NOTD: Essie Bump up the Pump

Well hello there, how are you?

 I hope you are all feeling well?

I am sat here for what feels like an age since I was able to sit down and write out a post about anything that hasn't been on standby just in case. Having said that, it is 2.30pm and I have to leg it out the door in 35 minutes to pick up my little girl. The past few months have been nothing but hectic and I haven't had much time to myself let alone to write for my blog. I will try harder to talk to you guys more and bring you a little more into my life and let you meet the family (no horses head I assure you).

Today I thought I would share with you what I am wearing on my nails today and that is Essie's bump up the pump.

I have to say that I absolutely love this little stunner, I normally shy away from brighter colours as I prefer the more Autumn shades but this, for some reason, makes my heart sing.

I love the colour, the formula, the longevity of it and plain and simply, how it looks on my nails. It is just stunning though I don't think the pictures really do it any justice but there is not much more I can do about them sadly.

Have you tried bump up the pump? 

Have you tried any Essie nail polishes? 

I would love to hear of any recommendations that you think I would enjoy?

It is that time where I have to say goodbye. 

Just remember that life is short, enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

 

Luscious Lass 

xxxxx

Luscious Lass 40's: Laura Geller Balance N Brighten Foundation Porcela...

Luscious Lass 40's: Laura Geller Balance N Brighten Foundation Porcela...:  Hello my lovelies, how are you? I hope you are all well? Have you seen the sun? How amazing is that? I don't know about you ...

Cheshire Oaks Outlet Village Haul

Hello my lovelies, how are you?

I hope you are feeling well?

Today I thought I would share with you what I have purchased from my recent trip to Cheshire Oaks Outlet village. My first stop was the Yankee Candle shop, I mean, how could I not pop in and pick up a couple of the delectable treats that they have?

 I will admit to the wax melts being my favourites though that doesn't stop me lusting after the gorgeous scents from the candles. The tarts

were 40p & 50p each with the candles being a variety of prices and when they are 30%, 50% and even 70% off, yes please I will take everything you have (I wish).

 I next popped into the beauty outlet shop but there wasn't anything that wowed me so just purchased the Nails Inc caviar basecoat for £1.99.

I next popped into the Cosmetics Company Outlet Store to peruse the amazingness that they had on offer and decided on the Origins mini travel set which contains the anti ageing cleanser,  modern friction (scrub I think), anti ageing serum and the drink up intensive overnight mask, all for £18. I also picked up the Origins drink me up 10 minute mask as I have been lusting after this for such a long time and decided it was high time I bit the bullet and buy it for £18 instead of the £23 that Debenhams is selling it for.

 Have you been to Cheshire Oaks Outlet village? What are your thoughts?

It is that time where I have to say goodbye. 

Just remember that life is short, enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

Luscious Lass

xxxx

Loving or Loathing: Tarte, W7 Loreal

Hello my lovelies, how are you?

I hope you are all feeling well?

Today I thought I would share with you my thoughts on 3 foundations that I have been trying out over the past couple of months: Tarte Amazonian clay 12 hour foundation, W7 Genious drops foundation and Loreal Nude Magique cushion foundation.

Tarte Amazonian clay 12 hour foundation available here £34.50: Now, for me anyway, I think the price is rediculous, though you do get a brush with it which retails for $34 (£26.41) on its own on the Sephora webite which makes the price a little easier to swallow. However, I did purchase mine through QVC in a TSV (Todays special value) for £39.99 and is now up to the normal price of £55 here and is still amazing value.

I have heard so many good things about this foundation that I was unbelievably excited when I got it. The first time I tried it, I thought the shade was a little on the yellow side which worried me a little but when I applied it it melted into my skin and the yellow faded with it. It blended so beautifully that it was literally a pleasure to apply, having said that, I do want to try it in a differenet shade to see how that works for me. The formula is unbelievably light, so light that you genuinely can't feel it when you are wearing it, it just feels like your skin.
Now, having talked about the positives, I also have to point out the negatives: it definately doesn't last 12 hours (on me but that could be because I have only been using it in the warmer weather) though does fade in a nice way and not patchy.
It is sold as a full coverage foundation but I really don't think it is, I find it is more of a light to medium coverage and is buidable but, for me, I hate wearing full coverage as it feels and looks too heavy and cakey.
For me, it is just an OK foundation and does not replace my Estee Lauder Doublewear light foundation which I absolutely adore. I give it a 6/10 though that might change with a different shade and when I have wore it in the colder months. I can't recommend an alternative for this foundation as I have yet to try another form the Tarte brand.

W7 Genious Feather Light foundation available here for £6.23: I love the idea of these dropper foundations as it takes the guesswork out of how much to apply and it makes less mess as I apply a drop directly on to the brush.
The first time I used this, I fell completely in love with it, it gave amazing coverage, was easy to blend, great shade, felt so light and was a dream to apply but the second time was completely different, I hated it. I have tried it with different primers, without primers, with different brushes, with my fingers and with a beauty blender and I still could not get it to work the same way as it did the first time I tried it.
I was so gutted about this product and hope that it was down to this particular bottle. You can see my favourite W7 foundation in action here. 4/10

Loreal Nude Magique Cushion foundation available here for £14.99: I love the Magique blur cream and bought it at the same time as the cushion foundation in the hopes that they would work amazingly together but that was not to be.
I love the packaging, the ease of carrying around in my bag but, for me, I just could not bring myself to like it. I have tried it so many times in different ways that I thought I would be able to find a way for it to work. The formula is so sheer that even with 5 layers, I still couldn't see a difference, it literally diappeared into my skin but not in a good way, it also clung to my nose in patches. This was a terrible formula for me though as an alternative, I do like the Nude Magique Nude de teint and you can see that in action here in a FOTD. 1/10 and the 1 is for the packaging which I really did like.

Have you tried any of the foundations?
Do you have any recommendations that you think I would like?

It is that time where I have to say goodbye. 

Just remember that life is short, enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

Luscious Lass

xxxx

Luscious Lass 40's: Loreal Nude Mague Blur Cream

Luscious Lass 40's: Loreal Nude Mague Blur Cream: Hello my lovelies, how are you? I hope you are all keeping well? Today I thought I would share with you my thoughts on the Loreal nud...

MAC Syrup dupe feat Essence sparkling miracle

Hello my lovelies, how are you?

I hope you are all doing well on this beautiful August day?

I have been getting a little bit laid back in my make up with just wearing barely anything and the past week I have been rocking some more intense colours to give an extra va va voom which has made me get mooching through my collection. Boy am I glad that I did as I have found some dupes that I will be sharing with you over the next couple of months and to start off with I thought I would dupe a MAC lipstick in the shade Syrup.

Mac lipsticks are some of my favourites out there though lately, I have been more in love with tinted lip balms or the lip crayons as in the summer months my lips are prone to burning and I need an spf to give me some protection.

I also love Essence lipsticks as they are just so moisturising, creamy, extremely budget friendly and remind me of Mac lippies. Essence has a great dupe for Syrup from the sheer lipstick range in the shade Sparkling Miracle. In the tube they don't look  a great deal alike but when you swatch them and wear them, it is a completely different story.

There really isn't that much difference in the formula's except that the Essence lipstick does have some shimmer that isn't overly visible when wearing. I really could not differentiate between the 2 and love to have both in my collection, I do recommend both lippies to everyone as they are both fantastic. You can purchase the Essence lippy here on the Wilkos website for £2 and the MAC lippy here for £15.50. The price and shimmer in the essence lipstick really are the only differences in the 2 lipsticks, I would say go for the Essence because of the price, it is amazing.

It is that time where I say goodbye,

just remember that life is short, 

enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

Luscious Lass

xxxx

Nails Inc TSV Haul

Hello my lovelies, how are you?

I hope you are all keeping ok?

Today I thought I would share with you my most recent Nails Inc haul via the QVC UK webite, the NI bundle is on last clicks offer atm for £25.11 here which is a phenominal deal as the polishes are £14 & £12 each.

Nails Inc are among my favourite nail polishes along with OPI, Barry M, Zoya and China Glaze with phenominal formulas and hundreds (if not thousands) of shades to choose from. Don't get me wrong, Nails Inc do have a few polishes that are a bit meh, there would be something wrong if there wasn't as it really is only natural to occasionally get things wrong.

Every single polish in this collection is just beautiful, perfect for the warmer months and, if you are like me, don't follow the "rules" and wear whatever the heck you like. The caviar top coat is my top coat of choice, I have repurchaed this many times and so far, I haven't found anything that comes anywhere near to it's amazingness.

Have you tried Nails Inc? What are your thoughts and do you have any recommendations that you think I would love?

It is that time where I say goodbye,

just remember that life is short, 

enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

Luscious Lass

xxxx

Tarte Showstopper Palette

hello my lovelies, how are you?

I hope you are all feeling well?

Today I thought I would share my thoughts on the Tarte Showstopper palette: I am completely and utterly obsessed with this stunning palette.

This little beauty was part of a Tarte TSV (todays special value) from QVC a little while ago that I purchased for a crazy price £39.99 (post) here & here on the QVC website (though the price is now £55 because it is not the TSV price).

The eyeshadows are buttery soft with amazing pigmentation, they literally blend so beautifully that I can almost do my my eyeshadows with my eyes shut. I have been using this palette above all of my other palettes, it is just amazing.

The blusher is again, amazing, I can't fault it. It feels so soft, is not powdery in the slightest with no fall out. I really can't fault this palette at all and if you get the chance to purchase this beauty, you really should go for it.

Have you tried the Showstopper palette? 

Have you tried anything from Tarte and do you have any recommendations?

 

It is that time where I say goodbye,

just remember that life is short, 

enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

Luscious Lass

xxxx

Loreal Nude Mague Blur Cream

Hello my lovelies, how are you?

I hope you are all keeping well?

Today I thought I would share with you my thoughts on the Loreal nude magique blur cream: I love it. It really is amazing.

I have been using this as a primer for those days where I am rocking the no make make up days and it really does do what it says. It does blur those lines though it isn't a magic potion and make them completely disappear (now wouldn't that be something?), it smooths out my skin and colour corrects too.

It is a tad expensive at £9.99 (from Boots) but it really is worth the little bit of a splurge and I will definately be repurchasing this in hte future. I do have to say that if you have a TJ Hughes near you and you would like to try it, go there as that is where I have seen it since purchasing it for £3.99 I think it was.

Have you tried the blur cream? What are your thoughts? I would love to hear from you.

It is that time where I say goodbye,

just remember that life is short, 

enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

Luscious Lass

xxxx

NOTD Feat Barry M Empire State Of Mint

 Hello my lovelies, how are you?

I hope you are all keeping well?

Today I thought I would share my thoughts on the stunning Barry M empire state of mint from the Daylight Curing range.

I have been dying to try this range since it came out but for some reason, something was holding me back. I think I held off purchasing it because of the shade range, it was very basic with only a handful of shades available when it first came out though there are a few extra shades now so I bit the bullet and bought this pretty polish.

I have to say that so far, I really don't like the formula as it didn't even last 1 day on my nails as it just chipped like crazy. I have tried it with a base coat and it did fair a little better but not by much, it is possible that I bought a dud and will, eventually, get around to purchasing another to try.

I do have to say that I was so disappointed as I just love the shade, it really is beautiful though the photos don't really do it any justice. Green is my all time favourite colour and I love to wear it on my nails in the warmer months.

Have you tried the Sunset Daylight Curing nail polishes? 

What are your thoughts and what do you think I would like to try next?

It is that time where I say goodbye,

just remember that life is short,

enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

Luscious Lass

xxxx

Fragrance Direct Haul

Hello my lovelies, how are you?

I hope you are all keeping well?

Today I thought I would share with you some beautiful nail polishes by Ciate from Fragrance Direct. 

A you have probably realised, if you have been following me for a while, I am a big fan of Fragrance direct as it literally has anything and everything you could want and even what you didn't even think you could ever need in your life.

I usually buy my Nails Inc & OPI from FD but decided to try some Ciate for a change and at £1.99 a pop, why the heck not? I have got a couple of Ciate polishes and they are lovely especially the bottles. If you would like to try them for yourselves they are available here and they are a complete bargain.

I did buy a couple of other items including Max Factor lip balms for £1.99 each and a Nails Inc polish, also for £1.99.

Have you tried the Fragrance Direct website? What are your thoughts?

It is that time where I say goodbye,

just remember that life is short, 

enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

Luscious Lass

xxxx

Trafford Centre Collective Haul

 Hello my lovelies, how are you?

I hope you are all keeping well on this beautiful July day.

Today I thought I would share with you what I bought from my recent trip to the Trafford Centre: I think that everyone should visit the Trafford centre at least once, it really is a beautiful building with a stunning interior. I love it but more on that another day.

Every year I save up so that I can do a crazy splurge at the Trafford centre (or Liverpool) in July for my birthday, I mean, how could I not when I just love all things beauty related?

Anyhoo, the first hop that I went to was the Bodyshop and when I saw that my favourite skincare was on sale I knew I was going to be bringing them home with me. I just love the vitamin C & E range, phenomenal.

Next I went into Boots as I had a gift card from my birthday plus I had saved up some points and wanted to slurge. 

I am on a concealer kick atm for those no make make up days and bought a few though the Rimmel match perfection is a repurchase and the Clarins lip perfector is a sort of repurchase but in a different shade. Love it.

 I did also visit the Bare Minerals counter to get shade matched for both the mineral powder foundation and the serum foundation. The lady I chatted with was just lovely and couldn't have been more helpful (also another QVC addict), she made me feel as though I was the only peron in the shop, I just can't sing her praises highly enough. As you can see from the picture, she was more than generous with the samples. They were out of 1 of the shades that I was matched to and recommend that I ask at the BM stand in John Lewis, Selfridges and Debenhams, again all of the ladies were just lovely and extremely helpful.

 I next went into the Kiko shop as they still had the 70% sale on and wanted to look at a couple of things before I bought them, they didn't quite work out though I did purchase a few things and I am extremely happy with them.

Next I visited Debenhams to take a look at the beautiful Urban Decay VICE lipsticks to find my perfect nude lipstick and at first, I was a little taken aback at just how many there were to choose from. Anyway, as you can see, that I not only bought the lipstick, I also bought the lip liner to match as they had an offer of if you bought both lipstick & liner, you would also recieve a delux sample of the all nighter setting spray. That was a happy coincidence as I was going to purchase the all nighter spray anyway so I got to try the lipliner instead. 

I also purchaed the Benefit roller lash mascara as I had heard great things from reviews, I knew that I loved the they're real mascara and a friend recommend that I try the rollerlash as it is one of her all time favourites.

I also went into John Lewis as there was a sale going on and thought I would check it out though there wasn't anything that took my fancy I did purchase the Nails Inc caviar top coat as mine was running out and it was only £6 instead of the £11 they sell for.

I next went into Sefridges and purchased some more Muji storage (more on that in a future post) which I am absolutely loving for make up storage. I also visited the MAC counter to get shade matched for the new water foundation plus a paint pot and nail polish.

 As you can see form the picture's that I did get a fair few samples, I find that samples are easier to source in the Trafford centre shops than other places, Debenhams and Boots being the main places that I recommend you visit if you want to try before you buy.

 Before I went to the Trafford Centre, I did visit the QVC Outlet shop in Warrington to check out their bargains as it had been recommended to me by a friend but sadly, on that day anyway, there wasn't anything that really stood out for me though I think it is 1 of those shops where you have to visit on a regular basis to get the benefits.

While in Warrington, I did have a quick pop into the Pound shops as I had heard on the nail pages of Facebook that Nails Inc had been seen in them so I thought I would have a look as my local ones just didn't have anything. I was surprised to see them in all honesty and didn't think I would see any but when I did, I checked to make sure I didn't have them and are now currently in my helmer with my other pretty polishes.

 Like a daft so & so I completely forgot my primer which also reminded me that my daily primer was running out too so made a trip to Asda to get the Nspa instant blur primer which was on off for 2 for £8 and at £6.40 each, a total bargain was had.

Have you visited Trafford centre recently? 

What did you get?

It is that time where I say goodbye,

just remember that life is short, 

enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

Luscious Lass

xxxx

Essence 08 Be Happy

Hello my lovelies, how are you?

I hope you are all feeling well?

Today I thought I would share my thought on the Essence sheer & shine lipstick in the shade 08 be happy.

Oh my are these particular lipsticks amazing to wear, they feel so amazing and hydrating on the lips that I feel like I am wearing a lip balm. As the name applied it is a sheer lipstick and if that isn't your thing and you like full on pigmentation, you will not like these but if you are like me and like sheer shades that just have a hint of colour then these really are for you. 

I freaking love thee lipsticks, I really can't rave about them enough, I love them that much I went out and bought a fair few others, even in shades that I wouldn't normally consider wearing as they scare the bejesus out of lol.

 You really cant go wrong with Esence, their make up products and nail polishes are rarely anything but amazing, even more so when you take into consideration their price point. Highly recommend Esence make up. Jut amazing!!!!

Have you tried the Essence sheer & shine lipsticks? Have you tried any of the other Essence make up products? 

It is that time where I say goodbye,

just remember that life is short, 

enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

Luscious Lass

xxxx

What I got for my birthday x

 Hello my lovelies, how are you?

I hope you are all feeling well?

Today I thought I would share with you some of the presents I recieved for my birthday from family and friends. Though there isn't alot in qauntity there is alot in love and friendship which is what I love about everything.

The gorgeous flowers arrived on the day itself, they really made my day as I rarely recieve flowers and I can't remember the last time I did. Just beautiful.

I did recieve this little Tarte TSV from QVC early (and is still available here for £55) in June only because that is when the TSV was. I was so excited when I recieved it but when I opened it, there was fingerprints in the palette (it turns out that I wasn't the only 1 that this happened to) which was disappointing and when I contacted QVC regardingthe fingerprints, they refunded a partial payment of £10. QVC are phenominal for this reason plus many others including that you can send make up back even if you try it.

I also recieved this stunning watch on a visit to Cheshire Oaks Outlet village as a present while I was there. It is the first time I have ever recieved any form of jewellry as a present, least of all a designer piece to boot. The person who bought it me knows I am completely obsessed with dogs and I am completely in love with my little Shih Tzu Bubbles.

 I had a wonderful day (even though I was stuck in waiting for a courier to pick up a parcel for a friend) and was spoiled rotten by family and friends. I am very lucky and honoured to have the people I have in my life that I do. I am blessed, love and I have the best family in the world (not that I am biased at all hehehe).

 Anyhoo, I have to run now to go and get my little girl who will be finished very shortly at dance pratcise. 

It is that time where I say goodbye,

just remember that life is short, 

enjoy it and love one another.

Until the next time,

Ta Ta for now.

Luscious Lass

xxxx