Wish List- April 2014 ♡

This is my first wish list post showing a few items i've been looking at over the past couple of weeks!

1. Pale Yellow Maxi Dress- Boohoo I've wanted a pale, lemony yellow maxi dress like this since last summer, and Boohoo is definitely the place to find block coloured maxis, they have so many different colours and styles. This one also has cross over straps at the back and is also really reasonably priced at £15. The reason i've been holding off buying this is because I know it probably wont be warm enough to wear it for a good couple of months, but then i'm worried if I wait too long it'll be gone!

2.Coral Polka Dot Lace Socks- Dorothy Perkins I think socks with lace around the tops are 100X cuter than normal socks, and these ones are extra sweet because of the polka dots and bright coral colour and they're only £3.

3. Revlon Hollywood Mirror- Superdrug I think this mirror looks so cool and stylish and would be great for travelling as it folds up flat, but it would also just look really good on display. I love having really bright lights when applying make up so you can see everything clearer, and at £19.99 I think it's quite good value too.

4.Flamingo Phone Case- New Look I love anything that has flamingos on and this phone case is so adorable and would brighten up my iPhone for spring, and considering it's only £4.99 it would be rude not to buy it!

5. Red Long Cami- Next I think long camis are the most versatile and easy to wear pieces that everyone should own, especially for the warmer months as you can throw them on and wear them with anything, dress them up or down. This one in particular looks quite loose rather than being skin tight, which is nice. It also comes in quite a few colours and patterns, I like the coral one as well but I feel like red would be the most vibrant. (£8)

6. Rose Gold Dimante Necklace- River Island Rose gold jewellery is the best kind of jewellery in my opinion, and the dimante on this necklace makes it that extra bit prettier. It also looks to have quite a long chain which I like as it elongates your torso. At £12 I feel like this would be a lot more of a barginous price if it were from somewhere like Primark, Forever 21 or New Look, but if I see it in River Island I feel I may have a hard time passing it by, as rose gold gets me every time!

7. Holographic Sandals- Office This is the splurge item of the wish list, coming in at £65. Although they aren't exactly in triple figures, I still feel like £65 is quite a lot for such a quirky opposite-of-a-basic typed shoe, however, I feel like they would actually go with a lot of things and would look nice with skinny jeans and a black top, or to spice up a block coloured dress. These shoes are definitely the type of item that you see once and then just can't stop thinking about, as they're just so different and cool, the thick, block heel would hopefully make them easier to walk in too, as I really don't like those tiny thin heels that look like you're walking on a pin!

8. Pink and Gold Jacquard Top- Dorothy Perkins I think this would be such a nice top to wear if you're going out for dinner or drinks. The pale pink and gold go really nicely together and I like anything shiny! I also like the fact this top is quite high necked as it gives it a bit of a retro vibe and makes it a bit different from the other "going out tops" that I own. (£20)

9. Victoria's Secret Fragrance Mist I love anything from Victoria's Secret and i'm really looking forward to going there next week and picking out one of their fragrance mists. I have a feeling I'll really like this one called "Mango Temptation" as I love the scent of anything mango. I also never realised that Fragrance Direct, along with a few other UK online stores stock some of the Victorias Secret body products, which is really exciting as the UK Victoria's Secret stores are sadly still somewhat limited at the moment.


10. Fudge Urban Iced Raspberry and Vanilla Styling Mousse I've always liked the look of Fudge's Iced Raspberry and Vanilla hairspray, although I rarely wear hairspray i'd always heard good things about it (apparently it's even Harry Styles favourite) and the scent sounded really nice, so when I found the mousse version on Superdrugs website I was keen to try it as I like using products to help with getting volume into my hair, and have previously loved the milk_shake conditioning mousse (which also smells incredible by the way). I never realised that Fudge was so affordable either, this mousse only costs £5.99 which is basically half the price of the milk_shake one, so this is definitely worth a try in the future.

11. Heart Jumper- Next I'm not usually a fan of wearing jumpers at any time other than during the thick of winter, but this one from next seemed to look quite light weight and more Spring-esque. I also like the fact it ties up at the back and could see it being worn for a still slightly chilly day at the beach or something. The bright coral colour is also really nice, as well as the heart pattern. (£30)

Thanks for reading! x

Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara Review ♡

Maybelline's "Big Eyes" Mascara is a mascara which is somewhat newly released in the UK this year (I have had mine since February). What makes this mascara different is the fact it is double ended, with two wands, one of which is for your upper lashes, and the other smaller wand is for your lower lashes. The concept (coupled with already being a fan of numerous Maybelline mascaras) is what drew me to Big Eyes- I've always been interested in trying the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara so thought that maybe the 'lower lashes' part of Big Eyes could serve as a dupe.

The Packaging of Big Eyes is a lot more sleek than previous Maybelline offerings such as the Colossal lash, Rocket, Megaplush etc, all of which seem to have the same shape tube but with a different colour scheme. I like the more sleek design as it means you can grip hold of the tube a lot easier when applying it, scenes as the two ends unscrew.

This is the wand for your upper lashes which has bristles and is not too big, it's quite a medium sized wand and does an okay job of coating the lashes- I don't feel like it's amazing, just pretty standard and gets the job done. Taking aside the bonus of the lower lashes wand, I feel if I was comparing the upper lashes part of Big Eyes to my other top three Maybelline mascaras: (Rocket, Megaplush and Great Lash ) then it's not quite as effective, although there's definitely a lot worse out there. However,  I have to say that I found this mascara to be so much more effective after it had 'dried up' a bit (hence why I'm getting so much more use out of it now, in April, than I initially did in February)- I believe this to be due to the fact that the formulation of this mascara was a little too 'wet' initially, and whilst it coated the lashes with mascara, it was all a bit too slippery with not enough grip to really maintain volume, length or curl. I reach for this product a lot more now because of this, and actually find it to be the case with a lot of mascaras- even the famous Benefit They're Real!

 Now onto the fun part...this is the brush for your lower lashes and it is a lot more tiny than it probably appears in this picture- it's not too jam packed with bristles either and really allows you to get up close and personal with your lower lashes. The best thing is the fact that because of the size of this brush, you can place it underneath your lower lashes- something which you can't really do with any regular mascara, because the size of the wand would mean that unless you're really careful, you'll end up with smudges. The ability to be able to do this and concentrate a lot more on your lower lashes is what makes this mascara really cool and an interesting one to try, if like me you love the look of dolly-like long, defined lower lashes and want to test the water with a cheaper alternative to the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara, then big eyes is definitely worth picking up.

This is how the mascara looks on my lashes- it is a little clumpy and doesn't do the greatest job at separating the lashes, but I did manage to get quite a lot of length and volume, especially on my lower lashes.

Overall, I'd say that if you're interested in the concept of using a smaller wand to concentrate on building up your lower lashes, then Big Eyes is a great one to try, however for your upper lashes it's definitely not the best mascara out there, and benefits greatly from drying out a bit before you really get it at it's best- nevertheless it's a fun and interesting concept to bring to the high street and is price at around £8.99- available now in Boots and Superdrug 

MAC Up The Amp Lipstick ♡

MAC's "Up The Amp" lipstick is one of the most unique lipsticks out there, described by MAC themselves as a "lavender violet", it's the ideal way of achieving a purplely lip without going for a really pale lilac, or a super dark plum- the pink tones in this lipstick make it a little more wearable than the average purple lip (although still probably best reserved for evening usage)

"Up The Amp" is an amplified creme finish and it feels really rich and luxurious when you apply it, with a lot of pigment and a colour rich shine. I'd wanted this lipstick for a good few months but was wary of if it would be a bit too bold and drastic, so I looked elsewhere for a more affordable dupe and the general consensus seemed to be a Revlon shade which I unfortunately couldn't seem to get a hold of, so I ended up just going for the real deal. At £15 it is quite a lot of money to spend on a lipstick which isn't really an everyday staple, but the colour is so unique and pretty that I think it would be an asset to anyone's collection, and you may as well spend more money on a unique shade which isn't so easy to come by, than a more standard shade that could easily be 'duped' in the high street.

If you're looking for a purpley/mauve lip which isn't too drastic and crazy and will look great all year round, then Up The Amp is a great choice- I think it would look really nice paired with a neutral eye, some winged out liner and a simple LBD for an evening out!

MAC "Up The Amp" is priced at £15 and available from the MAC website or Debenhams.

L'oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick ♡

The new range of "Liquid Lipsticks" from L'oreal have the consistency of a thick gloss, but with the promise of pigment rich colour and high shine. This concept is something which isn't too new, with products such as the Rimmel Apocalips and Maybelline Elixir's already out there, but what's different about this collection from L'oreal is the fact that these products are oil based.

The liquid lipsticks are said to be made with "micro-oils infused with rich pigments" and I think this is definitely what makes them so impressive, the formula feels really slick and so easy to apply thanks to the nice and wide doe foot applicator which allows you to use the end to precisely outline the shape of your lips, but then use the side to evenly spread the product.

This shade, "Rose Symphony"  (they all have music themed names) is what I would describe as a watermelon pink, it reminds me a bit of a less bright, liquid version of MAC "Impassioned" and is such an ideal pink shade for summer, or if you're going on holiday. The shine this gives on the lips is incredible, it makes your lips look so glossy, like an advert in a magazine! The packaging is also so classy looking, they remind me of something YSL.

I can't actually think of a single bad thing to say about these lip products, the formula is definitely what makes them such a winner, they feel and look like a rich, thick shiny lacquer and the wearing time is impressive too, even when this shade faded, it became like a muted rose coloured stain which was really nice.

The L'oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipsticks are available now at Boots, and are priced at £8.99, although I think if you tried them without knowing the brand, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a high end product- i'm already looking at what shade to purchase next!

Barry M Aquarium Collection ♡

Another recently released collection from Barry M is the Aquarium Collection, which features four two toned metallic polishes and two glitter topcoat polishes, all of which are centred around pinky golds and bluey green tones.

The shade in question here is "Mediterranean", which is a metallic pink/orangey gold which is so unique from any nail polish i've seen before and such a good polish for Summer, as it reminds me of a sunset on a hot day.

The formulation of this polish is great, and I only needed two coats for complete opacity, unlike the polish from the Silk collection which required three coats (although it was a white). I applied "Mediterranean" on Saturday evening and it has taken till today (Tuesday) for me to get a slight chip on one of the ends, so the wearing time is pretty decent.

What makes this polish (or any from this collection) worth buying is the uniqueness of the colours, all of them are so shiny and the metallic and I think it's not easy to find such a nice collection of two tone polishes by a high street brand at such an affordable price (£3.99)

Revlon Matte Balms

The recently released Revlon Matte Balms are a collection of wind-up chubby lip pencils which provide a velvety matte finish on the lips. There's a wide range of shades available from the peachy-nude colour "Complex" through to a tangerine orange "Mischievous".  

This shade, however, is called "Elusive" and is the perfect in between of not being a 'bright' lip colour, but not a nude either. It's definitely visible on the lips without being too much for everyday work wear and could probably be described as a mid rosy pink. 

In comparison to the earlier Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, the Matte Balms are more creamy and do not give the same "stain" to the lips that the Balm Stains give, although scenes as they are just marketed as balms, not balm stains this isn't really surprising. Nevertheless the staying power of these is pretty good, they stay on even after eating/drinking but obviously will fade by the afternoon, especially a more neutral shade like this one. The Matte Balms also have a much nicer scent compared to the Balm Stains, it's still minty, but more peppermint/candy cane which is a really nice little detail.

At £7.99 and now widely available in Boots and Superdrug (although I find Superdrug to have the better shade selection) the Revlon Matte Balms have a gorgeous, velvety smooth texture which seems to actually make the lips look a lot more full and plump than the average lip product, something which I think makes them worth picking up for that reason alone. The twist up, chubby stick style packaging is also really convenient for quick and concise application as well as throwing in your bag for touch ups.

(A post on the Revlon Lacquer Balms will be coming up soon)

Barry M Silk Effect Nail Paints ♡

Barry M's new range of Silk effect nail paints come in six different pale shades, although this one, "Pearl" is a shimmery white which would look great for Spring/Summer, especially with a tan . The collection also features a pale pink, lilac, light blue, sea foam green and metallic pale brown toned gold. They cost £3.99 and are available in Boots, Superdrug or barrym.com 

This is the polish after two coats. It's almost opaque by this point but it definitely benefits from a third coat just to make it completely opaque and build up the shine.

This is how the polish looks after three coats. It gives a really nice pearlescent finish making it a bit more wearable and less stark than a standard white.

With a top coat (OPI Rapid dry) over the top for added shine and chip resistance.

Overall this is a quite unique and wearable polish which is worth picking up, Barry M's formulation never fails and a shimmery white colour will go with whatever you're wearing and make a nice change from the standard pastels.