BEAUTY // Top 5 Autumn Lipstick Picks

Autumn has come around again and I couldn't be happier! I love buying big jumpers and drinking way way way too many cups of tea. I also love the makeup trends throughout Autumn the dark colours are so so beautiful. 

With that said I thought I would share my top 5 lip colours of this season, as I do with every season! Without further ado, here we go.

In order of the photo, not my favourite, I love them all the same, like children. Just kidding.

L-R

MAC Heroine Matte Lipstick, £15.50 - maccosmetics.com
The perfect purple lip for pale people like me. I find lipsticks like Rebel to be way too dark on my pale complexion so this lipstick is the perfect medium, in some lights it looks quite a medium tone purple but in other light it looks quite deep and vampy so its perfect for Auutmn.

MAC Ruby Woo Retro Matte Lipstick, £15.50 - maccosmetics.com
Red is such a classic shade especially coming up to the winter time. Ruby Woo is another classic as it's the iconic MAC red lipstick. This suits pretty much everyone, I feel, as I can't often pull off pinky toned reds so since this one is more blue based it's perfect for me.

MAC Myth Satin Lipstick, £15.50 - maccosmetics.com
Nude lipsticks tend to be something I wear all year round but since I only recently picked this colour up I'll definitely be wearing it a lot during Autumn paired with a burgundy smokey eye for the full fall effect.

Maybelline Color Elixir in Nude Illusion, £6.99 - Boots
Another nude colour! Again I recently picked this up. This is perfect for those days I don't want anything too heavy or for when I wear MAC Myth as Myth sometimes looks a little "concealer lips" on me so mixing it with this gloss really perks it up and makes the perfect combo.

Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Hollywood Red, £7.99 - Boots
I love this colour so much I went back to Boots to buy a backup and the matching lip pencil. It's a deep browny/red with incredible staying power, doesn't bleed and looks really good with any makeup look, I find. It's definitely become one of my favourites in my stash and I really would recommend it to anyone!

Hope you enjoyed my top 5 picks for this season! What're yours? Let me know in the comments below!

Love Alicia x

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Monday Matter #17

Ah, the Monday matter, whatever happened to you? Laziness probably...

This is the first Monday matter I've done in a few months and I've missed doing them to say the least, I love looking back on old ones and seeing what I'd been upto in weeks past ad reminiscing on the memories. The reason I stopped was because work became pretty hectic and I am quite a chilled person so the thought of working 8 hours then coming home to blog every Sunday/Monday wasn't my idea of a good time to be honest so I dropped the Monday matter for a while, but alas, it has returned. Let's see how long I'll keep it up this time!

Wales Recently I did "The British Tag" with a welsh spin which was quite fun. I love being English but I'm so lucky to live in Wales and be able to call myself a Welsh Citizen, it's such a beautiful country. The reason I chose to put a welsh spin on it was because the tag seemed to be celebratory of all things English and traditional English traits so throwing a bit of Wales in the made it more personal to me. You can have a read of it here.

Lashes If you follow me on Instagram or twitter you may have seen me with no makeup on. I'm not ashamed of it but It's not something I would call myself  "brave" for doing. My face is my face if ya don't like it don't look at it basically. Moving on from the mini rant, my point was if you've seen those pictures you can seem I have small eyes and this is a problem when wearing falsies because I have to cut them down and I often get scissor happy and ruin the lashes. Ardell's Demi Wispies are my favourite because they're so natural I can cut them in half and use them as half lashes on the outer eye without it looking like I have weirdly full lashes on the outer eye and none on the inner eye. So for me Ardell have nailed it!

Brows Brows are a very important part of my makeup routine, a bad brow will ruin my day and make me feel crappy about my makeup. Having discovered Anastasia Beverly Hills' brow range I don't think I'll have bad brows again the Brow Wiz is amazing and so easy to maneuver and the Dipbrow Pomade is insanely pigmented and lasts forever with or smudging or fading. Bad brow days no more! Read my review of the Brow Wiz here and the Dipbrow Pomade here.

Hair I am no stranger to an at home dye job and recently I change my hair from platinum/silvery white hair to a medium - light blonde with platinum highlights as a change and to give my hair a rest from bleaching it every 8-12 weeks. You can read the full hair post here but basically I love the change and will probably stick with it throughout the winter.

Love Alicia x

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BEAUTY // My Top 3 Eyeliners

Eyeliner is an essential item in my makeup bag/collection. I love a good wing, what can I say? Whether it's blue, pink, brown or classic black, I love 'em.

I have tried numerous eyeliners and numerous different formulas and I've whittled it down to my favourite three which luckily, for  variety purposes, are all different formulas/mechanisms that will suit everyone!

Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner Pen in Black Shock, £8.99 - Boots
This is the newest edition to my liner collection and possibly one of my favourites. It's easy to use, creamy formula, pure black and lasts a really long time. I'm not sure whether it's waterproof but it lasts well on me and I have quite watery eyes sometimes and it really stays put. I bought this after the hype around Benefit's They Real Gel Liner Pen and thought this was basically the drugstore/budget version which I still think it is. I can't say for definite though as I haven't tried the Benefit one. From what I've read though it's just the formulas of the actual gel that differs and the mechanism is all the exact same!

Soap & Glory Super Cat Felt Eyeliner Pen, £6 - Boots
I bought this after rave reviews and wasn't let down. It's pointed applicator makes it super easy to get a perfect cat flick. The formula is easy to work with and really opaque. I've had mine the best part of a year ad it's still going strong after a few months of everyday use.

Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner in Infinity, £18 - Very.co.uk
The creamiest most black and long lasting liner ever. This liner is perfect for dramatic eye looks, day to day eye looks or kooky creative and fun eye looks. It's super super opaque, glides on and stays on. I apply it with the Real Techniques Silicone liner brush and it's the perfect duo for perfect looking liner!


There's my top picks! Have you tried any of these products? Let me know in the comments!


Love Alicia x

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HAIR // Updated Hair Colour

L'Oreal  Recital Preference in colour 8 California, £6.99 - Boots
L'Oreal Preference Glam highlights in 02 for Dark Blone to Light Blonde Hair, £7.49 - Boots

Pictured Above L-R: Before the hair dye and After.

I'm not really one for keeping my hair the same colour, says everyone, I know. But seriously I get bored as you've probably seen I've had pink and purple in my hair on and off for a year but I always seem to stay blonde. Recently I've been wanting to venture away from the grey/white hair and wanted something a little warmer within a few highlights here and there.

When choosing my hair dye there wasn't really anything to think about, I've used L'oreal before and it was a case of "tick to what you know" and I know these dyes work for me and give me the results that I want so even though they're a little bit pricier it was just easier for me, in my opinion.

I put the California dye on dry hair for 25 minutes and washed it off using only water and then the conditioner that comes in the kit. After this I dried my hair and went in with the highlighting kit. This is the second time I've used this kit and if you read my first review you'll see that I wasn't over the moon with the results the last time but that wasn't solely down to the product I was just a bit slap dash with it all and my hair dying ego got the best of me. It was a very "It's always turned out brilliant for me so I assume it will this time" moment, D'oh. To read that review click here. 

I put the highlights from root to tip all round the top of my hair and dotted a few here and there underneath and under a few layers of hair. I did this because I didn't want them all so be really linear and parallel I wanted them to look natural and not symmetrical. After I'd applied them I left them for 45 minutes and washed them out and what you can see above is the before and after result which I'm pretty happy with.

I was a bit worried at first as in my artificial lighting at home it looked grey but my boyfriend assured me that it was in fact blonde and that I was in fact going blind so all was well!

(I'm not really going blind)

What do you think of it? Have you tried these hair products? Let me know!
Love Alicia x

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FAVOURITES // August

It's that time of the month again (NOT THAT TIME) favourites! I didn't really stray from my usual routine these past few months which is why I didn't post a favourites for July but I have bought a few new bits which I have been liking to I will go through those!

This month I've really been into wearing a nude lip so to build up my collection I bought Mac Myth £10.50, Debenhams when they had £5 all lipsticks and I have been pairing that with Maybelline ColorSensational Lipgloss in Coffee Kiss £6.19, Tesco as I feel Myth on it's own is too pale for me so I have definitely been loving these two together for the perfect nude lip, I also like pairing Myth with Maybelline Color Elixir in Nude Illusion but since I only bought that a week ago I can't say whether or not it's a favourite yet.

A recently rediscovered favourite of mine is Bourjois Delice Du Poudre in 52 £7.99, Boots I had this way back in the day when it first came out and I loved it but for some reason stopped using it, I think because I got Sleeks Contour Kit and then whilst browsing Boots last month I saw it and repurchased and have been using it every day since. It gives just enough colour for my pale skin and it's too orange on me so, love love love it.

After the release for the Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner I was intrigued by the shape of the nib and that fact that it was gel rather than liquid that came out of the pen so when I stumbled upon Miss Budget Beauty's video showcasing the Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner in Black Shock £8.99, Boots I knew I had to get it and I'm so glad I did. The nib and the mechanical pen is the exact same as the Benefit one the only difference is in the formula of the gel, apparently the Maybelline formula isn't as creamy as the Benefit one, I don't know I haven't tried it but for more than half the price I'm not complaining because I find it easy to apply and it stays all day, result!

On to my last two favourites, which are lip products. I did a lot of lipstick buying in July, it's pretty much all I bought from Boots. First up it Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Hollywood Red £7.19, Boots this has to be one of my favourite red lipsticks, it's different, its classy and it's really nice on the lips. Definitely definitely going to be buying more from this line as the consistency of the lipstick it's just unbelievable. Next up is Bourjois Color Boost Lip Crayons All, £7.99 Boots the reason I've said all is because I have all the colours but didn't feel the need to picture them all as the consistency and colour payoff is the same within each of them. They're really moisturising but really sheer, they leave a slight stain on the lips and have been great for just a light pop of colour during the summer.

Hope you enjoyed my favourites!

Love Alicia x

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NEW // Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Blonde - £15.50, CultBeauty.com

First things first (I'm the realest.) When I say "new" I mean new to my stash not a newly released product and new to my stash is this beauty, Anastasia's Dipbrow Pomade, which essentially is a pomade or an oil based product for styling the hair meaning it gives your brows colour and keeps them from getting unruly.

I've seen/read a lot about this product from the blogosphere and the internet and it has quite the following behind it. Some people love it and some dislike it, me on the other hand, I'm loving it so far. It stays on all day, keeps my brows in place and the colour is spot on. 

Before this I used a similar product, Sleeks brow kit in light and eve though it was a similar product in the way that the wax basically did the same thing as the pomade, the pomade is just so much better and such higher quality that I don't think I'll go back to using a wax on my brows again.

I will do a full review on the product once I've had time to road test it properly but so far so good I can see why it has such a hype around it!

Have you ever tried this product? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Love Alicia x

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The "British" (Welsh) Tag

Grab ya tea and scones it's going to be a lengthy one...

Ah, the "British" tag, I've seen it doing the rounds on YouTube and more recently on a few blogs so I thought I'd pop my version of this tag on me own little blog and see how things go.

It was Miss Beauty Beauty or Mikhila who inspired me to do my very own version as she made a very good point in her video of how the Britain is made up of three countries & Northern Ireland (Scotland, England, Wales) and therefore the questions in this tag mainly relate to those of you in Britain that are English, whereas I identify as Welsh. I have lived in Wales since I was 7 and I'm now 21. Love England and all that but I was only there for 7 years so can't remember much apart from some of the slang and the accent which I've lived with from my parents!

I will be following the same questions but putting a little spin on them, hope you enjoy!

1. How many cups of tea do you have a day and how many sugars?
I drink around 4-5 cups of tea a day. I like it with 2 sugars and soya milk as i'm lactose intolerant, which sucks because I love cheese. (beautifullll)

2. Favourite part of your roast? (A cooked meal involving roasted meat and vegetables topped with gravy - for those who aren't British!)
It seems as though for this question everyone said Yorkshires or stuffing but I HATE those two!! My favourite part of a roast dinner would definitely be the roasties or the gravy, yummmmm.

3. Favourite dunking biscuit?
I love a good chocolate hobnob or digestive, they're pretty rigid so don't drop to the bottom of a brew in 0.1 second.

4. Favourite quintessentially British pass time?
I LOVE Carbooting! It's so so fun and I also love to go to museums and things like that I also enjoy a good visit to the pub.

5. Favourite word?
Popti-ping. It means Microwave in Welsh!

6. Cockney rhyming slang?
I don't really use it but my favourite is Dog and Bone which means Phone. My favourite welsh thing to say, a slang of sorts is telling people to " 'ave a gweld" which means to take a look at something.

7. Favourite sweet?
Not a huge fan of sweets but the ones I eat most often are Haribo Tangfastics.

8. What would your pub be called?
The Everyone Inn. For short people would say "wanna go for a pint at the ev'inn?"

9. No.1 British person?
This one is hard! Probably Patrick Stewart. He can do no wrong.

10. Favourite shop/restaurant?
My favourite restaurant is Olive and my favourite shop is probably Debenhams, I know I work there but they sell everything I need (apart from food and the obvious things) under one roof and I get a discount, what could be better?

11. What British song pops into your head?
Everytime I've wathed or read this tag the same song pops into my head and it's One Direction - What Make You Beautiful.

12. Marmite?
NO the stuff is hideous and urgh god no.

Hope you enjoyed my British/Welsh Tag!

Love Alicia x

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REVIEW // L'oreal Preference Glam highlights 01

L'oreal Preferene Glam Lights highlighting kit in 01 For Light to Very Light Blonde hair, £7.49 - ASDA

Dying my roots back in is something I dread, my roots will go stark blonde whilst the rest of my hair is a nice ashy blonde colour that has taken me nearly 3 weeks to get to, then the roots have to go and mess it all up and I have to start the process again which it's probably really bad for my hair.

My alternative t constantly bleaching and dying my roots is highlighting them. I decided that rather than keep bleaching all my hair I would just bleach sections so that it will still look a nice light blonde but with my natural hair colours #(dark/dirty blonde) and the lighter blonde all mixed in making it look a little more natural and I chose L'oreal's new highlighting kit to do this.

I started off with my hair and left all my hair down and parted it to how I would normally wear it day to day. I then took the special 3 pronged brush that comes with the little kit and ran it from root to tip all around the top of my head and down the lengths and waiting the 45 minutes for it to develop. The pictures above left - right are before and then during the dying process and as you can see the hair did start to go a lot lighter at the roots.

My first experience with this kit wasn't as pleasant as I expected, most of my home hair dye jobs go pretty well but with this one I just wasn't liking the results. (I say first because I've used it again since and it hasn't gone too bad.) I'm not going to give a completely negative review because I think partly the reason for my bad experience was that my hair was already very very light blonde so the roots matched my hair but because it was only sections it looked patchy and also it was my first time using this new brush tool they supply you with so I was a bit cack-handed with it and blobbing it on.

I would recommend this if you have darker hair than I have in the pictures above or if you've done home highlights before because you'd probably find it useful otherwise, if you are going to buy it the watch a tutorial first because I wish I did.

also, just a pointer, everything in this kit is the same as the Wild Ombre's kits apart from the brush and the Wild Ombre's kit is around £1.50 cheaper. So pro tip if you every buy this kit, keep the brush tool and just buy the Wild Ombre's one afterwards! That what I'm planning to do.

Have you tried this kit? Let me know your thought in the comments below!

Love Alicia x

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REVIEW // Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover, £4.99 Boots.

Before we start off this post let me just say that I will take all and any thanks and praise for introducing those left in the beauty world/blogging world (if there are any left) who haven't heard of this little miracle. It's like Jesus in a nail polish remover pot.

So I've seen this little pot so much in the beauty world I have having nightma-ahem...dreams about it and seeing it in my sleep so naturally I had to spend (just under) ones hours worth of hard works wage to get my hands on it. 

It's basically a genius yet simple idea of having a pot with foam in it and soaking the foam in a nail polish solvent that also has almond oil and vanilla fragrance in it, so you can remove your nail colour whilst also nourishing the nails and not stinking to high heaven of acetone.

I was sceptical that it could be so revolutionary that I would never buy normal nail polish remover again and I also didn't believe the one second claim but now I've used it I am a sceptic no more but I was right about it taking longer than a second, takes about five with some twisting and turning.

I used to absolutely despise painting my nails as I knew that I'd have to remove whatever colour I had on and I also knew that when it chipped I'd have to completely re-do the nail which was just too time consuming for me, I'm very impatient and don't like to wait for the nails to dry. So now I have this handy little bottle I can just stick my nail into the tub, and voilà!

Definitely, definitely try this out if you haven't already. I am incredibly late onto the bandwagon with this one, so late I'm not sure the wagon even exists any longer but still, my point stands, It's incredible for lazy people like me!

Have you tried this Bourjois product? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Love Alicia x

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