Top 5 Spring Nail Polishes!

As the English weather actually has been resembling spring recently I've cracked out my pastels and my bright nail polishes and fully got my Spring on. Got to make the most of it in England haven't we!

So I'm going to share my Top 5 Sprint Nail Polishes with you (in the hope that it won't just be me that's all Spring'd up!)

Now I normally use Spring as a transition from the berry and the wine colours of winter into the brighter and bolder colours of summer. So I tend to stick to pastels but every now and then I do enjoy a good bright polish to brighten my day.

First of all I want to share with you my Barry M polishes. Now this was inevitable wasn't it. You can't do a nail polish post and not include a Barry M polish! 

First up I have potentially one of my favourite shades from Barry M actually and this is 308 Berry I/C (ice cream maybe who knows). It's the most gorgeous pastel lilac shade that makes my hands and nails look amazing. It really compliments my pale skin which is great as some polishes can wash me out even more.

And of course I have another Barry M polish. This time it is 295 Coral. Quite self explanatory don't you think? A beautiful coral colour that is quite bright but it's not too in your face that you feel like you can't wear it. I love it.

Sticking with the drugstore theme I have my ultimate nail varnish of all time. Like seriously guys I freaking love this stuff. It's a Rimmel number in the shade 503 Mind the Gap, Victoria. I can't get enough of this, it's the perfect pastel blue shade that just looks amazing. It's from the 60 Seconds range so it dries super quick and doesn't chip at all. I mean it. Holy grail right there. 

Again, sticking with the theme. I have another blue shade. Except this time it's more of a glitter than a polish. Topshop's nail products are so good and this glitter is no different. I'm struggling to find the shade name but it has 301 on the bottom of the bottle so I'm guessing that's it? Anyway if you see it, you'll know that it it's the one due to it's gorgeous mix of blue and silver specks of glitter. It looks amazing as a top coat- I love it over the Rimmel one. But it also looks just as good on it's own for subtle hint of glitter. 

And finally, for the big finale, I'm going to share my love for MAC nail polish with you. I really like MAC nail polishes actually, but the price tag steers me away from them and sends me right back into Boots. MAC polishes to me don't chip as quickly as some cheaper brands and the colours are always sensational but I wouldn't say they are worth the price tag they have. Anyway, I love their shade Snob (no surprise since I bloomin love Snob lipstick) which is a cream finish. It's just a lovely muted baby pink colour but nothing too Barbie like. A quick and easy everyday shade that adds a little pop to a Spring day. 

So there you have it, my Top 5 Nail Polishes for Spring! 

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Hannah xxx

Makeup Revolution Highlighter Lights

So today's post is going to be all about the Makeup Revolution Highlighter Lights Palette (as you can tell by the title, thanks for stating the obvious Hannah).

Now if you haven't heard of Makeup Revolution, then where have you been hiding?! They've blown up over the past few months and truly made their mark in the drugstore brands. Such an inexpensive brand but with a high end feel to the quality of the products. 

I made my first order from their stockist SuperDrug a couple of months back now and picked up a few things, but the one main thing that stood out for me was the highlight palette. 

The palette includes 3 powder highlight shades. One is a golden shade, and the other two are more pinky toned. 

I literally can't express how much I love this palette. There's nothing that I don't like about it. What I love doing is actually mixing all three shades together to create the most amazing highlight shade. All three shades compliment my pale skin so well, but I'm sure they would look amazing on any skin tone.

I love how pigmented they are which means that a tiny bit goes a long way but it also means that you can have a subtle highlight one day and a full on look the next, all with the same product. 

Usually with highlights I do notice that by the end of the day they've worn off and aren't noticeable on my skin anymore. But not with this one, oh no. This stuff is like war paint. It does not budge. It's 100% a staple in my makeup bag now. 

I used to swear by Benefit Watts up highlight stick but this Makeup Revolution gem has firmly pushed itself up to the number one spot. 

It's so low maintenance and easy to apply that it can be done in seconds. Just a quick sweep on the cheek bones, down the nose and on the Cupid now and Bob's ya uncle. You're ready to go. 

I find that if my skin is looking super dull and grey, this just brightens up and makes you look more human in seconds.

I apply it with just a cheap eBay brush, nothing special as the product itself does all the talking, it doesn't rely on an amazing brush to make it look good, it just does that itself! 

For the small price tag of £8 you really cannot go wrong. Three highlighters for £8, seriously come on that's insane. I can't fault the palette. Hats off to you Makeup Revolution, you've really out done yourself here!

If you've tried the palette out or any of Makeup Revolution's products that let me know in the comments!

Hannah xxx

Summer Wishlist

So summer is on it's way, and let me tell you, I am so excited. I thought I would share my summer wish list with you all today. I want to make the most of summer this year, so here's my wishlist!

#1 discover new places. I love exploring new places and doing new things but with work and a limited amount of time, it doesn't happen too often! I've already made a good start to this, as me and boyfriend are off to Alcudia in 5 weeks time and I've never been before, so I'm so excited for that! 

#2 relax more. Thinking about it, I relax a lot. But it's more late at night after a day at work and most likely the gym. So I want to take some time off and spend it just recharging my batteries and yeah, that sounds so stupid but I want some time where I don't have to rush and do 2 million things in a day. 

#3 see more of my friends. This sounds so silly but honestly I don't see enough of them. I guess it's a combination of me working, and the majority of them being away at university but yeah. They'll obviously be home for ages during summer so I think I'm going to take some time off work and spend some well needed time to catch up with them! 

#4 get my life toegther! Dramatic I know. But I really need to sort my life out. I'm in that state of mind where I'm just going along with each day as it comes with no actual direction. I honestly have no idea what I want to do with my life in the long run, so I need to have a long hard think!

#5 my final wish for this summer is to update my wardrobe. I obviously had to include a materialistic wish! I just find myself to hoard clothes. If I like it, I'll keep it regardless or not of whether I actually wear it. So I need to have a huge clear out and add new pieces to my wardrobe! I want to brighten it up and add some clothes that are a bit out of my comfort zone and not the standard oversized stuff!

So yeah, there we have it. My Summer Wishlist. 

I hope you enjoyed this and let me know what you want to get from this summer!

Hannah xxx

Disappointing Products!

It happens to the best of us, you buy a product that has so much potential to be amazing.. And then it's just not. And this is what today's post is going to be about; I'm going to share with you a few products that have disappointed me and not lived up to the hype.

First up is Simple's Eye Makeup Remover. 

You're probably thinking how on earth can an eye makeup remover be disappointing? Well truth be told, everything that this product claimed to be was false. I normally trust Simple as a brand and maybe this is why I'm so let down. It claimed to be 'effective' which I don't agree with at all as I would wake up each morning with panda eyes so it clearly hadn't removed all the makeup. And 'gentle' which I didn't see as it made my eyes sting so bad that they would water and go bloodshot. So this is a no go for me.

Staying on the eye theme, the MUA 'Starry Nights' palette is so bad I can't even explain.

 I'm a huge fan of MUA's eye shadow palettes, especially the 'Ever After' one, so I expected great things from this palette. But it was so powdery that I couldn't work with it. The fall out was too much, the pigemetation wasn't great, just really disappointing. As you can see, one of the shadows crumbled and left the palette in a state of no return so I should probably chuck this out but hoarder problems. 

Kinda still on the eye region, I have a product from Makeup Revolution. This brand is so good so I thought this eye brow tint would be great. But it just wasn't. 

It was almost too liquidy so it was really hard to work with, and I personally like a really precise eye brow and it was so hard to achieve with this product. It also came out quite red toned which isn't great for me as I have really dark brown hair. I also noticed that after it had fully set, it set to a hard crunchy finish which was actually noticeable.. Not too attractive!

This pains me to include another Makeup Revolution product, but their Fluid Blusher in 'Pink Dew', in my opinion, was a huge huge let down. 

Again, too liquidy, and I know that sounds silly because it's meant to be a liquid formula, but I found this product to run all over my hands whilst trying to apply it, and by the time I applied it, it didn't even show up on my skin, instead it almost took the makeup I already had on off and left me looking patchy. 100% would not recommend.

Now this next disappointing product will come as no surprise to you, but it is Barry M's 'Flawless Matte' foundation.

I won't go on too much about how much I dislike this product because you all already know. But basically, it's the most sheerest foundation I've ever tried and slides off my face within a couple of hours. No thank you!

And finally, instead of focusing on one single product, I have a range that disappointed me. Now Rimmel is one of my favourite make up brands, so when they launched the 'Apocalypse' range I obviously went out and bought a couple. 

It's not the shades that I don't like (although the peach shade doesn't suit me at all and made my teeth look so yellow!) But it's the formula that I really didn't like. It's so drying and ended up clinging to the dry patches on my lips which obviously doesn't look good. It also bled all around my lips and meant I constantly needed to check up on it and fix it, which nobody has time for!

So that's all the products that I found were really disappointing!

I don't know if you'll agree with me or not but either way let me know!

Hannah xxx

£1 Conditioner?!

In terms of condioner, I am always on the hunt for a nourishing and hydrating one that leaves my hair feeling soft and looking shiny due to my naturally dry, thick, curly hair. 

My natural hair suffers from the stereotypical curly hair syndrome: a straw like frizz bomb and I need to tame it!

I used to swear by VO5 Give Me Moisture  but because I use a hell of a lot of condioner, it was costing a fortune to keep on repurchasing every week or so (I know that's a lot of conditioning being done, shoot me). 

So whilst I was in Poundland the other month, I was just curiously checking out the shampoo and condioner aisle and stumbled across a condioner that sounded ever so promising, but one I had never heard of before, from a brand I hadn't heard of either. And truth be told, that made me feel a teeny bit skeptical. But hey ho I took it to the tills and went home with it.

The brand is simply named 'Argon Oil' and I believe they also do shampoo and hair oils that I am tempted to pick up, after all they're only £1! 

 

As you can see, it claims to 'rejuvenate and hydrate' the hair whilst leaving it 'shiny, smooth&healthy' and I honestly do agree. After I've used it I find myself constantly playing with my hair because it feels so soft and luxurious without the luxurious price tag! 

Shall we talk ingredients? 

I'll be honest, I rarely check what's in a conditioner; if I like what it does to my hair then I like it. 

Inside this life changer is a mixture of ingredients, and I should have known it was going to be good whilst reading them. 

The obvious due to the brand name, argan oil, and coconut oil stood out to me as I know that they feature in a lot of hydrating conditioners and actually help to tame frizz. And then you reach the chemicals and the shahfadbs-one's. Them ones. I mean check out the final one, try saying that fast! 

I know that a lot of them are probably only good for a short term period, and in the long run damaging, but it doesn't bother me too much. My hair is in such a dry condition that I need every help I can get, and if that's only for a short term, then that's fine with me. 

Look at how it emphasises my curls and brings out the shine whilst taming frizz! Win win to me.

So, the best £1 condioner?! The best condioner?! 100% YES! 

Let me know if you've tried it or have any other condioner that will help me- please! 

Making the Decision to Leave University

Today's post is going to cover quite a serious, and what I deem as an important topic: dropping out of university.

December 2014 I made that decision and I haven't looked back since. University was a period of mixed emotions for me.

I went there expecting to love every minute and I did love a lot of my time there, admittedly I wasn't there for long but hey ho. 

The problems began when I realised that my course wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be. I imagined Events Management to be amazing, full of amazing opportunities and a bright future, when in reality I was being taught how to put a burger van into a field. My lecturers constantly told us to volunteer as it was experience that would get us a job.. Which led me to think that if it's experience that I need, then why am I paying £9 grand a year for a degree that I essentially do not need.

In terms of volunteering, the opportunities that were given to us were things like handing out maps to people visiting a farm festival. I mean I know you have to start somewhere, but to me that is making young people do jobs that quite frankly, no one who works for you would ever want to do. 

So that's when I started to realise that the course was all wrong for me, and maybe university itself was too.

In terms of the student lifestyle, I didn't think it was all that great either. Everyone around me was so lazy, not getting up until 3 each day, missing lectures and complaining they had no money, but not doing anything about it.

Whereas I worked whilst I was at university, which I think was a huge impact to why I left. I had money coming in each month and that felt good. So good. A proper income rather than the student loan. I had learnt the importance of money, whereas my friends were more than willing to spend all their money and then complain. 

I mean, I enjoy going out as much as the next person, but I think I maybe grew up and matured before a lot of other young people. I knew what I wanted out of life and saw uni as a means to an end, rather than a laugh and being able to hold onto youth for an extra 3 years. I was willing to work hard for success and made the mature decision to drop out and start the real journey to success on my own.

I now feel like I have something that not everyone else has: experience and determination. Everyone has a degree these days but not everyone understands that opportunities aren't going to put out to you on a platter; you have to work for them. 

I am so much happier now, working and not doing a degree and I haven't looked back since. University just was not worth it, there was no support from lecturers and no one to reach out to. 

If you are having doubts about whether going to university will be right for you, or even if you're there now and are thinking about leaving, I'd say do what is right for you. If you aren't happy. Leave. It was the best thing I ever did. 

Even in everyday life, if something isn't making you happy, leave it behind and don't look back. 

I'm now working for what I want out of life and couldn't be happier.

I hope this post has maybe helped you or just opened your eyes slightly to life outside of the social stigma of university.

Let me know your experiences as I'd love to hear all ends of the spectrum!

Holiday Haul!

Let me just start off with this: Summer is on it's way girls! 

It's official and I'll tell you for why.. My holiday is booked! Me and my boyfriend are off to stay on his uncles boat (Ooo check us out oo la la) in Mallorca in just 6 weeks! So inevitably I had a burst of excitement and went shopping for holiday clothes yaaaay. 

I went to Primark first so I'll start with what I got from there. Whilst doing the standard sweep of the store I stumbled across quite possibly the most amazing maxi skirt ever. It's just full of colour and such an unusual pattern that I can't describe so I'll let you see in the picture for yourself! It almost looks like a watercolour painting.. Gorgeous. It also has slits where each leg will sit which adds a subtle edge to the elegance of the skirt. I could have done with a size down but it's not too bad, I guess it means it'll be extra flowy and cool. 

The photo just doesn't do it any justice!

I saw another gorgeous maxi skirt that was white with purple and pink flowers all over it but they didn't have it in my size booo! But nontheless I can see this skirt blowing up in the blogging community this summer!

Moving onto shoes. I've needed some slip on shoes for a while now as I lived in my Nikes, Converse and boots in winter. I love tan shoes for summer so when I found these I knew I had to have them, and I'm sure they were only £8!

I just think these will look super cute with literally anything, especially a jumpsuit I bought that I'll be showing you in a second! They did come up quite big so I sized down, definitely try on first!

In the beauty section I saw this 'facial cleanser'. But I wasn't interested in for that purpose, I thought it would be a handy little gadget for cleaning makeup brushes because of the friction the little bristles would cause and for only £1.50 if it didn't work I wouldn't have wasted too much. But my hypothesis was correct and it cleans brushes so quick and easy it's incredible!

The final thing (don't worry I'll be going back for a huge spree when I have more time!) was just some sunglasses for £1! I've wanted some round sunglasses for ages as I think they look so cool but I've always worried they won't suit me but when I tried these ones on I fell in love.

If you're on the hunt for some sunnies, head to Primark first before splurging!

I then headed to Asda Living with the intention to buy some bikinis because I find it so hard to find bikinis that actually fit and support my boobs (joys having big boobs!) but I know Asda doing really pretty bikinis in actual bra sizes and for affordable prices so I always head there first. I genuinely found it so hard to control myself and not buy them all, and I finally settled for two. 

The first one is a gorgeous white and pink floral one. I actually bought the full set which I often don't do as I just mix and match, but this was too pretty to not.. And it was only £12 so you can't go wrong.

My eyes then fell on a pair of bikini bottoms with a cute daisy pattern and yellow ties that will go so well with just a plain bikini top.. And they were only £3! So I went on the hunt for a plain top and found this gorgeous Fuschia pink triangle one with almost a crochet effect. This sadly wasn't in bra sizes so I just sized completely up and got a size 16 as I I felt that would cover my bazookas enough!

Little old me then headed to the tills, but obviously got side tracked by the clothes. I'll admit it: 'I Hannah love George at Asda' there I said it, and I am sooo not ashamed. I firstly saw this tiled print,

jumpsuit, and as I said these would look so good with the tanned pumps. It's a lovely material and really loose and flowy but pinches in at the waist, which is great for my hourglass figure. It also has a nice zip detail on the chest area which means it can be easily dressed up or down depending on how much cleavage you fancy showing off!

And just as I told myself to go pay, I found quite possibly the nicest pair of shorts I've ever laid eyes on. They're just a plain navy.. But with a gorgeous little feather design on the bottom corner which adds a hint of colour. 

They'll be perfect for daytime and evening so a great versatile piece to have!

Overall I spent £51 in Asda so an amazing price for some great items!

If you struggle with finding bikini tops to fit your boobs, I 100% recommend Asda as they do a huge range of bra sized ones!

I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know where you're heading on your jollies!

MAC Lipstick Dupes

This post is one for all you lipstick lovers out there, but hey, who doesn't love lipstick really.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I know of a dupe for MAC's Fabby, but my dupe knowledge doesn't stop there, oh no. I know a few more dupes for some of my favourite MAC lipsticks, so I thought I would help out your bank balance and share these with you! 

I'll start with my dupe for MAC Fabby. I'll be honest with you. I've not actually heard many people talk about Fabby, but it's honestly one of my favourite shades from MAC, I reach for it almost every day. It's a Frost finish so it does have a slight sheer to it, but what makes Fabby so different is that it has hints of gold running through it which looks amazing on the lips.

You really feel Fabby when you wear it! (I'm sorry for that awful pun please forgive me)

My dupe for Fabby is actually not a lip product at all. It's a Maybelline 24HR Colour Tattoo in the shade Pink Gold. It is slightly more of a pale pink than Fabby but nontheless, it's a great dupe. I would say to wear a good lip balm underneath as it is quite drying with it being meant to stay on the eyes all day. 

Staying on the pink theme, Topshop and Revlon both do a dupe for MAC's Lovelorn, another great everyday shade to just whack on and go. 

As a Lustre Finish it's quite creamy which is why Revlon's Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake is such a great dupe. The colour is slightly different but on the lips you can't tell, but the texture is exact. 

Topshop's Innocent lipstick is more of the same shade as Lovelorn but again still quite creamy. I reach for these shades on days where I don't really want to wear much but I feel like I need something as they're great subtle shades.

As you can see, all three are quite similar!

Next up, we have MAC's amplified finish- Impassioned. I love this lipstick for nights out or meals or just when I want a bright pop of colour, because let me tell you, this stuff does not budge. It's a beautiful bright Fuschia colour, great for summer.

It also smells amazing, kind of like Kinder Eggs?!

Kate Moss' line for Rimmel stocks a great dupe for Impassioned, shade 02. Again, bright pink with amazing staying power. In the tube they look ever so slightly different, but on the lips, they are exactly the same. 

You can honestly hardly tell the difference between the two.

My final dupe is for MAC's infamous Russian Red. I've spoke about a great dupe for this in a previous post (http://beautylittleyou.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/mac-lipstick-dupes.html?m=1) so I thought I would share a new dupe discovery as they never go a miss! 

I don't need to speak about Russian Red too much as you all know how much it is raved about, and rightly so too! Just the perfect, teeth whitening red ever. 

Rimmel have done it again on the dupe front, with their Diva Red, which is an exact dupe for Russian Red I can't even tell you. From the tube to lip, everything is the same (except the price!)

Just a perfect deep red for those occasions where only a red lip and attitude will suffice!

I mean come on! Could they be any similar?! (Anyone else read that in Chandler Bing's voice?!)

So there you have it, my MAC's lipstick dupes for you!

If you have any of your own please help a girl out and share in the comments!

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Hannah xxx

Pretty In Pink!

For the transition into Spring I have always loved incorporating pink into my makeup looks as I find it just adds a subtle hint of colour but nothing too in your face. 

As I was going through my makeup collection to find some pink to bring back into my life, I noticed that I have a lot of drug store products that deserve some recognition, so I thought I would share these with you all!

The first product is a Maybelline 24HR colour tattoo in the shade 65 Pink Gold. Now you've probably heard about this eye shadow about 100 million times, but I love it to death. I'm onto my second pot of this already: a) because I wore it every day for about 2 months last year and b) they do dry up quite quickly so bear that in mind.

I love how it makes my eyes pop and brighten up a simple look in 2 seconds. Such a great quick and easy product for those rushed mornings.

I've also discovered another way that's a bit different to bring this into your makeup. I've found that it's an amazing dupe for one of my favourite MAC lipsticks. I'm thinking about doing a whole post about this? Let me know if you'd be interested in that!

The next Pink product I love is again, another Maybelline product. (I have two more Maybelline items after this one!)

This one is a lip liner in the colour 132 Sweet Pink. 

The shade is exactly what the name suggests. Just a lovely girly pink, an almost 'your lips but better' shade.

I use this as an everyday liner and I find it just makes any lipstick look amazing. It can be used under any shade of lipstick, so versatile. 

Moving onto another Maybelline Product. Now I'm aware that this isn't actually pink, but the packaging is! It's the Lash Sensational mascara. This stuff is hands down the best mascara at the minute. Nothing compares to it.

 Whenever I'm wearing it, my lashes look so long and voluminous, I love it. Perfect product at such a cheap price!

The final Maybelline product again isn't actually pink, but the bottle kind of is. I just felt like it's a great product for spring/summer. I'm referring to the Flawless Nude foundation. 

It is so lightweight and you can hardly even feel it on the skin, I can't get enough of it. The coverage is great aswell which is always good. The satin finish to it allows you to have a healthy glow in the sunshine too without looking oily.

The penultimate product that I'm going to share with you is by the brand Seventeen. I've always felt that this brand is so underrated. They have so many amazing products that doesn't get anywhere near as much coverage as they deserve. Anyway, I'm going to talk about one of their Cheek Stamps. 

What this product is, is basically a blush that comes with a 'brush'. Except the brush is a stamp. The idea is that you stamp the product onto your cheeks and then blend it out. Quick and easy.  

The only downside is, is that the shades and numbers aren't on the packaging so I can't tell you which one I have, but I'm sure I've mentioned it in a previous post. Anyway, the colour is just a lovely deep pink, but in no way bright or in your face. Just a lovely flushed shade. Whenever I have this on, I feel like my complexion looks a lot healthier and plumper which I love.

I also love that it has a mirror on top so it's handy for on the go.

And finally! The last product is a Bourjouis find. It's actually one of the new Colourband pencil eyeshadow and liner.

 I have the shade 05 Mauve Baroque which is a mix between pink and purple.. Hence the 'mauve' in the name.

I find it to be such a versatile little gem. I often find myself using it all over the lid, or as a liner on it's own or to accompany another shadow on my lid.

As you can see it is a well loved product by me!

It's different to a lot of other things in my collection. It really makes my brown eyes pop aswell which I can't complain about! Definitely a staple in my makeup bag these days! It claims to be water proof and smudge proof and I agree completely. This stuff does not budge at all, stays all day in every weather!

Hope you enjoyed this post, let me know if you have any of these products!

Hannah xxx