Face of the Day ~ ombré lips

Lips ~ Sweetpea & Fay liquid lip in Ukelele and Nordic

Eyeliner ~ Yves Rocher luminelle in Noir

Foundation ~ 17 Skin Perfecting in Soft Ivory

Blusher ~ Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush in Sienna

First of all, excuse my completely out of control eyebrows. They have a tendency to get a bit out of hand. They're not the main focus anyway. After having reviewed Sweetpea & Fay's liquid lipsticks I decided to do a look with them. I loved how the two colours complimented each other and ombre lips are a craze that I am massively late on so the choice was obvious; a pink to blue pastel gradient it was.

I look weird in that first photo and for that I apologise. The glazed eye look is due to the boyfriend's camera equipment. This FOTD is more of a play around as opposed to what I actually wore out. Often when I have nothing to do I'll experiment with different looks and stuff. This is also one of my first cautious forays into blusher. I think next time I try something like this I'd like to do eyes to match, maybe make them odd - one pink one blue or maybe do a gradient on both eyes.

Have you ever tried gradient lips? Even for me it's a bit outlandish in that I'm not sure I'd wear it out, but we'll see, that could change.

Review ~ Sweetpea & Fay Liquid Lipsticks.

Whilst looking for unusual lipsticks (partially for this post but mainly because I just love looking at colourful things) I found Sweetpea & Fay. I pretty much flipped out when I saw Nordic and immediately bought it - I'd never seen a colour like it before. When I recieved it I found the colour wasn't quite what I expected so I emailed the girls at Sweetpea & Fay and they offered to send me another colour for free which I thought was amazing customer service. I decided to pick a more normal colour in Ukelele since I'd been looking for an interesting nude shade.
I'm going to show you the swatches and then give my general review of the J'Adore Les Levres Liquid Lipsticks range.

Nordic

A pastel blue with grey undertones.

Ukulele
A nude with undertones of pastel pink.

 
And here's a comparison shot:

What I didn't realise when I chose Ukelele is that it mixes really well Nordic to make this pastel lilac colour. This was done really quickly but I'm sure I could make some really pretty different shades with them.

First off, my opinion of the actual company as a general is very high. The customer service, like I mentioned before was really very good. The girls were polite and quick to respond and also emailed me to let me know there was going to be delays in shipping and apologising for any inconvenience caused. They even sent a free eyeshadow as compensation - something I'm sure bigger companies don't bother doing.
When I was browsing the Liquid Lipsticks I was really impressed with the variety of colours on offer, there were plenty of pretty, neutral colours for those who aren't brave enough to go for the bolder, more unsual colours, which there were also plenty of (I'm eyeing up 'Musidora' and 'Heavens to Betsy' currently).

As for the actual product, apart from the slight discrepancy in colour (I would suggest looking at the product photos of the tube on the website as opposed to the offical swatches to get a more accurate idea of the colour) I was very impressed. When I first saw the tubes I thought the packaging looked very professional and sweet. The actual product is very thick but this is good because it means opaque colour without needing to layer too much. It does need to be applied with a lip brush though. The lipstick has a very sweet vanilla smell to it which isn't too noticeable once it's applied - I have to admit the smell grew on me, at first I wasn't sure about it but I quite like it now.
I've worn Ukelele out and about and found that after 3 hours it was still there, even after drinking. However, after a massive bacon sandwich it did disappear, unsurprisingly. I would say although it has good staying power it can be a bit drying, but nothing a bit of lip balm before applying won't fix.
Not only all that but they are a really reasonable price. Compared to other companies that are selling unusual lipstick colours (e.g. Ka'Oir), these are pretty afforable at $7.99 (that's £5!!) each. P&P is calculated according to the weight of your order so including P&P Nordic cost me £7.73 (that's $11.74) which is pretty damn good.
So, all in all there is very little bad to say about Sweetpea & Fay and their Liquid Lipsticks. I would definitely recommend them!
You can buy them from the Sweetpea & Fay website.

P.s. My next post will be a face of the day featuring these beauties so look out for that!

Outfit of the Day ~ a shadow in spring.

{Can't help the itch to touch, to kiss, to hold him once again.
Now to close his eyes--never open them....
A shadow passed, a shadow passed, yearning, yearning
For the fool it called a home.
~ Spring Awakening, Left Behind}

Top ~ F&F

Trousers ~ Fashion Union

Shoes ~ New Look

Bracelet ~ ASOS

Just a simple outfit today, one I wore when the boyfriend and I went to yet another National Trust places (I swear, they should pay me, not the other way around), this time Leith Hill. In the end we didn't stay long because although there was sun it was sporadic and the wind was cold and there weren't as many bluebells as hoped - still a really lovely place though, lots of pretty wildlife. I'm glad we went when we did because now the weather is rubbish and it's difficult to do outfits outside.
I feel so Neo-Victorian Goth in this top (I may be guilty of also owning it in white), I love the lace and the high neck but unfortunately it's just a touch too short so I suppose I'll have to wear it with high waisted things in the future. I'm so happy with how my hair came out - it's staying really well too, which is awesome and the turquoise is such a perfect colour. I love Directions hair dye so much!
Recently I've started uni again after a lovely holiday and so far it's been pretty interesting, which is always good. I also saw Cabin in the Woods recently and unfortunately found that it didn't really tickle my funny bone as it was supposed to, but I'm sure if you're into horror parody you'd love it.
Apart from that I've got a lot of posts I need to write but are planned - I do love it when I have lots of ideas and stuff. So, that's about it for my rambling (I hope I'm not too boring, unfortunately I don't lead a super interesting life, or if I do I'm very bad a conveying it. I'll work on that).
Hope y'all had a good weekend!

Nail of the Day ~ Mint Green Cross

Haven't done one of these in a while. Nice, quick post for y'all.
Ages ago I bought a whole array of pastel Barry M polishes but I never felt like wearing this one until now. It's called 304 - Mint Green I'm still not sure on the colour but I think I like the mint with the black. I'm also becoming more and more obsessed with crosses, which is awkward since when I'm back home I'm often around vaguely religous people.
Also, I apologise for the lesser quality in the photos today but I was the one who took them - not the boyfriend. I'm going to improve my photography skills so that I don't have to wait to see him in order to do little posts like these.
So, what do you think of mint at the moment? Got a favourite pastel green nail varnish you care to share? I like it but I can't really wear anything mint coloured due to the fact that there are good clashes and bad clashes and mint + the colour of my hair (turquoise) = bad clash.

Face of the Day ~ headscarf & red lips.

Face
Foundation ~ 17 Skin Perfecting in Soft Ivory

Lips ~ Rimmel Lasting Finish in Bordeaux

Mascara ~ Soap & Glory Thick & Fast

Eyeshdow ~ The Body Shop Eye Shimmer in 01 (silver) 
as well as white and black from a Chilli Pepper palette

Eyeliner ~ Yves Rocher luminelle in Noir
Primer ~ MUA Eye Primer

My first day out with the new turquoise hair. I got really excited so I thought I'd do it up nice and proper, along with my face. The headscarf was orignally the frilly bit of a top I didn't like, so I cut it off. Turned out it was the perfect length for my head - waste not want not, right?

I actually went to London to see a play (She Stoops to Conquer - which is really good, so funny!) at the National Theatre and my friend being the babe that she is managed to find really cheap, really good tickets (e.g. row B) and I'm pretty sure a few of the cast members glanced our way, due to the severity of my hair.
I don't know if it's due to the blog or just a natural progression of myself, but recently I've been enjoying makeup a lot more. I've worn it for ages and always loved creating unusual looks, but now I'm learning to do it more well, if that makes sense? But obviously I've still got a long way to go.
Also, burgundy + teal = win.

Haul Post ~ New Look & Boots.

I went for a little Easter shopping spree, taking advantage of Boots' current 3 for 2 and also a voucher I had for New Look for 20% off  - this student rarely buys things for their full price.

New Look 

 Chiffon maxi skirt & Skull print jumper

 Shoestring vest & Chiffon shirt

I know what you're thinking: that's a lot of black. I've been in a black gothicky mood lately so this is just fuel for the flame. I'd been eyeing that maxi skirt up for absolutely ages and pretty much tried it on every time I went into New Look, the only reason I didn't buy it before was because I had just bought two other maxi skirts (and here) from New Look and I felt like I shouldn't buy something so similar so soon after. Either way, I buckled and here it is in all it's floaty, chiffony goodness.
The skull jumper is another one of those things I'd been staring at longingly and then when it finally came to buying it I spent literally about half an hour deciding between two size (I went for 16, I like a nice, baggy fit for my jumpers). Now I've got it I wear it constantly.
Then I bought a boring shoestring vest to go under my new chiffon shirt. I'd been looking for something with a collar and this seemed to fit the bill. Surprisingly with this item I didn't really spend that much time deliberating whether or not to get it, it was just bought. End of story - very unlike me.
And finally, suspender tights (photographed below). I know I'm super late on the craze but I have always loved how legs look in a pair of stockings and suspenders, so these were a no brainer especially now that New Look does them in two sizes as opposed to the dreaded One Size - I am far too tall for One Size.

Suspenders tights (also from New Look), Maybelline Master Precise eyeliner, Foil effect nail varnish & Batiste dry shampoo

Boots

I needed a new can of dry shampoo (once I'd finally used up the crappy Superdrug own brand stuff I'd tried) so I thought I might as well go buy the biggest can. It is mammoth. After that I spent a lot of time circling the make up aisles, deciding what to get so I could take advantage of the 3 for 2. Went for the silver nail varnish first since I'd also been eyeing that for a while even though I have far too many nail varnishes, and then after a looonnnnggg period of further wandering I decided on a new eyeliner, since I've never tried the felt tip style applicator (I don't think that L'Oreal's Carbon Gloss really counts...it's a bit more spongey).  I think I'll do a review of it once I've given it a whirl.

So there it is, my easter shopping haul. Back to uni on Monday, but hopefully the posts will keep on coming. I'm also working on a new theme since the more I look at my current one the more I don't like it (the colour *shudder*).

Selling Clothes.

Hello, time for something a bit different.
I've been doing a bit of spring cleaning and have decided to get rid of some of my clothes. You know the ones you buy and then never wear, even though there's nothing wrong with them, yup, those.
I'm new to this Ebay thing so I've put up 5 items to test the waters and see how I get along with it.
Check them out if you're interested:

Grey Jumper Dress

 Green Tartan Dress

 Grey Crop Top

Grey Lace Bodycon Skirt

Red Midi Dress

Outfit of the Day ~ white petals.

{Small white petals in the wind,
and sidewalks mosaicked
with samaras from the maples,
and footprints, and music:
a merganser-spotted pond
on a bleak Sunday.

When you move like first light
through the blinds, I am
at peace. When you move
like first light through the blinds,
you warm me like a memory.}
~ Small White Petals, Shane Murphy

This little chinese style top is such a lovely piece and I'm so glad I saved it before my mum threw it when she was doing a clear out. It was perfect for the day as well, it was one of the first of those insane series of amazingly sunny days we had in the UK last week. As you can see these were taken just before I dyed my hair and is the last time you will see it, so wave goodbye to the faded purple and say hello to the turquoise.
As is so often the case we did this outfit at a National Trust place, this time Wakehurst Place, another one of my favourites. I really wanted to go because I remember this time last year when I went the magnolias were in bloom and this year was no expection. They were so beautiful; magnolias are one of the most beautiful flowering trees and as I discovered this year, smell lovely.

If you look down you'll see a photo of a butterfly resting on my hand. That photo is entirely legit, I saw a butterfly passing and stuck my hand out instinctively and it landed and stayed there for a while. It was kind of really awesome.

Top ~ vintage Monsoon

Vest top ~ from a little sewing shop

Floral trousers ~ ASOS

Brogues ~ New Look

Necklace ~ from a fair

Lips ~ thin layer of Chinchilla by Lime Crime

Eyes ~ Chilli Pepper palette

Mermaid Affair ~ freshly dyed hair.

{Once I sat upon a promontory, 

And heard a mermaid on a dolphin's back 

Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath 

That the rude sea grew civil at her song, 

And certain stars shot madly from their spheres, 

To hear the sea-maid's music?}

~ A Midsummer Night's Dream 

Finally! It has arrived! Four and a half month since I went purple (and then subsequently lilac, grey and finally blonde, such is the fate of dyed hair left to fade) and finally I have refreshed. I have been so excited to go turquoise and the colour came out amazing. I used La Riche's Directions in Turquoise (imaginative name, I know). I really love Directions and I'm hoping this will last as well as my purple did. So far I've noticed the bits that aren't as well bleached as the rest look more green than turquoise, which is interesting. I guess that means it will fade green. I've also noticed that this colour doesn't bleed nearly as much as the purple did, my pillow is still it's original colour, unlike the pillowcase from before which was purple from the first night and still is.

As always it was so much fun to do this because I recruited two total babes of mine to help me and they did an awesome job - as usual. This time I decided to paint my nails to match on purpose, unlike last time, where I did it by accident. The polish is 17's Fast Finish polish in Peacock (and it's no where near as lovely as Rimmel's dupe, it is also a bitch to apply).

If you're looking for a place that sells Directions (as well as Manic Panic and Color Crazy) really cheap - the cheapest I can find, I'd recommend this website.

Have any of you dyed your hair recently? What colour did you go?