Friday Favourite- YSL Black Opium

I rarely buy perfume for myself, mainly because I wear the same one (Thierry Mugler 'Alien') 90 percent of the time but a couple of months ago while browsing in Boots my Mum led me over to smell this assuring me it was the most amazing scent ever. 

There is a saying 'Mum knows best'.....

This had to go 'straight in my basket' ;) 

Seriously it is stunning, the base notes are vanilla, the top notes black coffee and the heart notes white florals which combined make it so unusual and so beautiful! A sweet yet sexy feminine scent that in my opinion is suited to both day and night time wear, if i had to pick I'd say that as there is a slight heaviness to it (though not overpowering a la the original opium) it is probably a more night time appropriate scent.

I can't finish without giving a tip of my hat to the bottle, .... Black sparkles and Rose Gold, thank you YSL my dressing table totally appreciates the packaging porn!!! 

xxx

Introducing Baby Finn....

Born at 9:22am 24.06.15 weighing 8lb 5oz <3 

Finn Louie Robinson.

First little outing to see the midwife at 2 days old :) 

Hello world! 

4 months since my last post, lets just say the final months of pregnancy did nothing for my mood, only now 6 days postpartum have I realised what an utter nightmare I must have been for my friends, family, work colleagues etc...oops! 

Anyway since this little man made his very quick entrance into the world (4 hour labour, no pain relief, I'm not bragging there was just no time to drug me up so I made it through by sucking my fist, sounds ridiculous I know but it really helped!) I have noticed my moodiness vanish and I actually like people and things again, phew, I thought I was a lost cause and I'd lost the plot at the grand old age of 30 although I did find myself looking at a snail in the garden the other day and thinking "I love snails" not sure I've ever had much affection for snails before so maybe I'm just on a baby high!

As I said we have been home for 6 days now and it has been the best week of my life, tough at times, but more than worth every single second and touch wood we have a very content little man on our hands and he is very pleased to meet you all! 

<3 

xxx

Proud Daddy! Just born, they will soon learn to get that stupid swaddle off me!

First big brother cuddles with Ben! <3

Bump to birth...left 16 weeks- right 40 weeks.

So in love! Need sleep!

xxx

A Friday Favourite~ Max Factor Masterpiece Transform Mascara

I never buy high end mascara because there are always such amazing drugstore alternatives that makes splashing the cash on something that lasts only a few weeks before it dries out seem so unnecessary to me. 

I have my favourites from L'oreal (telescopic) and Bourjois (volume one second) but if I'm ever stuck at a mascara loose end I know I can rely on Max Factor to offer up a winner.

Although I have a slight issue with this one, which I'll get onto in a minute, the MTM has been my go to mascara for the past few weeks because I'm obsessed with how well it volumises, separates and lengthens but doesn't leave a clumpy mess behind even after 2-3 coats the finish is so natural and pretty. It gives the impression that you have been blessed with really long gorgeous lashes and maybe you have applied a quick effortless stroke of mascara before heading out.

OK so as I said it's not totally perfect, the issue I've have with this is how it can get slightly messy when I'm trying to do a 5 minute make-up application at 6:30 am and I end up with more on my lids than my lashes due to the formula being very liquidy and the brush picking up too much product, not so much of a problem really but just a heads up you may want to have a tissue handy for excess product control. (I never have tissues handy hence the need to vent!) ;)

The positives far outweigh that little problem though and I will definitely be repurchasing this, it's a beaut!

xxx

Bourjois Nude Sensation Blur Effect Foundation!

It's no secret around these parts that I love Bourjois, for me they are definitely the King of the drugstore when it comes to base products. So while browsing feel unique for a new cleanser imagine my delightedness (wasn't expecting that to pass spellcheck?!?!) when I stumble across this new foundation offering (OK I didn't exactly stumble, I had drifted into the Make-up section, I'm bad!) I thought for a minute that I had missed a trick somewhere as I haven't heard any mention of this, turns out it was released exclusively to feel unique last week.

"Bourjois Nude Sensation Blur Effect Foundation is an incredibly light mousse foundation with a silky texture that melts instantly into the skin leaving the complexion evened out and smooth. The foundation offers the feel of a feather-light texture, the comfort of bare skin and the incredible results of a smooth-effect foundation."

 I had to do a shade match guess out of the 4 shades there are on offer which are different to the usual Bourjois shades where I either go for 52 or 53 depending on my level of fake tanned-ness I went for T43 Nude Dore as the 2 lighter shades looked too pink toned for my skin and the darkest I'm imagining is too dark. 

Anyway it's on it's way now (woohoo!) so I'll let you know how I get on with it (high hopes!) :D 

Bourjois Nude sensation Blur effect foundation £9.99- link

xxx

5 Reds I Dare To Wear!

Happy valentines day! I hope you have all been suitably spoiled today and if not never mind its all a load of bollocks anyway ;) I've never been much of a lover of Valentines day but I am a lover of matching make-up to occassions and we all know that Valentines = Red lips!

So even though I'm not the bravest when it comes to leaving the house in any kind of super bold red lip I am still a big fan especially when it comes to a red lip with a neutral eye/black liquid liner combo I just tend to go for a more toned down version, I know I'm not alone with this  so I thought I'd gather up my top 5 'comfort zone reds' and share the ones I dare to wear! 

MAC 'Ruby Woo'

Starting with the most daring of the bunch, Ruby Woo is such a beautiful classic red I just love it! I tend to apply this by dabbing the colour onto my lips and blending with my finger to get more of a stained look but applied full on from the bullet it delivers a seriously stunning matte red pout that suits pretty much everyone.

NARS Lipgloss 'Scandal'

A gorgeous semi-sheer warm toned gloss, this is an easy one to swipe on over lipstick/tint or to wear alone for a pretty but not in your face pop of cherry red.

Revlon Lip butter 'Wild Watermelon' 

A really coral/pink toned red, this is so easy to apply and comfortable to wear the colour can be swiped on from the bullet for a semi sheer tint or built up so you can have an almost opaque glossy lip. It's a pretty V.day red but I'm also thinking this will be amazing in Summer with a tan!

ELF luscious liquid lipstick 'strawberry'

This one is quite similar to the NARS lipgloss although being from ELF it's around a fifteenth of the price, colour wise it's pretty much a dupe it's just a teeny bit more pink and the ELF is a little more sheer and less sticky formula wise, I'd recommend picking this up though if you were thinking of splashing the cash on the NARS.

benefit 'benetint'

I feel that this was a product bought out with valentines day in mind although as I typed that I remembered it was actually originally released as a nipple tint haha oh well whatever floats your boat! This is a classic for red lip wusses, a rosy red liquid tint that can be built up and dries leaving a gorgeous 'just bitten' stain and can also be worn as a cheek tint for uniformed rosiness!

I hope you find this helpful if you are looking for some subtle red lip shades, Let me know your recommendations for easy to wear red lips and if any of these are already a favourite of yours.

xxx