Fragrance Direct | Lipstick Haul

I recently found a website called Fragrance Direct- it's basically a discount website full of male and female beauty products. I'm not sure whether it's well known or not, but I stumbled across it one day and I've been adding things to my basket since. As far as I can see, the company sells off old or discontinued stock at a fraction of the price. They have quite a few brands I've never heard of, like Technic (which I decided to try), but they also have a great selection of high end products like MAC! I just want to add straight away that in no way am I being sponsored for this post, I just really wanted to share my new find with you guys! Anyway.. take a look at what I bought!.. 

The first thing I added to my basket was a Bourjois Ombre eye shadow in Raffine. This little compact shadow packs a punch and has a crazy amount of pigment! It's a golden orange colour and very shimmery, I've been using this colour a lot since I bought it as it is so easy to apply and lasts all day. The shadow came with a tiny sponge applicator, which is pretty cute if you're out and about. But seriously, does anyone even use those things? The RRP for this is £9.99. How much did I pay? £1.99!

Looking for some cheaper lipsticks, I found Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede in shade It Girl. It's a really pretty coral colour and I thought it would be really cute for the summer, since I don't already have one. I'm not used to such a wide and round application, so I felt a bit weird applying it at first. I will say, the lipstick is more like a tinted lipbarm rather than an actual lipstick. It's very glossy and wet, and you have to apply around 2-3 layers of the colour to really get a nice coral colour. With an RRP of £8.99, I'm glad I only paid £2.99, as it's not worth the hefty price tag. 

I've never heard of the Technic brand, so thought I would give it a try. The lipstick promises to give a matte finish, and although it dries slower than others, it doesn't disappoint. The stick itself is a very vibrant red with a nice orange tone to it, however again, it's very poorly pigmented and you have to apply quite a few coats to get anything of a red colour. The RRP for this is £2.75, however I only paid £0.99. 

Bellapierre lipstick retails at £20 each, so when I found the Burlesque lipstick on Fragrance Direct for £2.99, I snapped it up. You know I love a bright colour! This was my best purchase of the bunch! It is extremely pigmented and is a really nice pink colour that also has a hint of plum. It is really moisturizing and I would probably even pay full price for it! The only downfall is the packaging is extremely tacky as it is a thin plastic. Eww. But if you can get past that, you'll be fine!

My last purchase was the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable lip stain. This retails at £7.99, but I got my mittens on it for just £0.99. I think this was maybe a less popular or discontinued colour, and I can't seem to find it on the website anymore. But whatever the reason, it's a really beautiful light pink/purple colour. I have loads of lip stains and this sits firmly with the rest. It's highly pigmented and leaves a long lasting stain on your lips. It's a lot lighter than I usually go for, but would really suit people who don't quite dare to go fully bold!

I hope this has inspired you in some way to check out Fragrance Direct. I really think they have some good quality products at such good prices. If you're somebody stuck in your usual routine, it's probably not best for you, since a lot of these products are discontinued or less popular products. But if you fancy a smooch at some of their stock, click here! Again, I wasn't sponsored to do this, I just wanted to share this amazing find with you all! 

Have you ever shopped here?

How I stay organised

Let me be the first to say I am a major list maker. I will literally make a list for all my lists to make sure I don't forget any. It goes that far! Today I wanted to share something a little different with the world: How I stay organised! 

Apps

In this day and age, we have so many devices with built in schedules and calendars that most of the time, there is no need to carry around a hefty diary. Though I still do! I use all of these to my advantage though, and I like to keep things separate from one another, it just makes my schedule look more clean. It also means that I have so many different diaries, I can make a note of things wherever I am in the world! 

The built in calendar on any smartphone is a brilliant little device to use. I use my Iphone to keep track of peoples birthdays and make note of any friends I've planned to meet with throughout the week. That way, I can always keep check of my more personal plans when I'm out and about or on the go. I also like using the 'Reminders' app on my phone to keep track of everything I need to do that day. It's so convenient because you can just simply tick something off once you've completed it. I told you, I like lists! 

Diary

I also have a diary that I keep on my desk, which is used purely for my blogging tasks. I plan all my blog posts ahead of time, and I set specific days throughout the week in order to take time to write my posts, as well as take the pictures for them. I've somehow got to the stage where I'm now writing two-three weeks in advanced, which makes me feel so much better about blogging. I really suggest you take the time to sit and schedule a few posts, or even have a few saved for if you're ever ill or on holiday. It's nice knowing you don't have to stress about hitting a deadline for a blog post. Just to make me even more list-crazy, I've recently ordered yet another diary to stay organised when my business opens next month!

Sticky Notes

Yes! If all of that organisation wasn't enough, the last thing I use, which is usually to keep track of blogging and emailing is the cute little sticky note app on my computer. I don't have a Mac, I couldn't afford to follow the trend, so I'm not sure if this is on there too (sorry!). It literally is an app that lets you stick Post-it notes all over your computer desktop. It helps me stay focused so I don't venture off and find myself reading a random blog about cereal whilst I should be writing my own post. Yano what I mean?

How do you stay organised?

Girl About Town | MAC Lipstick

Technically I still haven't purchased my first MAC lipstick, since this was a Christmas present of one of my best friends. In fact, she has bought me nearly every piece of MAC make-up I own! She hit the nail on the head with this again, as the colour is to die for. I absolutely love bold and bright lipstick colours. On a day-to-day basis, I would definitely reach for a nice pink instead of a nude colour, no matter what I'm wearing. I love to bringing some kind of colour to my face. 

I originally only used this for special occasions; for meals or nights out. But then I realised I'm useless at looking after things when I've had a few too many, and I couldn't stand the thought of losing it because it's such a pretty colour. Now it stays firmly in my make-up draw, so I can apply it first thing in the morning, and I'll always know where it is when I feel like it needs a bit of a colour top-up. 

The colour is Girl About Town (Amplified- to make it even better!) and it is super pigmented and moisturising. You only need to apply one coat to get the full effect of the lovely Fuchsia colour. The creamy texture makes your lips feel fuller and just altogether lovely. The bright Fuchsia will stay put for around 4-5 hours (even through a full meal) and afterwards will still leave an even stain on your lips. You can't really fault the staying power! 

Being fairly new to MAC lipstick, I'm super impressed with the quality and I'm pretty sure this won't be their only lipstick in my collection down the line. I can now fully appreciate why beauty bloggers rave about MAC lipstick and why they have such an extensive collection in their storage. I've just jumped on the bandwagon! It's a real 'out there' colour, and although it may not be everyone's cup of tea, I love it! It gives the right pop of colour for when you need a sassy day! 

Would you wear such a bright colour? 

Top 10 Shows To Watch on Netflix

Okay, so I had originally planned to share with you the top five shows I love to watch. It quite quickly became apparent that it was nearly impossible for me to list just five shows, when there are so many for me to chose from! I am such a Netflix addict, I don't know what I would do with my spare time if it didn't exist. I would probably have to be sociable and stuff! Seriously, if there are still people out there without an account, they need to question their priorities! 

It was just as hard to narrow my list down to ten shows, but here we go!

1) Gossip Girl 

My teenage years were spend swooning over Chuck Bass, and then when I joined Netflix and saw the whole six seasons on there, I knew I was in trouble! The show is about a group of popular, rich teenagers living on the Upper East Side of New York. They're constantly followed by a ruthless and mysterious blogger who shares all their secrets (good, bad and downright dirty). I dare you to watch this show and not become hooked!

2) Pretty Little Liars 

I followed Pretty Little Liars from the beginning (until it got canceled in the UK), and was so glad to see it being bought on to Netflix. What makes it even better is their upload date correspond to the USA release dates! It's a mystery kind of show, involving four girls and their missing friend. The girls constantly receive messages from 'A', and decide to get involved with the case themselves. The more they find out, the more danger they are put in. This show always has me on the edge of my seat! With so many twists and turns, you never know what is going to happen. 

3) 90210

90210 is one of the first shows I watched when I created my account. I didn't watch it when it was originally aired as It was a spin-off of Beverly Hills 90210. But I urge you to take the leap! The show follows the lives of a group of wealthy teenagers coping with growing up and maturing in our modern times. 90210 literally covers all aspects of life from teen pregnancy, drugs, peer pressure, suicide to rape and mental illness. You will be able to relate to at least one thing that happens in this show. 

4) Orange Is The New Black

For me, this show opened my eyes to a whole other side of prison inmates. It is set in a women's only prison, where you learn to love the characters and at points, even start to understand some of the poor choices they have made. It's refreshing to see how people from different backgrounds can learn to live in such a tight-knit community. You will laugh, cry and smile throughout. This is definitely one of the most popular shows on Netflix. 

5) Brooklyn Nine-Nine

A more light-hearted watch for me is Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It is an American sitcom about a team of police detectives who have to put their completely different personalities aside to fight crime. As such, there is no major story-line, so every episode is a new adventure, which is one of the things I love about this show. This quick-witted, fast paced, hilarious show will have you howling with laughter. If this isn't enough to draw you in, Terry Cruise is also a main character! Oh my!

6) Dead Like Me

I often overlooked Dead Like Me when I joined Netflix, I would read the description and ponder to myself. It worked it's way on to 'My List', where it sat for many months before I decided I should give it a try. Dead Like Me is an American comedy about an uninterested, attitude filled teenage girl who gets tragically killed on the first day of her new job. She is immediately recruited to become a grim reaper, whose job it is to not only figure out who is going to die, but to help people pass into the after life. I don't feel I can do this show much justice, as reading my description back to myself makes it sound completely ridiculous. It's a shame this show was canceled, I don't think it was given enough time to reach the appropriate audience. 

7) Big School 

Big school is written by and stars David Walliams. It's set in an unsuccessful, undisciplined high school and follows the working life of a small group of teachers. Upon arrival of a new female teacher, the others feel it necessary to fight for her approval and affection, which always seems to land them in some sort of trouble. If that wasn't enough, the comedic relationship of Catherine Tate and David Walliams completes the show. 

8) Life Unexpected 

Another show that seems to have disappeared of our telly! Life Unexpected is about a young, homeless girl that decides it's time to find her real parents. Instead of becoming emancipated like she wished, she instead gets placed into their care and hurled into their dysfunctional life. Having moved on themselves, the young parents have to somehow put their differences aside, and work together to help the young girl. This show is a real tearjerker and eye opener. 

9) Suits

Suits is based in a Law firm and involves a college dropout, who somehow manages to get a job working as a Lawyers Associate despite never even attending a Law school. The two men have to work together to not only close court cases, but also hide his secret. I've recently started watching this and I'm hooked. The only downfall to this show is the hour long episodes and the amount of detail you have to remember. You have to give it your full attention in order to follow the storyline. 

10) American Horror Story

Is this show messed up or what? What I like about this is each season is a different story, a different place and a different timezone. There is no way you can become bored of the show because it changes so often. The first season consists of a killer house (I know!), that manages to kill everyone that enters, followed by a second season set around an insane asylum (it's literally insane!). The third season focuses on a witches coven, the fourth season involves an American 'Freak Show', and the fifth, and newest, season is based around a mysterious hotel. With all of these changing story's, they manage to keep the original cast and rework them each time. It's definitely a show to watch in the day time, snuggled up, with a pillow to hide!

What is your favourite show to watch on Netflix? 

Have you seen any of the shows listed above?

Favourite Bloggers Right Now

I love being introduced to new bloggers, as I think it shows you exactly how big the blogging community is. I often search through different blogs to find their latest loves and inspirations, and I thought I would share a few of mine with you today. I'm hoping you have already heard of most of these, as they deserve a lot of credit, but if not, they're definitely worth having a peak at!

These are in no particular order, as I just couldn't pick an overall favourite. 

Tattoologist 

A lady called Natalie Hanks owns this professional little blog, which mainly consists of cute pictures of tattoos. I look forward to seeing the different designs put up on my activity feed throughout the day. They're posted regularly and, as a tattoo lover, I have gained so much inspiration from following her. 

Dizzybrunette3

I have followed Corrie since I can remember. I'm pretty sure she was one of the first beauty blogs I actually followed and I've remained loyal since! Her photos are so professional and eye catching, you can easily get lost in her posts and feel as if you're living it with her too. If you don't already, you should seriously check her out. Corrie always seems extremely organised and make-up collection is to die for!

Beauty & The Bird

I'm a fairly new follower of Rachel's blog, but how can you not follow when she posts daily (yes, daily!) about all things beauty. I seriously got so engrossed in her posts when I first discovered the blog, I spent the best part of my day reading through everything she had to say. BATB has been the reason for quite a few of my purchases recently, and has made me rediscover a lot of my old loves. 

Pint Sized Beauty

PSB is another new blog I recently found, and my gosh I fell in love with Lily's pretty pictures almost instantly. Her photography and editing skills are incredible and her props are always so well thought out. Her blog posts are so relatable, and I often find myself nodding along with them. Lily's latest post about her Crosley made me almost want to buy one, even though I no longer buy physical copies of music!

I would seriously love for you to share some of your own favourite bloggers, as I love discovering new people!

How I Try To Save Money

Whilst I'm waiting to start my business, I've not got a steady income like I used to, though I do still have the shopping obsession! Now I've taken up blogging again too, it's hard for me not to get caught up in the beauty world. I feel like I have almost missed a whole season of new products and must-have items that I really want to purchase. I thought today I would share with you how I have 'taught' myself to save, especially now I am on a tighter budget. 

So here are some tips that may hopefully help or inspire you to save a bit more. 

Re-shop your stash- This is an obvious tip that many bloggers do already. But seriously, it's better done sooner or later. See that new Urban Decay Pallet with really cute nude colours? Do you not already have different versions of the colours? I'm not too bad with palettes (as of yet!), but my gosh am I awful with lipsticks. It's amazing what you rediscover in your current make-up stash when you spend an extra 10 minutes looking. 

Save it for later- I have a habit of online shopping for something specific, and coming out £20 lighter because of offers and exclusive deals. Seriously, did I need that mascara in three different colours? Apparently so! Make a wishlist and budget yourself to one item a fortnight (or a week if you're that impatient!). You'll be amazed by how much you're saving. 

Is there a beauty dupe?- The thing I love about the beauty blogging world is the amount of dupe products we seem to find. This only means one thing- saving! It's worth researching different product dupes to find out whether you can get the same thing for a cut of the price. Or even shopping around in general- if you're willing to take an extra half an hour scowling the shops, you could even save money this way. 

Buy a piggy bank- This is a general, non-beauty, saving tip. For as long as I can remember, I have owned a tin that I put any £1 and £2 coins in. I also have a copper jar, but c'mon, it takes forever to see a benefit! It's amazing how much money you can save throughout the year by putting all your £1 and £2 coins aside. Even if you make it a rule to put a certain amount away each week, you'll easily be saving!

Do you need it?- I've recently started doing this. If I can't justify buying something, I wont. I made it a rule (yes, an actual rule) that if I can't give myself a genuine reason for wanting something, I must instead put the money aside for something else. I don't like to think of it as 'punishing myself' for wanting something. How I see it is, I was going to buy it regardless, but I don't need the item, then I also don't need the money right now. Therefore, if i'm willing to spend that money, I wont actually have missed it, so I should save it instead. If you get me? I know what I mean!

I hope this has helped some of you with your spending habits, especially after Christmas! What saving tips do you have?

Drugstore Beauty Haul | Budget Buys

Please excuse the background to my photographs at the minute, I'm still trying to find the niche for my blog, so I'm practicing with different backgrounds and lighting! I do apologise in the meantime! Anyway, I was quite naughty recently and found myself having a little online shopping spree. I don't often like buying products online until I've physically seen and had a play with it beforehand, so I'm not sure what went through my mind when I found myself adding more and more products to my online basket! 

I'm not going to give a full review of each product today, as I don't think I've used them all long enough to give a real opinion of each. So expect to see posts in the future including these purchases:

• Makeup Revolution Ultra 32 Shade Palette- Flawless Matte
• Makeup Revolution E103 Eyeshadow Blending Brush
• Makeup Revolution Liquid Eye Primer
• Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer- Fair
• Collection Contour Kit- #1

I should mention that this palette was immaculate when I first received it. I opened it up and was greeted by the stunning, perfectly flat colours. I should also mention I own a 10 month old German Shepherd puppy. Put two and two together, and this was the end result. I had had the palette for less than two minutes. In fact, I don't even think I had managed to have a look at all of the colours before he thought he should jump up me to get in on the action. 

I've been using this every day since I bought it, and for the price (£8), I'm pretty impressed. I must admit, the colours aren't amazingly pigmented, especially with the lighter colours. I chose the matte edition because my skin is often so shiny anyway, adding more shimmer to my eyes would quite possibly turn me into some kind of glitter ball! 

Buying a net palette also meant the 'need' for an eyeshadow primer. I used to religiously wear liquid eyeliner, so didn't feel the need for one before, but now I have an excuse! I also treated myself to a blending brush, since I never needed one of those too!

I've taken the plunge and decided to try my hand at contouring! (help!). I've stared with a cheaper drugstore brand in case I become so frustrated, I give up altogether! The Collection Kit was on offer from £4.99 to £2.99, so I thought it was a real steal! I have watched so many videos, and seen so many pictures of people looking stunning because of their contour. I mean, people are even going to extremes of contouring their stomachs and boobs nowadays! (whats all that about?!). Then there's me, who can't even contour my nose. If anybody has any tips, or has written a post about contouring, please please PLEASE feel free to share it with me! You don't know how much it will be appreciated!

Do you have any contour tips? How did you take the plunge into starting?

BB Cream.. Primer? | Rimmel London

BB Cream helps my skin so much on days when i don't need much coverage at all. I don't really like leaving my face completely nude, but also don't feel the need to go all out when I'm having a lazy day. I picked up the Rimmel London beauty balm a few months ago, because of the amount of moisture it's meant to give. I can honestly say I noticed it immediately and for a while, it was all I would use. 

Given my skin tone, I had to get their lightest possible shade. The cream is extremely thin and *ahem* creamy. Originally, I used to apply the product using my hands, but soon found out it doesn't take very well to my skin by doing it that way. The best way I've found to evenly apply the BB cream is to use my blending sponge as it helps to give a better coverage. I have noticed that the product becomes darker after drying though, so the blender sometimes gives you a false sense of security by thinking you can apply a bit more. 

I've read a lot of posts surrounding this BB Cream, as it seems to be a product that you either love or hate. As a BB cream, I think it's pretty thin. I also find it hard to agree with all of the results you're meant to achieve by using the product. Like I said, I do believe it helps to moisturize my skin, as well as it making a brilliant base/primer. However, for me, the cream didn't give an amazing cover to my skin and turned matte way too fast for my liking. I found it hard to apply to my skin as it would dry fast and leave orange patches on my face. There is no way I could use this product by itself. 

Read about the Rimmel London Lasting Finish Primer here.

As a BB cream, I wouldn't recommend, however, as a tinted primer, I think you're on to a winner!

Oh My GOSH | Lipstick

Until recently, my lipstick collection only consisted of extremely bright pinks and reds. I love a good, bright lipstick to make you feel sassy! Whilst I will probably forever stand by my bright lipsticks, I had an upcoming interview and realized it probably wouldn't look very professional to wear them. Queue these two beauties. I decided on GOSH because after spending hours swatching different products, they felt the most silkiest and had the biggest range of nudes to pick from. Plus they were on offer! 

I'm one for cute names, so I'm a bit gutted that the GOSH colours do not run like that. These are simply 'Cappuccino' and 'Nude'. Bit boring really, but I guess that is exactly what the colour is. The packaging is a really cute matte tube, with the brand name indented into shiny plastic. It makes them look really professional and quite expensive. It's really worth swatching too, because the colours on the bottom do not match the colour in the tube. 

The 'Cappuccino' is more of a brownish-nude colour, whereas the 'nude' is a pinkish-nude. Both colours are fairly pigmented, though I find I reapply it quite a few times throughout the day as it fades pretty quickly. It doesn't bother me though because they were inexpensive compared to others in my collection. They give a shimmery finish too, rather than a matte one, which suits me just perfectly since I need all the moisture I can get! I did notice the first few times I used them, they're so smooth, the product will stick to every last bit of dry skin on your lips. So during these winter months when your lips start to peel and dry up (gross), they're probably not going to be the best unless you're consistent in using lip scrubs before applying. 

I instantly fell in love with the Nude lipstick since it's a pink tone. It's great for an everyday look and I've started to reach for it most days. I was pretty stupid whilst shopping the colours, and whilst they looked pretty swatching them on my hand, I didn't think to match the colours to my make-up. I'm finding it hard to wear the Cappuccino shade, as it matches my foundation pretty perfectly, leaving me looking like I have smeared concealer on my lips (remember those days?). Lets just say it isn't very pretty. 

Do you own any GOSH lipstick? What do you think of the value for money?

Budget Eyebrow Kit | Collection

Filling in my eyebrows has only recently been a thing for me. I'm quite lucky in the fact my eyebrows are pretty full anyway. I've never been really conscious about my brows, and the only reason I felt I needed to fill them in is because they're a lot lighter than my current hair colour. When I was out shopping, I knew I didn't want to spend a lot of money buying a premium eyebrow kit, purely because I knew I wouldn't be using it every day. I like to fall back on Collection or Makeup Revolution products because they really are such good value for money. So when I saw the Collection Eyebrow Kit on offer, I picked it straight up. 

Considering the kit is only £3.99, you get a generous amount. I picked up the brunette palette, which has three pretty dark colours to suit any dark tone. The palette also comes in blonde, with a lot lighter colours. The kit also comes with a clear brow mascara, which does the job at setting your brows. I've also tried waxes to seal my brows, but I think the tube of mascara will last longer and it doesn't leave your eyebrows hard or clumpy. I have no complaints for the small brush either, one side it sloped to get a nice arch, whilst the other is rounded which helped me to fill quicker. The palette even has a mirror in, which I haven't needed to use, but Collection has clearly thought of everything for this! 

The colours themselves are ridiculously pigmented. Trust me- a little goes a long way with this kit, especially with the darker colours. I've been using this for the past two months and I've hardly made a dent in the product. I was worried at first that I was buying three colours when I only really wanted the one, but after realizing how pigmented they are, I would happily use the other colours as eye shadow. I think the darkest colour would make a really nice smokey eye. 

Overall, I'm really impressed with this kit. It's definitely a budget find that would have probably been overlooked. I'm surprised with how pigmented the colours are compared to the price, and this has stayed firmly in my make-up bag since I purchased it. The matte colours are so easy to mix, I think it's worth any beauty lover to give it a go at least once!

Have you tried this kit? What is your favourite budget product?