First Swap!

And it started with talks of a Sleek palette...

Yesterday, I received a package of the best kind. SWAP GOODIES!

There were a bunch of things I really wanted from the States and the lovely lady I swapped with wanted Sleek palettes. The rest was up to us! I absolutely adore everything she bought me and I hope she loves what I got her too. AND! Crazy little gem managed to find the Wet n Wild palette I wanted!





First up is a handful of glosses.



WetSlicks Fruit Spritzers in Papaya Splash



N.Y.C. Extreme Lip Glider in Metro Mauve



Revlon gloss in Pink Pop







NYX round glosses in Red Tint, Ballerina Pink and Queen Of Africa









Wet n Wild Ultimate Expressions eyeshadow palettes in Fantasy Island and Paradise Cove & Wet n Wild Eye Expressions palette in Contemporary Art





Wet n Wild ColorIcon palette in Lust





CoverGirl Eye Enhancers palette in Shimmer Sands

eos lip balm in Honeysuckle Honeydew - I couldn't take a photo of this because Reggie saw me take it out of the package and thought "OHH A NEW TOY" and it is now somewhere under the friggin' bed! I have tried it though, and it feels SO nice and smells/tastes so yummy. I'll make John crawl under there and get it for me in the morning.







NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in Black Bean and Cottage Cheese & Wet n Wild gel liner



CoverGirl LashBlast Volume, L'Oréal Voluminous (my favourite mascara - EVER!)& L'Oréal Lineur Intense liquid liner





NYX 5 Color Shadow palette (The Caribbean Collection) in I Dream Of St. Lucia



Red Cherry lashes - #505 and JB/CP - These have pretty much convinced me to suck it up and get over my fear of falsies.





MAC pigment samples: Circa Plum, Naked, Tan, Vanilla





MAC iridescent powder samples: Golden Bronze & Silver Dusk



Sonia Kashuk brushes! Love!

Finally, GUMMY BEARS! John and I have already decided I should probably put one packet away...cause I'll shove them all in my mouth at once. No. Joke.

Thank you SO much girl, I love everything you got me and I really hope we can do this again because I really, really enjoyed myself and I hope you did too!

I'll post again when she receives my package and share what I bought for her and why!

What I'm Currently Using

Shampoo: Pantene Aqua Light
Conditioner: Pantene Aqua Light
Styling Products: A tiny bit of Vo5 Texturising Gum through the ends of my hair to roughen it up a little when I straighten it.
Shower Gel: Lush Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly
Body Moisturiser : Lush Vanilla Dee-Lite
Deodorant: Dove Grapefruit & Lemongrass
Face Wash: Lush Fresh Farmacy/Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil
Exfoliator: The Body Shop Facial Buffer with Lush Fresh Farmacy
Primer: MAC Prep+Prime or I go without
Foundation Brush: The Body Shop Blusher Brush (Yes...I know. But it works well!)
Foundation: Revlon Colorstay
Concealer: MAC Studio Finish
Powder: MAC MSF Natural
Blusher: Lancome Blush Subtil in Pink Splash
Bronzer: Rimmel Natural Bronzer
Highlighter: Collection 2000 Dazzle Me! Eye Dust in Magical - really lovely on the cheekbones
Eyeshadow Base: Urban Decay Primer Potion
Eyeshadows: I've really been loving the shimmery purple Kate palette and the MAC Devoted Poppy palette. As always, Sleek.
Eyeliner: Chanel Precision Eye Definer in Noir
Mascara: Rimmel The Max Volume Flash
Lipstick: Natural Collection in Autumn Sunset
Lipgloss: None!
Nail Colour: Models Own Nude Beige

Makeup Storage

This is just how I do it. We're living with friends at the moment so our situation is temporary and rather cramped. Hopefully we'll be able to move somewhere permanent soon! But for now, this is how I have to store my collection and think it's a great way to do it if you don't have a lot of room - if you're heading off to university for example. I know how it is! They expect you to cram all your things into a room the size of your bathroom and sleep on a bed the size of your little sister's.

Firstly, all these drawers and boxes are on bookshelves - fantastic space saver. Build up if you can't build out. The rest of it is on a shelf on the wall - another way to maximise the space you have and if done right, can look really pretty! I have a few small paintings I did dotted around the wall in amongst the shelves and I love how it looks!

I have several of these Ikea desk drawers in storage - some are painted/decoupaged, some are not (I'm working on it) - but I could only fit one on my two shelves (it's a bookshelf). I also have a few Ikea storage boxes, these are cardboard and of course self assembled. They're actually pretty sturdy, I've had these for about 4 years!



L-R, top to bottom:
1. Lip products & spare applicators. I keep the sponge tip applicators/brushes that come with eyeshadows/blushes etc because they're good for swatching and great for travel if you're only away for a day or two.
2. Blushes and bronzers.



3. Eyeliners and mascaras.



4. Single eyeshadows, pigments, glitters, cream shadows, small palettes and a few MAC pan shadows I have yet to put in palettes. Mostly eye products that don't have a real home live in here for now. I re-used a couple of boxes I got from gift sets of mini shower gels/soaps to create dividers in the drawers.



5. Foundations, concealers and face powders
6. MAC palettes, a few random face products - moisturisers, primers, toners etc. Things I don't use on a daily basis.
7. Brushes I don't use on a daily basis are sealed in baggies and put in here. I also keep spare daily brush cleaners and my baby shampoo in here (Simple Baby Shampoo).
8. Basket with hair scrunchies, hair bands and hair clips.
9. Small pot of brushes I use every day.
10. Metal box of jewelry. I also have a couple of necklace stands on top of the shelf not shown.
11. Pot of earrings on top of an glass tray that has rings on it.
12. Larger palettes that I don't use much. There are a few spare body moisturisers in there for when I get through the ones I'm currently using.

The plastic drawers are from Poundland and are very good for storing makeup if you're not concerned about it looking pretty as they're stackable. I've yet to find a way to customise these but I'm sure I'll get round to it. I believe I got the glass jar at TK Maxx for a couple quid in the clearance section.



L-R, top to bottom:

1. - 4. Eyeshadow palettes.
5. Samples - skincare, perfume, moisturiser etc. I keep these to use when I travel. You know those perfume samples you get in magazines? I cut them out and keep them for when I'm away from home for a day or two so I don't have to carry a huge bottle. Same goes for moisturisers.



6. Tools. Tweezers (I swear by Tweezerman), eyebrow scissors, sharpeners, and a kabuki brush which I use every day but keep in here because it seems to attract dust like crazy. I also keep spare blotting sheets in here. You'll notice I don't mention lashes or lash curlers - I'm absolutely petrified of anything that goes on my lashes other than mascara.

7. Shelf with products I use every day: Cetaphil moisturisers, Lush Tea Tree Water, e.l.f. daily brush cleaner, Dove deodorant (the Grapefruit and lemongrass one is my favourite and the only one I can use without my pits getting all spotty!), Lee Stafford heat protectant and a Nicky Clark leave in conditioner. I keep my cleansers in the bathroom.

I also keep random other bits and pieces; perfumes, hand sanitizers, cotton buds, "feminine products", nail polish, body lotions etc in a large drawer in our dresser. I like to keep my perfumes out of sunlight because it preserves them. No matter how pretty the bottle is, I'd rather keep the fragrance! You can also do this by storing them in their boxes.





Another Ikea storage box with my nail products and nail polishes. (That isn't a fake MAC polish haha, it's Relic and I believe it's from the 90's - still goes on a dream!)

As you can see, it's all a bit mixed up. I'm hoping I'll be able to have my dream set up when we move to our own place but for now this works for me. I can find things easily and not have to take up half the room with all my "crap" as John puts it. I already take up 3/4 of the wardrobe with my "crap" (because John has like....a Tshirt and 3 socks) so I thought it was only fair not to take up the rest of what little space we have with the rest of my "crap".

I think these Ikea drawers are fantastic for storing makeup and love that you're able to customise them! I don't think they sell them anymore, but they do have some that have a nicer finish and more styles which I plan on buying when we move.

It's also worth thinking about re-using cute packaging you get from gifts.

Don't you love the colour of our wall?! Even though we're living here temporarily, we HAD to paint the room. It was bright pink and purple with a horrible kiddy border! This one wall with the shelves is this gorgeous dark turquoise, the rest is white)

Lush Prizes!

So I walked through the door today and what greeted me?



The gorgeous pong of this box of LUSHious goodies!

As luck would have it, I won a Lush Twitter competition and they were kind and generous enough to send me this wonderful parcel of treats.

The Comforter Bubble Bar - one of my favourites (isn't it everyones?)
Blackberry Bath Bomb - never tried this but trust me, I'm SO looking forward to it
Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly - After my battle with Shower Jellies in the past, I think the smell of this has instantly restored my faith! Maybe this time I won't be so clumsy with them haha.
Squeaky Green Solid Shampoo Bar - I think it is anyway! It was a toss up between Squeaky Green and Karma Komba but by the scent, I guessed Squeaky Green. Correct me if I'm wrong! Excited to try this too as I've only tried Seanik.
Honey I Washed The Kids - another one of my all time favourites!
Helping Hands Hand Cream - so, so soft and not at all greasy. Love this stuff.
Grass Shower Gel - Really does smell like freshly cut grass! BRING SUMMER BACK IN YER SHOWER!

The taps are running. A mid-afternoon bath is just what I need...ok...want...right now.

You can follow Lush on Twitter here. And the new Gorilla Perfume here.

Models Own Haul

Adding to the 6 polishes I purchased before the 50% off sale, I decided to order another 10 polishes. That is how much I adore them!

I only recently started getting into nail polish. I started building my collection about a year ago and think these polishes are great additions. Like I said when I reviewed my first Models Own polish, Golden Peach; these polishes stay chip free for days, they're easy to apply and they come in a range of gorgeous colours.



My Models Own collection (minus the free black kohl liner)

Swatches:



NP054 Top Turquoise



NP068 Misty Grey



NP092 Peach Sherbet



NP075 Nude Beige



NP073 Champagne



NP065 Matt Black (wet)



NP065 Matt Black (dry)

The next few are glitters (one coat):



NP006 Purple Haze



NP008 Gold Finger



Bluebell



NP010 Disco Mix

I believe the sale ends today so hurry over to www.modelsownit.com

Previous Models Own haul and swatches can be found here.

A Day On Oxford Street

And I bought next to nothing! More because I'm broke as hell than because I couldn't find anything. I'm still proud of myself though.

I got to catch up with a couple old friends Joanna and Alex.



I look like such a creep in this picture. Like...I'm not even meant to be in it. Please excuse my face.



Look at all the goodies Joanna bought for me! I feel like such a jackass because all I got her was a lousy mascara (actually...a great mascara), a nail polish, an eyeshadow palette and single eyeshadow. That's it, our budget was blown! Money really doesn't go as far here. I freaked out and threw in a palette I got for free and headed out the door to meet her feeling terrible. I'll have to pick up a few more things. She bought me an Armani palette, a really cute Skin Food nail polish, a Fiberwig mascara (which I really wanted!) and a ton of Shu Uemura samples!



The pigmentation is crazy! Very soft too.



She also got me a few boxes of my favourite treats from Hong Kong. I grew up on these things thinking eating Colon was perfectly acceptable. And it is. Because it's tasty. Especially chocolate colon. Is Collon even pronounced the same as colon? Whatever.

This is all I picked up.



I included the shower cream because it's my favourite. It doesn't mess with my skin, it smells amazing...it smells like happy would smell...if happy had a scent. AND it's cheap. I also picked up an adorable sun dress from Topshop - in the sale of course, one of the Topshop blushes in Nutmeg and a No7 eyeshadow brush using one of my vouchers.



It's a cream formula that sits well on the skin and a beautiful colour. Top swatch is blended, bottom is not.



Managed to find more Creme Eggs for Jackie!

Reggie is due for his flea and worming treatments so I had to shell out for those too...probably won't show those though...

Despite the fact that it rained and it was busy and you know...it's Oxford Street...we all had a really good time. The boys talked about games while we shopped, we managed to miss the rain while actually walking around so didn't have to deal with rude tourists - and locals - bashing their umbrellas around. I'm happy! Like the shower cream.

Fancy a trip to France?

Recently, my aunt finished work on her guest house in France and I have to say, it is absolutely gorgeous. It's quiet and secluded yet convenient; which is what we all want from a trip to the South of France.



Located in Fayence, the cottage is 50 minutes from Nice airport and very close to Cannes and St. Tropez. Day trips to Monaco and Italy are also within reach being only an hour away.







I think they really hit the mark with this place. Your choices are endless. If you want to head out and explore, there's plenty of accessbile days out with everything you'd expect from Europe - food, culture, scenery and of course shopping! If you need a day off, there's a private pool where you can chill out or stay indoors and curl up with a movie or feast on a meal cooked in the cottage's kitchen or on the BBQ by the pool.





This cottage sleeps 6 between 2 en-suite bedrooms so is perfect for a family trip or a quiet getaway for you and your other half. Equally, a week or 2 away with your girlfriends (or guy friends) would be ideal.

Additional details, reviews and contact details can be found here.