NOTD: Models Own in Juicy Jules and Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Prickly Pear

It's taken me a long time to purchase any of the Gelly Hi-Shines from Barry M and I'm not really sure why... Fast forward from 3 weeks ago and I've now got a mini collection of six shades which I'll be reviewing once I've finished swatching but, spoiler alert, I really like them! Prickly Pear is a beautiful pastel lilac which is perfect for Spring. I decided to pair it with Models Own Juicy Jules just to inject a little girly glamour into the look. I've recently been on a week long varnish ban to give my nails a rest since they were beginning to get a little dry and even flaky in some places. I can report that after some intensive moisturising they're back on form and look lovely and healthy! I definitely recommend taking a week out and applying some thick moisturiser (I used The Body Shop Shea Body Butter) if your nails are looking less than perfect. It felt really weird having naked nails for so long and I feel much better now I have my colourful talons back!

I think this is a fab combo. Sadly the glitter wasn't photographing very well but I can assure you it looks lovely and catches the light beautifully with pink and green shimmers. I'm wearing two coats of Prickly Pear here and one coat of Juicy Jules. This is the first time I've tried to do something like this using a glitter polish but it was really easy and worth the little extra effort.

Have you been embracing the Spring shades lately (despite the weather not cooperating)? What do you think of my look?

Lauren

Joules Leather Clutch

I've always been someone who's a total pain for carrying things. If my boyfriend tries to make me carry more than a single bag of groceries I will whine all the way home about how awful my life is. Bizarrely it doesn't seem to affect me when shopping for make-up, jewellery and skincare though... 

I do find that the one thing that really softens the blow of hauling around my essential items is something truly gorgeous to haul them in. I've been keeping an eye out for a gorgeous clutch for a little while now. I'm having a weekend in Cambridge at the start of May and I've spent longer than I'd like to admit fantasising about looking totally chic and heritage-cool with a new clutch bag. Imagine my surprise and delight when an email popped into my inbox asking if I'd like to try out a clutch from Joules. I'll admit that I'm not overly familiar with Joules. I was aware that they were a British brand that sold toiletries (thanks Boots Christmas 3 for 2) and I had a vague idea that they probably sold other things too. I wasn't told exactly what style or colour I was getting so I decided to leave it a surprise for myself.

And this is what I got:

I so love the Joules hare! Such an adorable logo.

I was immediately in sweet dreamy love. I mean really, I don't even know if heritage-cool is a term that should ever be used in real life but I genuinely think this is the epitome of it. It's exactly what I had in mind when I imagined myself strolling by canals and lounging in cafes (I can dream.) The clutch is a tan leather envelope which seals with a magnetic "popper". It contains three separate compartments including a zip-up centre compartment ideal for storing money and other valuables.The lining is a beautiful, floral printed, silky material which I'm assuming is polyester but I can't be sure since it isn't listed on the website nor on the label. It's an ideal size for carrying around essentials like money, a mobile phone and a few cosmetic items but obviously, there isn't an enormous amount of space. I also have to say that I love the colour pop of the pink strap and think it acts as a perfect contrast to the neutral clutch! But... it was £70. My jaw nearly hit the floor when I turned the ticket over. I'm a girl of limited means and I know that hand on heart, I wouldn't really have been able to afford this for myself. However, after having fully examined it and after using it for a couple of weeks, I completely agree that it's worth it. It's a timeless piece that will age with you and the craftsmanship is impeccable. There isn't a stitch out of line and the leather feels soft and supple. The colours are beautifully rich and vibrant and the lining pattern is stunning. I'd have no qualms about ordering anything from Joules in the future and am tempted for a duvet set as a post birthday-money treat! (So long as my long-suffering boyfriend will chip in!)

Some handy tips for leather care that were included! So cute.

Final Verdict: Absolutely beautiful and wonderfully made but certainly not cheap.

Joules Tan Leather Clutch £70*

This particular clutch is no longer available online but may be in stock at your local store. You can still get it in a pastel pink shade (yay Spring!) here.

Have you ever shopped at Joules? Know of any gorgeous handbags I should be looking at?

Lauren

Review and Swatches: Rimmel Apocalips in Apocaliptic, Celestial, Stellar, Big Bang and Nude Eclipse

Pretty much everyone has heard of the Rimmel Apocalips by now. Hailed as a revolution in lip colour, these super pigmented lip lacquers exploded onto the market and onto a ton of blogs very, very quickly. I know a lot of people got bored very quickly of reading about these and I'll admit that whilst I'm not a fan of seeing the same products over and over, I just can't help myself clicking every single post that features them! I must be mad. It took me a week after release to finally track some of these down since my woefully poor local Boots and Superdrug simply didn't stock them. It's enough to drive a beauty blogger crazy! But eventually I had a nice little collection of the colours I "needed" (wink) and wanted to share my thoughts on them.

 

It's been said a hundred times but the packaging really is super cute and very functional. The clear base is ideal for displaying the colour and the meteoric lids fit wonderfully with the apocalyptic theme. As do the fabulous names. A* for marketing. The lids fit nice and tightly and I'm not at all worried about it coming undone. The wand itself works as an almost perfect applicator for this product and the well inside the doe-foot catches just the right amount for one full application. I've read some reviews saying that the applicator felt clumsy and applied too much product but I have to disagree. I work from the back of the applicator and begin applying to the centre of my lips. It's then just a case of flipping it over to add more product and smooth it over bit by bit. It's very easy to add too much if you don't go slowly and applying anything other than a thin layer will make a total mess (trust me. Oops.) The colours are undeniably beautiful but I do wish they had included a strong orange colour because Luna looked a little pale for me personally. Just think of the awesome names they could have for an orange! The only real negative I have at this point is the rather bizarre scent. A plastic/watermelon hybrid which does nothing for me. I really do hate melon.

Apocaliptic

 

Celestial

Stellar

 

Big Bang

                                 

Nude Eclipse

Nude Eclipse was such an enormous disappointment for me. It was just so wrong for my skin tone and for some reason it felt much drier than the others. you can see in the photo how it settles into my lip lines and just looks awful. As if I needed any more proof, the first time my boyfriend saw me wearing this he said "Why do you look like a chav?" Yes that's right, he thought I'd done concealer lips. Kill me now. However, I do quite like using this to blend with other lipsticks to create more of a pastel tone so it's not all doom and gloom.

The other colours however are just total dreams. Mega pigmented, smooth and non drying. I think my favourite is Apocalyptic - it's similar to Revlon's Raspberry Pie on me but even brighter. The darker colours do have a slight tendency to bleed (particularly if you apply them as poorly as I do)  as seen on the Big Bang swatches. They have a gorgeous glossy finish which does matte down over time but I don't find that it becomes uncomfortable at all. They also transfer onto EVERYTHING, even when blotted. You absolutely have to check your teeth before leaving the house with these. They do last wonderfully though provided you don't eat. One sandwich later and you will definitely be rocking the heavy lip liner look so do top up after meals! I've worn Stellar out to drinks though and whilst my straw looked pretty butchered my lips were still practically perfect after 2-3 hours.

Final Verdict: Beautiful colours that look fantastic but will transfer onto everything. Try at least one if you can, you might just fall in love!

Love them or loathe them? Do you have a favourite colour?

Lauren

Review: Sleek Face Form in Light

I've been wanting to try one of Sleek's contouring kits for an absolute age. I'm lucky to have fairly pronounced cheek bones but my chubby face kind of obscures them! I always thought that a bit of help from contouring would do me a world of good and this particular product was recommended to me by a whole host of knowledgeable beauty bloggers. Luckily I had a 25% off voucher so I popped in an order a few weeks ago. See what else I bought here.

The packaging is very typical of Sleek. They're cute little black palettes with a matte coating and shiny logo. They also come in their own box which is always a nice touch and gives a product more of a "high end" feel. It closes very securely and I'd be happy to travel with it if it was well packed but definitely wouldn't want to risk dropping it; the product is so soft I'm almost certain it would shatter. As with all Sleek Palettes, this contains a large mirror which is always handy. Face Form comes in 4 different shades, Fair, Light, Medium and Dark. I plumped for Light which seems to be a good match for most pale skinned girls. Light contains a matte brown contouring powder, a champagne coloured shimmer highlighter and the famed Rose Gold shimmer blush (a supposed dupe for NARS Orgasm.)

Every powder is extremely soft and blendable and feels lovely to work with. I swatched heavily above to show the colours and the contouring powder looks a little chalky but I assure you it isn't. The pigmentation is fantastic so you really need to go slow and build up when applying; the great news is that it'll last forever.

I am new to contouring so I'll admit that my application is far from perfect (also I apologise for the wonky eye liner, whoops) but I was really happy with how the products looked on my face! The colours are very rich but look so natural and pretty when applied with a light hand. I think this is such a versatile palette and could easily be used all year round for a variety of purposes. The shimmer isn't too heavy at all and I love how multi-faceted Rose Gold is. The base is a warm coral-pink which works beautifully with the gold shimmer. I think this is a shade that could work for all skin tones - just build it up for darker skin. Wear time is really good but I do have dry skin and it seems like hardly anything disappears on me.

Final Verdict: Fantastic product for a very reasonable price. Very versatile and well pigmented. Another hit from Sleek.

£10 from Sleek or large Superdrug stores.

Have you tried this product? Have you tried contouring? What products do you use for it?

Lauren