What's on my holiday beauty shelf?

One thing that I have to be very selective of, when going on a sunny, bikini-clad holiday, is deciding which beauty items I will be taking with me. I don't know about you, but personally, 90% of my holiday just consists of bare, makeup-free skin (with SPF of course). Therefore, once you have packed what you think you will need, take out at least 1/3 of the products and you should be good to go. I tried to stay very basic, and actually didn't use all of these items at all. Obviously we all have different types of holiday, some people like to really glam up in the evenings, and if that's the case, by all means, go a bit more overboard, but personally, I think the minimal the better. 

In terms of skincare, I stayed very basic, and took a RMK Balm Cleanser* (not pictured as placed "neatly" by the sink in the bathroom), Hydraluron, Murad Hydro-dynamic Eye Cream* and a Laneige water sleeping mask (which I like to use in the daytime as a normal moisturiser as it's so lovely and hydrating). I also have a teeny nivea deodorantwhich perfectly lasted the whole 7 days. Beats taking the full size and wasting potential extra clothing weight. I also used P20 SPF 20 for the majority of the time I was there. As I'd been in the sun a lot more this year, I wasn't planning on burning myself to a crisp, so I started off the holiday with a higher SPF and then used this for the rest of the time, giving me a lovely natural tan. I also used a Vichy 50 SPF Face Sun Protectant*. 

I took a fair selection of lip products (First fail). When selecting colours to wear on holiday with the potential of getting a tan, don't take pale colours or you will look very scary and a little ill. This meant I didn't get any use out of the Bourjois Colour Boost "Peach On The Beach". Instead, I mostly reached for my bright orange Topshop Lipstick in "Infrared" which I found complimented my skin tone perfectly. I wish I'd taken a red or a bright pink, as I think they would have looked good also. I took a Maybelline Baby Lips in "Hydrate", although it's important to remember that it's only good for when you aren't in the sun, as a lip balm with SPF is essential. I had a Piz Buin SPF30 which worked wonders, and I used Baby Lips at night. 

Other items of makeup that I used for the evenings were a dash of Collection Lasting Perfection concealer blended out with a brush, a smidgen of Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation (when it was still suitable for my skin colour - which was only the first few days), Guerlain Bronzer in Terracota* (I used this to death - some nights I only used this with a touch of mascara), Estee Lauder Tease for a touch of blush/highlight, the new blush by Benefit in "Rockateur"* (a nice mix of bronzer and blush), Urban Decay Naked Basics palette (I thought i'd use this for eyeshadow, but I only applied basic eyeshadow once, the only colour I did use daily was the matte brown in Faint for my eyebrows),Bourjois Liquid Liner Feutre* (Used this every night) and Benefit's "They're Real" Mascara* in travel sized form (too adorable). I didn't use powder as I didn't feel as though my face needed powdering as the sun made it a little dehydrated. I also didn't use my Benefit Erase Paste as it was too light in colour and creamy for the humidity. 

Other things on my beauty shelf are Oribe Dry Texturising Spray which I did use a lot as it doubles up as a dry shampoo. A teeny bottle of Tresemme Hairspray (which I didn't use very much), Some Zoeva brushes* which I wanted to give a try, as they had been sent to me a while back (I was thoroughly impressed and will review them soon) and my Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Butter Cream (STAPLE).

Do you often find you overpack for sunny holidays? What are your beauty essentials when going away?

♥

15 random facts about me

1. I used to suck my thumb from the ages of 0 - 6 and pull out the fluff from a Christmas hat which I named "wobbly hat"

2. The sun instantly makes me happy and rain instantly gets me down

3.When I feel comfortable around you, you will probably think I am a complete weirdo. Weird is good though right?

4. I can appear quite shy when I first meet people, but very quickly warm up

5.I'm addicted to cupcakes (Hummingbird and Lola's to be precise.

6.The smell of mushrooms cooking makes me gag/want to throw up and don't even get me started on what they taste like...

 7.I sing all the time when I'm alone but would never properly sing in front of anyone. 

8. My legs always have little bruises on them. I don't even know how or why, but they do. Apparently I bruise like a peach and have terribly clumsy pins.

9. So far this year, I've only cried at happy things and no sad tears at all. *fist pump*

10. Sometimes I have hot chocolate for breakfast

11. When I'm cold, I'm get really grumpy

12. I love going on long road trips and discovering cool new places (mostly by the beach)

13. I still eat potato "SMILES", meant for kids (don't judge me, they taste damn good okay)

14. Sunglasses shopping frustrates me because of my pea head. None of them fit me.

15.I have the worst selective hearing EVER. It annoys everyone so much. if you were to talk to me as I write this blog post, I just wouldn't hear you.

Hope you liked this slightly more personal blog post this evening! I'd seen lot's of other bloggers doing this so thought i'd do it too. I'd love to hear 15 facts about you aswell. I also apologise for the "i'm-feeling-slightly-mental today but hey what can you do haha

♥

Topshop Makeup | Nail Polish

Topshop Makeup | Nail Polish

 

Left to Right:
Crystal Clouds, Green Room, Sketch, Louder*, Dead Ringer*, Awol*, Parma Violet

Hidden Treasure & Gypsy Night

Polishes from the "Sandstorm" Collection last year.
L-R: Cylone & The last two were a duo called "Wilderness"*

New Glitter polishes! 
L-R: Ice Crush*, Adrenalin*, Razzmatazz*

L-R:

Adrenalin, Ice Crush, Razzmatazz, Sketch, Wilderness Duo, Parma Violet, Crystal Clouds, Cyclone, Awol, Green Room, Louder, Dead Ringer, Wilderness Duo, Hidden Treasure, Gypsy Night

Following on from my post about the Topshop Lipsticks, I thought i'd write about the nail polishes. I own a fair few, as you can see. I am a huge fan of these little beauties. I do remember when they first came on the scene, I wasn't massively impressed with the size or shape of the bottle, I just didn't think they looked very pretty and were quite small, but now I absolutely love them. They could be deemed slightly smaller than the average nail polish, but actually, I think they are just right. I own so many larger nail polishes (like O.P.I & China Glaze) and I never come anywhere close to using the whole bottle up before it goes thick & gloopy. 

The quality is really good, I have yet to use any shade which hasn't delivered a nice opacity, or painted on appallingly. I also think there is a fantastic range of colours. Whenever I see the makeup stand in Topshop, and all the pretty colours lined up so beautifully, I always feel as though I need to own more of them, so I can stand them in my bedroom looking equally as pretty. 

The standard range of basic colours are priced at £5 (your reds, blues, pinks, pastels & brights) & the more exciting/special polishes (The multi-tonal, glitter & crackle) are priced at £6. There are a few on the website at the moment which are part of the "Sisters of the New Moon" collection and they are priced at £6.50. I think the pricing is very fair. I'm quite happy to pay this nice mid-way price for a decent nail polish, compared with higher, more well-known brands at a much higher cost. I don't particularly look for a nail polish with the highest of quality, I'm definitely more of a "if I like the colour, i'm buying it regardless of the price" person. So if it's a gorgeous colour, i'll buy it if it's 50p or £10. I do know that some of you will be reading this who DO look for decent quality in a nail polish, possibly if your job involves you looking immaculate, and chipped nails are a nono? I can honestly say, I've NEVER come across a nail polish that doesn't chip on real nails. I'm an acrylics girl, so my nails aren't real most of the time, therefore polish is usually on there until I decide to change it. However, anytime I haven't had acrylics, and I've worn the Topshop nail polishes on my real nails, they've lasted just like any other polish. I'd say 5-6 days totally chip free (with a top coat). Even the more expensive polishes chip on me in this same amount of time (I don't think my natural nails take well to polish haha)

My current favourites are Green Room, Ice Crush, Hidden Treasure, and the metallic silver one from the Wilderness duo (annoyingly, they don't have separate names that I can see, and they aren't on the website anymore, but they do have a metallic silver which could very well be exactly the same)

Have you tried the Topshop nail polishes? Can you think of any colours that I'd love and don't already own? (not that I need anymore clearly)

♥

You might also like:

Topshop Makeup | Blush

Topshop Makeup | Blush

Topshop Blush £6 

Next in the Topshop Makeup Series, I want to go over the blushers. These are not my favourite thing in the Topshop makeup range, although I know plenty of people who would say they were. I just want to start with the packaging, I absolutely love it, like all other Topshop makeup items, it has the adorable black sketching, in this case, polka dots. The only thing I will say, is that after a while, the white background becomes a little more cream, and then there's no going back to that lovely white crisp casing, dangnabbit. 

The consistency of these is what makes them a little different from anything else I own, and certainly anything else I have seen on the High Street. They apply as a cream blush, but dry with a more powdery finish. I actually find powder blush easier to apply, as you just apply it with a brush, however, I do like to use these for a much more subtle finish. I think because it applies as a cream and dries to a powder, it gives a much more natural flush than a powder would. I also don't find it that difficult to apply. I just use my fingers, and dot it on my cheekbones or the apples of my cheeks (depending on which mood i'm in) and then blend it out as much as desired. The colours can look a little scary in the pan, but they are very easy to blend, and you can also build up the colour if you want something a little more opaque. They also have quite good lasting power, I wouldn't say it's amazing, but for £6 you can't really expect miracles (plus, you don't want to look like Aunt Sally for over 24 hours).

The colours I own are Head Over Heels (pictured on the left in all photos) and Flush (pictured on the right). Head over heels is my favourite (as you can see it has been used a fair bit...and looks pretty grubby). It's a gorgeous coral pink and I find that this suits my skin tone a little more than Flush, which is a lot more pink. 

What do you think of Topshop blush? Do you own any?

♥

Topshop Make up | Lipsticks

Topshop Make up |  Lipsticks

As most of you may be aware, Topshop released their own makeup range in 2010. Although it didn't really interest me at the time, over the past year I have grown quite the collection. There may not be a vast array to choose from, but what they do have, is of excellent value for money, and spot on in my book. I grew very bored of high street makeup, and Topshop came along just at the right time, and injected a bit of excitement back into my makeup bag, without me having to break open the piggy bank.

I'm going to do a series of blog posts on the different items that I own from the Topshop Makeup range, but first up, is my absolute favourite, the lipsticks.

Nevada, Desert, Pillow Talk, Brighton Rock, Ohh La La, Infared, Rio Rio, Beguiled

When Mac bumped up the price of their lipsticks to £13.50, I knew it was probably time to find a good substitute, as I am a huge sucker for lipsticks but couldn't possibly carry on buying them at £13.50 a pop (except on special occasions, or very rare, expensive, rainy days). There is not one thing I can fault with Topshop lipsticks, they tick every box in my opinion. Cute yet sturdy packaging made of metal, rounded with flat top and bottom, making it easy to store standing upright. They have names. Yes, slightly strange that this is even taken into consideration when reviewing a lipstick, but don't you hate lipsticks with numbers instead of names, they almost lack in personality...poor numbered lipsticks. Not to mention how difficult it would be to remember when out looting them. They have great pigmentation (nothing worse than no colour pay off) They aren't drying, and don't leave your lips chapped beyond repair, but also have great staying power. They're only £8-£9 & although this may seem pricey for a high street lipstick, there are plenty in Boots or Superdrug in the £7-£8 mark (Revlon for example) so it's all relative. I also think the quality is comparable to Mac's, so at £8, it's a great replacement.

Infared, Desert, Nevada

Brighton Rock, Rio Rio, Beguiled

Ohh La La, Pillow Talk (Part of a collection)

It's obvious to many of you which is my favourite of all the shades I own, as it is mostly all I wore through the summer, and that's Infared. I'm tempted to do a whole blog post about that in a little more detail.

If you're a lipstick sucker like me, and feel a little bored with what's available on the high street and in the pharmacies, but can't quite stretch to a Mac or Chanel lipstick but want something with a little bit of class, then check out the Topshop lipsticks. They are my new obsession & they are slowly breeding in my lipstick tin.

♥

Mini TopShop splurge

Mini Topshop Makeup Splurge

It may not come as much of a surprise to most of you that recently I have fallen in love with Topshop Makeup. I'm starting a series of review posts about each of the things I have tried from the whole range. I've already done one on the lipsticks which you can read HERE.

I recently popped into Topshop to have a little mooch around at the clothes, but ended up buying more of the makeup. Maybe, if I actually go there for makeup, i'll walk out with some clothing? It was the new "Sisters of the New Moon" collection that caught my eye. Topshop often bring out little collections alongside their permanent range, which I think is refreshing, and keeps you interested. I picked up a lip tint in "Crystal" which is absolutely amazing to look at. I feel like it's almost too pretty to use. It adjusts in shade when it comes into contact with your skin, which I thought was pretty cool. The second was a lipstick, which as you can see, is orange in colour, which therefor means I must have it. It's a lot less intense on the lips than my beloved Infared, but I love it. Both lip products were £9. I then also picked up a blush in "Flush" from the permanent line which is a pretty shade of fushia pink for £6. The last two items were nail polishes, also from the permanent line, "Hidden Treasure" (right) and "Gypsy Night" (left) which are both gorgeous colours. Who doesn't love a multi coloured glitter black & blue bottle? Both £5!

Overall, a pretty successful trip to Topshop, even if I didn't intend on leaving with makeup ;)

♥