Giveaway!!! Win a MAC lipstick :o)

To celebrate my recent return to blogging I have decided to launch a little giveaway to say thank you!

I am offering one of you lovely ladies a brand new MAC lipstick, of your choice. Just enter the Rafflecopter below and on the 14th I will randomly draw a winner. This giveaway is open worldwide and you must be a blog follower to qualify for entry.

The lipstick will be completely of your choice, if there is a limited edition one out at that time that tickles your fancy, I will of course try and accommodate you.

Also, I would love to find some new blogs to follow to refresh my reading list a little so please post your blog URL when leaving your blog comment and I will check it out!

Thanks beautiful's! 

xxxx

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MAC CCO Haul ~ Cheshire Oaks

Over the bank holiday weekend I made a highly anticipated trip to the CCO in Cheshire Oaks. Having never been to one of these, I had no idea of what to expect however I was delighted with the MAC offering!

The first item that there was no question of me purchasing was a tender tone lip balm. In store they had three different ones from the Shop MAC, Cook MAC collection that I recently missed out on. I settled for the shade Hot n' Saucy, a shade that appears to be a cherry red in the pot but really sheers out on the lips with a super moisturising finish. I love the expensive looking packaging of these too, just like Studio Sculpt concealer and Paint Pots. (apprx. £8)

This Lipglass was an impulse buy, its a milky nude shade called 'Wee Coquette', as most things in the CCO it is from an old collection. This shade though had appeared in two collections- 'MAC Me Up' and 'Naturally'. I like this, especially over Angel lipstick. (apprx £10)

Unlike the awful amount of my MAC lipsticks and other products that have managed to go missing, my brushes have truly stood the test of time. The CCO had a small collection available but the one that stood out most to me was this concealer brush. I have recently fallen in love with Studio Sculpt concealer and needed something to accompany it. (apprx £12)

Finally, I hadn't treated myself to a new blush in quite some time so when I saw MAC 'Fever' (a permanent product) on sale I jumped at the chance. In-store I am sure this would be something I would have written off as too dark, however swatching it out showed it to be a perfect rose pink shade for Autumn. (apprx £13)

Have you visited any CCO's recently?

xxxx

<3

Hair & Skin recovery kit

 Despite being a hair and skincare junkie, when I went away this summer it was impossible to keep it up. Suncream and aftersun used daily on my face resulted in clogged pores and breakouts, disaster!  My hair got even worse, I used to pride myself on being one of the only blondies I knew with shiny hair but the crazy Cyprus sun left it frazzled to pieces, this coupled with chlorine and rubbish hair conditioner and lack of care has left me with a ridiculous dreadlock on one side of my head too! 

Whilst scouring Boots today for a fix I decided to go with the only haircare brand I actually trust, Aussie. Their 3 Minute Miracles have always been a feature in my hair routine and I am delighted their yummy peach one is back, I adored this last summer! I actually left this on for half an hour tonight for a mega recovery boost, super smooth hair was the result.

 This is another Aussie product that I adore, their brilliant Miracle Hair Insurance leave in conditioner. I used this on my epic dreadlock (I'd post a picture but it honestly is far too hideous) with a wide toothed comb, in all it took an hour to tease out. Not bad considering I was very close to chopping it out completely! 

 I have reviewed Montagne Jeunesse face masks before, and before I went away I was sent some from the mens range. Ever the experimentist I decided to give it a go myself, purely lured in by the promise that it 'draws out dirt and grime to revitalize skin'. It definitely gave my skin a deep scrub and it felt fresh afterwards, the only thing I didn't like is the manly scent- but to be fair I should have seen that coming :o).

Have you ever had to have a major recovery night? What products would you use?

xxxx

Liz Earle: Sheer Skin Tint

 This is a product I have had for ages yet didn't do a proper review on because it just didn't suit my foundation needs- full, matte coverage. Instead this combines Liz Earle's wonderful moisturizer formula with a tint, their first foray into cosmetics. I brought this to Cyprus with me and it ended up being an absolute God-send, the factor 15 meant that I never burnt my face whilst wearing this and it provided a sheer wash of color that livened up and evened my complexion, while not being too heavy that it would melt off in the heat.

When blended, the product gives an unmissable tint that is long lasting and leaves a lovely finish. I used to just apply this lightly and top it off with MAC Studio Fix powder for nights out as my usual foundation oxidized far too quickly in the heat to look good.

Although this was sent to me as a PR sample, at £21 I would thoroughly recommend it if looking for a light coverage foundation or something suitable for a holiday that will give that necessary SPF while looking fresh and put-together poolside. Now I'm in a cooler climate I have been using this for days I don't want to wear a full face of foundation, I actually like the natural finish of this as a change from the usual. Now I've tried and fallen in love with this, I can't wait to try more from Liz Earle's recently expanded beauty range.

Any recommendations?

xxxx

Endless Repurchase #2: Urban Decay Naked Palette

The naked palette has become an absolute staple for each and every beauty blogger, I received mine for my 20th birthday and had featured it in loads of FOTD's in the past year or so. Such a huge product release meant my dashboard was flooded with rave reviews- so much so that I didn't even bother reviewing it myself (for great swatches, check out Adrienne- The Sunday Girl's post here). Suffice to say, it's love.

The reason that this is an Endless Purchase is as I had used up almost all of my favorite shades and was just a hair away from hitting pan on many others. With my travels on the horizon I found it impossible to track down any of the individual shades online, so I just bought another palette and left my old one at home with my mum for the summer. 

My absolute favorites are as you can see: Virgin (satin highlight shade), Sin (champagne), Sidecar (light brown with golden shimmer), Buck (my perfect eyebrow filler shade) and Half Baked (bronzy/gold).

What are your favourite UD Naked Palette shadows?

xxxx

I don't like it.

 There's nothing more upsetting than spending hard earned cash on make up products that don't suit your skin tone, are impossible to work with or are just overhyped. I fully expect people to disagree with my opinions here, basically it is just products that have not worked for me. Interestingly I purchased each of these items online, this says quite a bit for blind makeup shopping and relying on swatches...

Models Own 'Concrete Mixer'

This was the polish du jour in Spring '11 and after many rave reviews I purchased it from ASOS (haul here). The formulation, as with all Models Own polishes is sublime however it is the color I cannot stand. On others, this greige is stunning- on me it looks yellowish and downright dirty. Suffice to say I have used it once, and it has been relegated to my nail polish drawer- disappointing.

MAC Mineralise Blush 'Miss Behave' from the Ouite Cute collection.

This was the first and last MAC collection that I fell in love with and made silly purchases from. In this collection a trio of mineralize blushes (a formulation I love!) was released- one pink, one purple and one peach and green??? Really Hannah.. Really? I tried to use it as a highlight and frankly I have much better in my collection. Do any of you own this and have a use for it? I'd love some enlightenment before I back to MAC it out of frustration!

Another high-end disappointment comes in the form of one of Benefits highly regarded boxed blushes of which I own several. Thrrrob was a natural addition to my collection, I even remember buying this as it was compared to NARS Angelika which I had been lusting after for quite some time when I saw it in a blog sale. This light pink shade does not show up on my NC30 skin as a blush, and isn't 'illuminating' enough to use as a highlighter. The other problem is the consistency, it is hideously chalky, as I am sure you can see from the swatch. Due to the fact I purchased this from a blog sale and I have only loved other Benefit products means I am wondering if this is a fake (and I have got very ripped off). So much so that I am currently scrutinizing this post about such fakes and I haven't got a good feeling about it. If any of you own this, do you have the same problem?

xxxx

Topshop/MissSelfridge haul!

After a summer of sandals and bikinis, upon my arrival home a shopping trip was completely necessary to get some climate-appropriate clothes! I was quite restrained, considering I hadn't been clothes shopping in 2.5 months but thanks to the sales (and a week long stopover in Manchester, hello Trafford Centre!) I got some investment pieces at really good prices.

Topshop 'Leigh' skinny jeans: purple, bright blue, navy.

When I returned from Cyprus I realized that most of my jeans no longer fitted me or were just old and misshapen. My favorite type of jeans of all time are Topshop Moto 'Leigh', skinny jeans with turned up ankles. They retail for €58 or £38 which I find to be a completely ridiculous conversion rate, but whilst in the UK I stocked up!

The only pair I paid full price for was the navy, the blue and purple were only £20 each. I love the fact I have managed to get a different leg length in every pair, thanks to the colored two being on sale I had to go with what was available.

After arriving home with only sandals and two pairs of Tom's, some pretty new pumps were very necessary to update my wardrobe. The tiger/turquoise pair are from Miss Selfiridge for a mere £7 (full price £20). I am in love with the pointed pink suede pair that I got in the Topshop sale for just £15 (full price £35), the diamante Union Jack design is also a nice nod to the trend.

Did any of you grab any bargains in the Topshop sale?

xxxx

She's back!

Huge thanks and love for the 800+ of you that have stuck around during my blog hiatus. Especially since my last post was in February, but believe me I have been on some adventures!

 In May, I finished my final year exams and completed my degree in Corporate Law. This coincided with my 21st birthday, so I threw a party and had an amazing night with family, friends and far too many jelly shots!

My (not so) little brother and I at my 21st party.

May 25th, 4 days before I turned 21 for real I flew to the resort of Ayia Napa in Cyprus where I would work for the next 2 months! It has been a summer full of highs and lows, epic heat, even better parties and getting to know people that I otherwise may never have met, all thrown together in a tiny corner of Cyprus. I had two jobs while over there, one was selling tickets for Party Hard bar crawl and the other was selling jelly shots at a bar. I'm glad I tried both jobs in the two months I was there so I experienced both types of resort work.

Nissi Beach, Ayia Napa; 24/7/2012

Cyprus is such a beautiful place as you can see in the cheeky snap of me on the beach above! Crystal clear water and white sand = heaven! The heat became gradually unbearable, peaking at 46 degrees Celsius and 74% humidity. The flip side of this is that my English Rose complexion *cough pale cough* got a base tan which I am still delighted with, much better than the fake tan I have been obsessed with for years.

I have so much to look forward to with my graduation, entering the working world and moving back to my roots in the UK in the next couple of months. In the mean time I am so excited to start blogging properly again!

xxxx