OOTD: Peaches and Cream

Topshop Cropped Jumper - Size 8 - £38

American Apparel Riding Pants - Size M - £64
H&M Gold Necklace - £5.99
Mac Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Fashion City - £15.50

Yesterday, I went to see the film That Awkward Moment with my friends Katie, Aimee and Sophie. We went for Pizza Express before which was so delicious, and then to the cinema after. The man at the Ben & Jerry's counter seemed to take a shine to us and gave us more like 10 scoops than 2 which was a bonus haha. I actually really enjoyed the film, it was a romantic comedy with Zac Efron - Who doesn't love a bit of Zac? We turned up late, and we had booked one of the little 'premiere screens' and had to bustle through to get to our seats. In the process I typically spilled Ben & Jerry's 'Smores' ice cream down my beautiful jumper (tasted so good though). It was lovely to go out with these girls, we only ever get together at Body Attack at the gym, and eating pizza, cheesecake and ice cream couldn't be more different. I am so obsessed with my American Apparel Riding Pants, that I bought a back up pair during their 30% off friends and family sale. I also love this jumper from Topshop, the colour is beautiful and it's so cosy. It's definitely not worth the price tag, but I couldn't say no!

The Review: H&M Cosmetics

I took a visit to my local H&M in Chelmsford for a little browse with no intention of leaving the store with anything. However, this particular H&M has the full collection of their cosmetics line, and I thought it my duty as a blogger to pick some bits out to review for my lovely readers - research purposes and all that. I will say when I got to the checkout and the woman said, 'That's £20 something please', I started to think 'Do I really want these?', 'Would I rather go and spend £20 in Boots?'. However, I am so happy I purchased them! Really £20 for 7 items is pretty good, plus I was pleasantly surprised with every single item.

H&M Lip Tint - £2.99

This is honestly one of the best quality lip products that I have ever used, and is now one of my favourite reds. This is superduper pigmented, and a little goes a long way. At £2.99, this is an absolute steal!

H&M Lip Pen - £2.99

Now I know I recently wrote a blog post about the Revlon Matte Balm crayon, saying that stores need to think of something new. But number 1, I bought this before, and 2 it's for research purposes (is it really though ruby?). The H&M Lip Pens are definitely more of a sheer colour to others that I have tried, but this colour is right up my street and has taken pride of place in my makeup bag for every day use. It's a beautiful peachy coral, and I can see myself wearing this a lot.

H&M Lip Pen - Pink - £2.99

This is the only product that I am not 100% about due to the colour. I don't think the colour of the packaging which is a warm rosy pink, really translates to the colour of the product which is a cool toned barbie pink. These colours really do not suit me and tend to make me look ill. Despite this, the actual product is a lovely consistency and glides on so smoothly. This colour is also a bit more opaque than the previous, so anyone into these colours definitely should try this out.

H&M Eye Pen - Brown - £2.99

I recently bought the Collection eye crayon in a similar colour and thought it was horrendous. It didn't blend well and looked streaky on my eyelid. However, this glides on so smoothly, is very pigmented and is in a beautiful metallic brown colour. Plus it's half the price!

H&M Smoky Eye Shadow Palette - Brown - £3.99

Picking up one of these palettes was a no brainer. £3.99 for 5 eye shadows is pretty good I'd say. I love that they have included a matte brown and a golden brown colour. The shadows were all pretty pigmented, the swatches above were of 2 swipes of each shade. I would really recommend these little palettes and cannot wait  to add a few more to my collection. 

H&M Tweezers - 99p

I own a pair of Tweezerman which cost around £14.99 and I am terrified of losing them. I actually bought myself 2 pairs of these tweezers from H&M for a mere 99p, that I can stick in my handbag or use as a back up if I lose my Tweezerman. They aren't as sharp as the others, but they still do the job; and who can complain for 99p?!

H&M Brow Kit - £3.99

This has probably overtaken my HD Brows Kit in Foxy as my new favourite brow powders. I find with HD Brows that it is so pigmented that I end up looking like I have slugs for eyebrows. This however is just right for me, and I can build up the colour and still have defined natural looking brows. As you can see I have been using the middle shade for my eyebrows, but the other two colours are perfect for using as matte eyeshadows.

I am honestly excited to my next visit to the Chelmsford H&M to pick out some more beauty products. Not only have they all exceeded my expectations, the most I spent on an item was £3.99. I would definitely recommend checking out the H&M cosmetics in store or online...

OOTD: Blue Skies

Asos Blue Peplum Top - Size 4 - £16

Topshop Wetlook Leggings - Size 10 - £20

H&M Gold Chain  - £7.99

Mac Lipstick in Russian Red - £15.00

Stila Palette in Gilded - £12.00

I also wore this with Converse and my Mulberry Daria Clutch.

Hi lovlies, I usually pride myself over the quality of my photos, but I just don't have the time or the effort to get out my tripod and photograph single ootds at the moment. So I though whenever I upload one onto Instagram, I am going to also upload it on here. This was just a casual outfit I wore out shopping as I had to take a bag back to Topshop. I am loving powder blue at the moment, and also the peplum/swing trend so I had to get this top from Asos. I haven't worn these leggings in years, but I think they make the look really thought through when I really just threw it all on in the hope it would look okay! I dressed it up a bit with my makeup by wearing a simple brown smokey eye and Russian Red by Mac on my lips. 

Hope you don't mind the new botched outfit posts until I have time for some better quality ones!

Tag Tuesday: 2013 Year in Review Q&A Tag

I was tagged by the lovely Bethan from Bethan Grace to do this tag. She also has a Youtube channel that I love so check it out here.

The rules are: 

1. In your post, be sure to link back and thank the blogger that previously tagged you

2. Answer the questions below and tag at least 5 other bloggers and; 

3. Include the badge in your post

1. Your top five favourite blogs to read in 2013
llymlrs.com
etcllymlrs.com
thesundaygirl.com
beautycrush.co.uk
fashioninflux.co.uk

2. List your five most read blog posts of 2013
BooTea Teatox Review
What I got for Christmas 2013
Bargain of the Week: Missguided Playsuit
Is your 'it' bag still doing it for you?
Dupe Day: The Zara Skort

3. Name one blog you wish you had found sooner
I have the same dilemma as Bethan, where really I only started using Bloglovin in 2014 so didn't discover new blogs until then. However, yesterday I came across a blogger called Jaye from bedinthekitchen.co.uk. I am a sucker for lovely photography.
 
4. Your favourite blog post of 2013
My post 'Is your 'it' bag still doing it for you?' post which you can find here. It was a piece I wrote while at the London College of Fashion studying fashion journalism.

5. What would you like to improve (if anything) on your blog this year?
I would love to do more outfit posts as they seem to be the best received and I really enjoy doing them.

6. Name one blog you have a blog crush on
Rachel from Rachel Says Fabulous. She is absolutely stunning, and posts the best swatches I have come across!

7. How often do you post?

I don't really have a set schedule, which I should. But whenever I feel inspired or have some free time, I'll just bang out a few posts to publish throughout the week.

8. Share your first post of 2013

My first ever blog post was in July 2013 and I created a Missguided wishlist which you can read here.

9. Name one thing you'd be doing if you weren't typing this post right now

Probably sleeping, I sleep a lot.

10. What have you loved the most about blogging this year?

Talking to new people that share the same passion. Now I don't live at university, it's hard to meet new people and socialise. However, the blogging world has completely opened up a little community for me.

I tag:
Rachel: rachelsaysfabulous.blogspot.co.uk
Katie: beautyandlifestylediary.blogspot.co.uk
Meg: theperksofmeg.blogspot.co.uk
Michaela: michaela-la.blogspot.co.uk


And anyone else who wants to do it!

The Review: Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in Stricking

I had been anticipating the release of the Revlon ColorBurst Matte and Lacquer Balms, and thought I would pop into my local Boots a few days earlier in the chance they might have put some stock out early. Luckily they did, and I stood for a good 10 minutes swatching and pondering over which shades to choose from. I went for a matte bright red in the shade Stricking, because obviously I need another red lip product.

I know it is supposed to be a 'balm' but I just expected it to be a bit more opaque than it was. Despite the fact that the look of it is 'matte', I feel like the feel of it on the lips is more like a satin finish and didn't dry like a classic matte. It definitely isn't drying on the lips, however I do wish it sets quicker so that I could have built it up. When I went in for a second coat, it just moved around the first layer which left it a bit streaky. Because I needed to go out, I just dealt with it not looking 100%. However, I will say after 3 hours of driving to and walking round Lakeside it was still on my lips, and only came off when I stuffed my face with McDonalds on the way home.

I like this, but I don't love it and I don't think I will be buying another. I think the 'drugstore' cosmetics companies have really worn out this whole lip crayon phase, and it's about time they thought of something new.

Have you tried the new Revlon Matte or Lacquer Balms? If so what did you think?