempt to cover them up. But each to their own...

I understand how people might be insecure about them, because not everyone thinks they're pretty, and people are cruel! I kind of know how it feels because obviously I have a 'beauty mark' or mole - which was often the butt of a few jokes or jives and I went through a long period of time wanting to get it removed, and doing everything I could to disguise it blah, blah, blah... but it's a part of me and why should I change according to what other people think of me??


Freckles are beautiful! And so are all of you girlies, someone out there loves your 'imperfections' so don't hide them away. And just to prove my point I'm gonna put some photo's below of beautttttiful people thanks to weheartit!


Embrace your freckles my lovelies! :D
Natalieslovex

Friday 20 August 2010

FOTD

Hey sweets,
Thought I'd do a quick FOTD of a look I've been finding myself reaching for a lot this past week or so... smudgy, black rimmed eyes with a bright pink lip :) And I apologise for the rubbish quality pictures you've been having to put up with for a while now, but I should be getting my regular camera back soon so I can ditch taking pictures on my phone!


L'Oreal Infallible foundation (apparently doesn't photograph well)
Rimmel Stay Matte powder
Tiny bit of MAC Pink Swoon blush
MAC Fix+
**
Collection 2000 liquid liner
Sleek black shadow (to soften top and bottom lash line)
Urban Decay Zero to line waterline
L'Oreal Collagen mascara
Rimmel Max Volume Flash mascara
**
 NYX Gem
17 lipgloss Pink Ice

Have a lovely day :)
Natalieslovex

Thursday 19 August 2010

Day 12 - Whatever tickles your fancy

Hiyaaar,
Todays part of the 30 day tag is basically whatever I want. So... I thought I'd do an updated What I'm Using Right Now, as I did one agessss ago back in December (which you can find here), I love reading these posts, I like to see how people have changed to different products and generally seeing what people are liking and what they're using. So hopefully you lovelies do also! Lol.

Shampoo: John Fredia Sheer Blonde, the purple one (hair experiment in process)
Conditioner: L'Oreal Elvive nutri-gloss
Styling products: Lee Stafford refreshing spray, Garnier Fructis hairspray, Dove heat therapy mist
Shower Gel: A coconut one, I can't remember the brand, sorry!
Body moisturiser: Body Shop body butters and Vaseline cocoa butter
Deodorant: Nivea pearl
Fake Tan: Dove summer glow or St Moriz
Cleanser: Neutrogena Deep Clean invigorating wash
Exfoliator: St. Ives
Primer: No 7 colour calming
Foundation brush: MAC 187 or Elf Powder brush
Concealer: MAC Studio Finish
Powder: Elf high definition powder or Rimmel clear complexion
Blusher: MAC springsheen or NYC mosaic colour wheel
Bronzer: Contour colour of the Elf blush/contour duo
Highlighter: Elf blush in Gotta glow
Eyeshadow base: Urban Decay Primer Potion
Eyeshadows: varies from day-to-day, normally from a UDBoS
Eyeliner: Collection 2000 fast stroke or UD 24/7
Curler: cheapy from H&M
Mascara: L'Oreal Voluminous atm
Lipstick: have been reaching for MAC Plink! a lot recently
Lipgloss: Barry M Toffee
Nail Colour: Barry M Berry Ice Cream

Thank you so much to all my new followers that have been steadily coming in recently, I love you all... and good luck for those of you picking up your results today! I wish you the best!!
Natalieslovex

Wednesday 18 August 2010

Slight change

Hey babies,
On Thursday I took a quick trip to the hairdressers. It was nothing drastic, or even much of a change - just a trim and tidy up of the layers. I always get bored of my hair, so easily... when I got home the box of dye stashed away in my bathroom caught my eye...


I really like the Casting Creme Gloss dyes, the hair dye smell is still there, but it's not as prominent as others. It didn't sting my scalp like the Clairol Nice N Easy does sometimes. The results where nothing major, just a bit darker and just gave my hair that shine that I love! My old dye had started to fade too, so it just gave me a nice all over colour again :)


I was umming and ahhing for a while about going lighter, but most of my friends say they prefer my hair darker and I think I agree :)

Have you ever had any hair dye disasters??
Natalieslovex

Tuesday 17 August 2010

Day 11 - A photo of you taken recently

Hello my loves,
So I haven't done a day of my 30 days tag in a while... but I will get to day 30! So today is to post a photo taken of me recently. My boyfriend is a florist, and since he's passed his driving test and got his own car, he's been doing a lot of the deliveries. Me... being the weirdo I am, love being in a car travelling, not matter how far. So I've been going with him.

Yesterday we did a delivery that was about 30 minutes away, and is really close to this spot where I used to go on picnics and things as a kids called Bramber Castle. It's not much of a castle anymore... just pretty much a wall! Lol! But I thought it would be nice to re-visit so me and Dean went for a little walk around the site :)

So this is me looking very chipper! Lol. It had just started raining which is why I think I'm making such a strange face, and standing in such an odd position lol. And a few more pics from the walkies...

Thanks for looking!
Natalieslovex

Monday 16 August 2010

'I deserve a treat' Haul

Hey ladies (and gents),
As I said last Friday... I passed my theory, I thought I deserved a treat ;) and I was going to go and pick up a couple of goodies from MAC but decided to take a detour in a few other shops and a few bits caught my eye. Looks like MAC will have to wait :(

I got these mid/dark wash skinny jeans... and they fit so well! For me, anyway, I find it really hard finding jeans that fit really snug... but also really comfortably at the same time. And these hit the nail on the head! The denim is stretchy so it's fine if you had a big dinner the night before ;)  
Skinny Jeans | Peacocks £20|

I know, I know... a coat in the middle of August? I thought it was best to grab the chance because it gets the winter and I'm always searching and searching for a nice warm, affordable coat and I can never find one! It also has a really cute striped lining inside the hood!
Hooded Coat |Primark £17|

I really like pyjamas with shorts... I always get hot! So I just picked up these cute baby blue and pink striped shorts that came with a grey vest top. Perfect for lounging!
PJ Set |Primark £3.50|

Another pair of cute ruffley flats, woo! I go through black flats so quickly! It seems that Primark are currently a bit obsessed with 'wide fit' shoes, as the last flats I bought from there were too. My feet aren't wide... so that sucks a bit. But if you struggle with shoes being too small in width... go and check out Primark atm as they have a wide range :)
Black Ruffle Flats |Primark £8|

Me and the boy went shopping for some dinner in Sainsburys (we got some enchiladas, nom nom) and I couldn't resist getting some goodies! I love original source shower gels, they're natural and they don't test on animals, which is always a thumbs up. I bought Olay face gradual tanner, as the face normally stays more pale than your body and I just wanted to even it up a bit. Let you know how this goes?
Sure Deodorant |2 for £3|
L'Oreal Kids Detangler |£1.75 (ish)|
Olay Gradual Face Tan |£7.99|
Original Source Shower Gel |£1.99|
Bath Lily |£1|
-ALL SAINSBURYS-

What's been your favourite purchase recently?
Natalieslovex