Nuxe Reve de Miel Ultra-nourishing lip balm

It's a lip balm, Jim, but not as we know it!

Targeted at dry and chapped lips, this balm has Honey, Shea butter and essential oils that all work together to comfort your lips. 

The smell - Citrus! A bit lemony, but mostly orange. Smells like legit citrus, not artificial. I really dislike strongly artificial lemon smells, this balm smells much more like a summery orangey delightfulness. 

The packaging - It comes in a frosted glass jar, it feels wickedly decadent. Yes, lip balms can be wickedly decadent. It feels nicely heavy in your hands, and definitely feels nicely posh. The fancy french writing definitely makes this balm feel more exclusive. 

The texture - Odd. So odd. I would definitely describe it as rich. It's quite thick and paste-y and has to be smeared onto your lips. Whereas Vaseline is slippery and glides onto your lips, the Nuxe balm almost needs to be 'worked' into your lips... a gentle lip massage if you will. I think because it's so much thicker it, for want of a better word, penetrates your lips more and results in a longer-lasting lip nourishment. 

What makes this balm different? The finish - it's matte, so it looks super duper natural and your hair doesn't get stuck in a gloopy mess of gloop. 

It also stays on your lips for a really long time - coming from a chronic re-applier, this is good! 

Where to get it - Space NK (link!) Feel Unique (link!)

Laura xx

OOTD: Minty fresh.

'Ello!

Dress - H&M, £12.99, current season (alas, no link!)

I lurvee this dress. It's so comfy and pretty and minty. I'm having a mint obsession at the moment and mourning the bag that could have been - a topshop mint doctor's bag. Oh well, I will survive. 

Anyway, this dress has pockets - always good. I love pockets. It's just a simple dress with a zip at the back made in a nice quality jersey. 

These come in a gazillion different colour & patterns - I also have a zebra print one which I equally love.

Recommend checking these dresses out, they're cheap and basically lush. 

Laura xx

Laura Mercier's Orange Tulip

Bonjour!

Oh, Anna. Anything you mention, I want. I heard about Laura Mercier Lip glaces, and they sounded good - glossy, non-sticky and generally gorgeous.

I'm loving a cheeky bit of Laura Mercier lately - the products are fab!

Have my eyes on the metallic eye colours next ;)

I chose Orange Tulip, a limited edition shade I think. It's orange (...well done, Laura) but not too bright. It's easily wearable.

It comes in the standard lipgloss packaging, with a wand applicator. 

It smells so lush! Like vanilla, but not as sweet as MAC. More sophisticated. 

The wear is also pretty food and comfortable - it slicks on, and you can definitely feel it on your lips. It's not as thick as MAC lip glosses though, and you can still see your lip colour/stick through the gloss. 

I'm wearing it here over MAC Shy Girl - a combo made in heaven. 

What do you guys think? Any LM converts, or suggestions?

Laura xx

Soleil Tan de Chanel/Bronzing makeup base.

Bonjour!

Ah, the infamous Soleil Tan de Chanel. It seems that the majority of the blogs I read either have this or want it. 

I had been lusting after this for over a year, and then it was out of stock and nowhere had it, which naturally made me NEED IT.

I finally got my mitts on it a couple of months ago, and I've been using it in different ways with different tools to see what worked best. 

Damn you hairs, why do you collect in it? Sadness. 

Swatched heavily and then blended.

I have tried several different brushes with this. It's an unusual products and hairs seem to collect in it. I've tried the MAC 109, which worked fairly well. I prefer using the 109 with powder products though. I've found the best brush to use with it is the the Real Techniques Expert face brush, which you can use to contour and to apply all over the face.

Any Tan de Chanel fans?

Laura xx

Clarins Natural Lip Perfector - Apricot Shimmer!

'Ello!

Meet my new lip love... shh, don't let any of my other thousand lip lovers hear. 

I have the colour Apricot Shimmer, which is a beautiful, easy-to-wear glossy peachy pink. There's not too much colour pay-off, and this product definitely reminds me a balm more than your traditional gloss. It does nourish your lips, and has noticeably make them softer. It lasts around 2-3 hours on ze lips, I think. 

Just incase the name put you off, it's not shimmery or frosty or anything - so not too sure why it's called Apricot shimmer. 

It glides onto your lips like a glidey thing. It's not sticky at all - no hair on the lips, i have a moustache scenario here. No sir. 

It has a spongey applicator and a squeezy tube, which I prefer to wiggling a wand around in a tube of regular gloss. 

It smells like wonderfully sweet toffee and nice things, like sugar spice and definitely not chemical X. 

I just love it

*applies more as she writes*

Laura xx

Nails: CHANEL's Rouge Noir and a dupe!

Hello!

Chanel's Rouge Noir is a tres famous colour, brought to light by Uma Thurman in (one of my favourite film's) Pulp fiction. 

Sadly the polish does not give one the ability to bust a move like Mia Wallace, as shown below. 

Source

Alas, I digress.

The polish is what I'd call a classic, timeless colour - vampy red that just screams cool. 

Here it is in all its glory. Two coats of pure-awesomeness. 

I think it's a 'mature' colour, I love it. This bottle is actually Mama Laurzrah's because I used my bottle all up, and never got round to replacing it - I found a cheaper alternative. 

Now, I slightly tricked you, because on my index finger I am in fact wearing an entirely different polish - can you tell the difference? I can't. 

The polish is Max Factor's Ruby Fruit, a snip at £5.99 compared to Chanel's price tag of £17.50.

There are quite a few Rouge Noir dupes floating around, but this is the best I've seen - if anything it's shinier and better than Chanel. It also doesn't chip as quickly... Chanel polishes do chip sooner than I'd like. 

Ruby Fruit is available here for £5.99 - link! 

What do you guys think? Any Rouge Noir (or Pulp fiction) fans?   

Laura xx

MUA pearl eyeshadow in 28

Ahh, so pretty! It's a red toned bronze.

It's not that similar, but it reminds me of MAC Mythology - the same kind of colour family.

The texture is buttery soft - it's so blendable. The quality is actually amazing for such a ridiculously low price. 

It's also stupidly pigmented. The swatch above is one single swipe. The pigmentation is so much better than many, many high-end shadows. It's cer-azy.

Alright, so the packaging is a bit naff. It's certainly nothing to write home about. It does its job though, and what more can you ask for such a budget eyeshadow? 

I like to wear this shade in a coppery smokey eye - I think MAC's Tempting goes particularly well, they're both so warm-toned. 

Ahhhhhh!

The eyeshadow is a mere £1 for 2g (link here!) Be rude not to.

Laura xx

Summer sexy June Glossybox

Hello!

This month's box is all about getting summer sexy as smoothly as possible :)

Glossybox Pro Beauty Brush - Meh. This Brush is a nice idea, but the quality isn't great. It's too floppy, and I have brushes that I use... not a fan of this.The design is nice though, black with the glossybox logo. Nice concept, but wish the bristles were firmer. Would not pay £15 for this! 

Yves Rocher mascara - So cute and tiny! I thought this was a perfume sample when I first saw it. The brush is huge to fit in the tiny bottle... the brush looks good and looks like it will add volume. Will report back. 

BM Summer warmth bronzer - Not a huge fan of loose mineral products... they just seem so messy to me. I always spill them or get powder everywhere :( The colour also seems super super shimmery and light. Guess it's good for a 'summer sexy' vibe, but not sure when I'll use this. I prefer matte bronzers to contour with, and this is too light and shimmery. It's almost highlight light. Will try it out today though. 

Dermalogica Clean Start - This is the highlight of the box for me! Comes in a really cute little box. The packaging is really cute, blue and yellow. There's a cleanser, toner and moisturiser. I love Dermalogica products but can't really afford them, so this is awesome. 

Vichy Dermablend Foundation Starter Kit - Dermablend's foundation made popular by Lisa Elridge's video on covering acne. This comes with six little samples, so you can custom match to your skin tone - very cool idea! I like the idea of using a heavy concealer on problem areas, and either no foundation or a light one. 

Overall, I'm pleased with this box. The Dermalogica and Vichy are the stand out products for me, and a girl can never have too many mascaras.

Did you get the same box? 

Laura xx

MAC Heavenly Creatures - Out of this world awesome!

Hey!

I don't normally do these kinds of post, but when I saw this collection I was too excited not to post about it! & I know this is my second post of the day, but I can't help myself. I really can't. 

How freaking awesome?! Planets/MSFs... drools. 

The collection is pretty hefty - there's lipsticks, glosses, eyeshadows, brushes, lashes, skincare, and MSFs. 

I'm going to show you my three top picks :)

First up, the lipsticks!

Pleasureseeker - Peach

Cut a Caper - Peachy Pink

Venus - Yellow Pink

Fire Sign - Red Pink

Cusp of Dawn - Beige Pink

I definitely want to pick up Cut a Caper - a repromote from the 2010 Tartan Tale that I missed out on. 

The blushes!

Solar Ray - Peach & Gold

Ring of Saturn - Terracotta & Gold

Stratus - Amethyst & Gold

Supernova - Magenta & Gold

They're all mineralized, which I love. I think Supernova particularly looks like a winner. 

And... the MSFs! Squeal, so excited! 

Earthshine - Bronze with Gold & Pink

Light Year - Peachy pink with Gold

Star Wonder - Plum/pink with pearl

Centre of the Universe - Coral with Gold

These all look AMAZING! I absolutely love MSFs, I use at least one a day haha, so these look so awesome! I really want them all, but my favourite so far is Light Year.

I just love the names of everything - MAC, I tip my hat to you. 

**Images lovingly borrowed from Chic profile - for a more detailed post on Heavenly Creatures, here's the link!**

The collection hits stores on the 5th July, I believe.

What do you guys think? Anything tickle your fancy?

Laura xx

OOTD: The peachiest blazer of them all.

Bonjourno :)

To me, this blazer SCREAMS 80s. I love it. It's not to everyone's taste, but I love it. I like to roll up the sleeves and pop the collar for that extra 80s tactic vibe. Heh.

It doesn't have any buttons, but I would never wear a blazer like that anyway. The lack of buttons means it drapes quite nicely.

I got this bad boy from Primark for £15 I believe, which is pretty good. The quality isn't amazing, but I love the colour and it's cheaper than Topshop/Zara offerings of £40+...

Primark has been pretty good lately, I got 2 cheeky dresses for £20 apiece, and i love them both. They'll doubtlessly be featured here soon :)

I'm not religious, but I love this. Moi favourite colour and I just generally like religiousy images. Nothing means anything anymore. 

*Follow the Laurzrah chain of thought as I cut to Peep show*

Source

Mark: You do know who that is, don't you?
Sophie: Yeah, it's Chairman Mao, isn't it?
Mark: Exactly, the man was responsible for the deaths of 60 million people. I don't want him on my chest.
 Sophie: 60 million, that's more than Stalin, isn't it?
Mark: It's not a competition, Soph. Although if it was, Mao would probably win. 

ANEEEEHHWAYYY!

Sweet Jebus, I need a hair cut.

What's on my face

Eyes - Eyeko eyeliner, Grey and blue (!!i'm crazy) shadow, Benefit They're real mascara

Face - Benefit HelloWowOxygenFlawlessWowWhatalongname foundation, Laura Mercier Peach Whisper, MAC lightscapade, Collection lasting perfection concealer

Lips - MAC Ravishing & Laura Mercier lip Glace in Orange Tulip

Laura xx

MAC's casual colour in Relaxation.

When I first tried this quickly on my lips I wasn't that thrilled with the formula. 

I've been playing around with it though, and I like it more and more.

The formula is unlike anything i've ever tried before, it's slightly stickier than Illamasqua blushes and gives you a dewier look. 

I like that it's easy to use on lips and cheeks - versatile :)

The colour is really nice, a purple-toned pink. 

I use it on the cheeks with my Real Techniques Stippling brush - you only need a teneny tiny amount, it's so pigmented. 

I like how glowy it is - it still feels soft on my skin hours later. Not tacky, but pliable almost. 

I'm tempted to get another one - they are limited edition and really unusual. 

Any of you tried these?

Laura xx