Three From Collection | Review

Hello,
Sorry I've been a bit missing in action recently. I'm just going to stick with my usual excuse of "eugh degree, eugh reading, eugh essays, eugh too drunk all the time". I think that should suffice really.

Anyway, between drowning in referencing and bibliographies I did manage a sneaky trip into town. Do you ever just run out of all your make up at once? It happens to me all the time! So I popped into dearly beloved Boots to stock up little essentials.

My plan was to buy higher end high street but after swatching every foundation ever and realising that I need to STOP BEING SO DAMN PALE. I settled for some bits and bobs from Collection. I find that Collection suits my colour so much better than a lot of the high end products so why would I waste money on something that's going to turn me fluorescent?

I picked up the 'Collection Cover & Go Foundation & Concealer Duo', the 'Collection Primed & Ready Smoothing Make Up Primer' and 'Collection Volumnising Mascara'.

I'd never really been into primer before and I actually when I went into Boots I was intending to by the new Baby Skin thing. I was really skeptical because of all the dodgy reviews I'd read and when I swatched it on my skin it felt so greasy that I opted against it and went for the Collection one instead. I'm really impressed by this product. I'm pretty sure it's a silicon based formula (although I can't actually get the labels off to have a look at the ingredients). It leaves my skin incredibly smooth even after I've put my foundation on top. I really recommend this, it makes my make up look 100x better!

When I bought this I didn't even realise it had concealer in the lid. Top notch job on that packaging Boots it's brilliant. You can put it in your handbag and voila two in one! The concealer coverage is really good, I really rate this product (as you can tell by how used it looks). I'm still humming and harring about the foundation. It's ok but the consistency is a bit odd and it looks really streaky if you apply it with a brush rather than a sponge.

Whenever I buy anything new I instantly don't like it - it takes a while to convince me it's actually good. This was no different, when I first opened it I didn't love it. The brush is quite brittle and not the big fluffy mascara brush I usually like. However, after using this for a week I am converted and I admit the error of my ways. This mascara is really great, it gives a really volumnised look, kind of fake lash effect. The only thing I don't get is why it says '10x volumnising' on it. Can you imagine if a mascara made you lashes TEN TIMES BIGGER? You'd look like a maniac!

Overall I'm well chuffed with the Collection things I picked up. I think they're all fairly new products to the line and they all work fantastically. Collection is definitely starting to give some of the other high street brands a run for their money.

Primed, concealed, volumnised and ready to hit the rain

So have you tried any of these products? Did you like 'em? Lemme know 

Christmas Gift-spiration for him | Under £5

Hiya,

So I've got a bit of a confession to make...I'm a cheat. I know, I'm just as shocked as you. Last week when at work we sorted out our Secret Santa. I'm rubbish at Secret Santa, I always end up picking someone I don't know, I get ridiculously over-stressed and I can't stick to a budget. So anyway, I picked out a name and shock horror...I got the only male member of staff on the whole team. "Boys are hard to shop for" my brain screamed "Can't do this". So when no one was looking I promptly put the name back in the box and picked another much easier name. 

When I was putting together this little gift guide I realised what a nump I'd been! There's loads of things to get boys at Christmas. There's all sorts of obvious choices, my little brothers get Lynx every year (and they still don't get the hint). All the boys in my life love nothing better than showing off so these 'World's Hottest Chilli Powders' are perfect for testing what they're really made of! If you're feeling a bit kinder then a nice mug for tea or lovely fancypants Rococo chocolates are a good choice. I went to the Rococo shop a while ago and it really was the fanciest chocolate shop I had ever been to! 

If you're still at a lost just indulge the hipster that lurks inside everyone with the fish eye iPhone lens. Make their Instagram even more pretensh! 

So that's my last gift guide...hope you've enjoyed them! Have you finished all your shopping? I've still got a few little bits and bobs to go - nothing quite like leaving things to the last minute! 

Vintage Kellogs Bowl, Lakeland, £4.49 // iPhone Fish Eye Lens, Iwantoneofthose.com, £5 // Lynx Attract Boxset, Superdrug, £4.50 // World's Hottest Chilli in a Matchbox, notonthehighstreet.com, £5 // Biggles Choc Squadron, Rococo Chocolates, £4.95 // Pac Man Heat Changing Mug, iwantoneofthose.com, £4.99 // Avengers Eau de Toilet, Boots, £3.33

Christmas Gift-spiration for him | Under £10

Helllo, 

So I've had a bit of a break from posting for a while. The end of the semester got super crazy busy with work and essays but I'm back home now. Ready to relax and eat too much food. 

Boys can be so hard to shop for (believe me I've got 4 half/step brothers!) so I've picked out a couple of little bargain presents to buy the men in your life. I've got a real love for personalised presents. Things like the pen knife below or the bicycle notebook are extra special if you get something engraved or printed on them. It just makes it look like you've put in that extra bit of effort. I like the idea of getting someone's name on a present but I think it's even nicer if you can get a nickname or a little personal joke on them. 

If they're someone you don't know so well then a nice pair of socks like these from Topman is always a solid choice. I also think this Cider Selection from Boots is just a ridiculously good deal. How often can you get 4 bottles of cider for £8?! Might just buy it for myself...

How's your shopping going? All done?

Customised Key Ring, RSVP Handcrafted, £6.28 // Personalised Swiss Army Knife, Engrave Me This, £10 // Wooden iPhone Cover, Notonthehighstreet, £9.99 // Cider Selection, Boots, £8 // Bike Notebook, Made By Ellis, £9 // Lord Of The Rings Map, The Green Dragon Inn, £10 // Socks, Topman, £6

That is SO punk rock

Hiyaaa,

Don't know about anyone but my eyes are still reeling from some of the catastrophes that occurred at the MET Ball. I know it's not fair to target a woman who's with child and I hate to jump on a bandwagon but Kim K's dress was just the biggest disaster in upholstery I'd ever seen!

Despite this there were some pretty rocking dresses going on. Ma faaave lady Anne Hathaway looked stunning with her newly bleacher hair, Cara Delevingne looked as punk as she always does and even Sienna Miller left boho behind for the night.

Hot weather and leather are not two things that usually go together but I think this punky, studded, black leather look is gonna stay around for a bit longer and the best thing is it's totes easy to replicate on a budget...

Happy Punking...

Miss Real Leather Cut Out Dress. New Look. £9 // Cross Print Leggings. Forever 21. £7.25 // Knitted Ladder Jumper. Topshop. £15

Leopard Print and Studded Hotpant. Boohoo.com. £18 // Punk's Not Dead Tee. ASOS. £45. // V London Tie-Dye Leather Skater Dress. New Look. £19.99.

FireTrap Draped Dress. New Look. £55.99 // ALDO Cut-out Boots. ASOS. £100. // Studded Ankle Strap Sandles. New Look. £19.99 // Silence + Noise Cut-out bralet, Urban Outfitters, £30

And some accessories...

Studded Top Visor Sunglasses. ASOS. £20.  Neon Spiked Earrings. Regal Rose. £14. Barbed Wire Upper-arm Bracelet. Regal Rose. £13. Skull & Cross Knuckle Ring. Regal Rose. £6

Shopping for Spring, Living in Winter - March Haul

So I guess this is a couple of days late, but the way the weather is at the moment it feels like we're still in December so really I'm 6 months early!
I feel like I've done quite a lot of shopping this month considering I'm on a constant budget. I'm not sure where I got the funds for any of this (thank you Student Loan Fairy)

Even though I moved to Norwich over 6 months ago I'm still getting used to the ridiculously hard water which turns my hair into a huge frizzball (think Anne Hathaway in Princess Diaries pre-makeover). I've been looking for products to help with this and the lovely shop assistant in Boots recommended John Frieda Frizz-Ease Original Formula Hair Serum.

 I've used it pretty much everyday this month and I love it! A little more greasy than I would like but you only need to use a tiny bit for awesome results! Dead chuffed! 

On the same hair vein I also bought L'Oreal Studio Matt and Messy Salt Spray. I was convinced to buy this by my friend Josie (www.josiegoestravelling.blogspot.co.uk) namely because it was on 2 for 1 and she didn't want to pay full price. Whatever the reason I really like it - restores any of the bounce that the serum drags out of my hair. Also I love the matt finish - I find super glossy hair a bit odd looking. 

Whilst in Boots I also picked up Rimmel London's Lasting Finish in 700 Block Your Green. I've used this a couple of times and I lurrrrve the colour! I really nice dark green with the just the hint of sparkle.

The last thing I bought in Boots this month was Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Anti-Aging Smoothing Lotion and oh my god I am obsessed with this! I use it when I come out of the shower on stretch or dark marks and it genuinely makes a noticeable difference! It smells like delicious Terry's Chocolate Orange AND it's non-greasy - perfecto!


This month I went to Forever 21 on Oxford Street. I'd never been to F21 before so I got way overexcited and tried on practically everything. In the end I only bought two things in the sale. First was a lovely turquoise jumper in a cable knit. It's nice and thin so should be good for the spring. I think it was about £7.99. I also bought an oversized dip-dye t-shirt! I really liked this because usually dip-dye goes from bottom to top but this goes from side-to-side (I am very easily impressed). Again it's really thin so should be good for

summer - I think it'll look nice tucked into shorts.

I'm totally obsessed with button up shirts at the moment and spotted this little number in Primark for £12. I absolutely LOVE it the pattern is adorable plus who doesn't like a good rhinestoned collar. This photo doesn't show it very well but I posted a photo of it on my Instagram a while ago if you're really desperate to see it! Since I bought it I've seen dupes in Topshop and New Look and they've all been way more expensive! Glad I got the bargain!


So have you bought anything this month? Written a blogpost? Link me - I love seeing what other people are into!

(p.s Sorry for the mega long post - I promise it'll only be once a month)

My 2012 Make-Up Favourites

In the year just gone I made a conscious effort to invest in better, more effective make-up rather than drowning in heaps of cheap lipsticks which I never use. So it's much easier for me to decide on my favourite products of 2012 because in truth I didn't buy that many...

I recently bought myself Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair. I bought it mainly because of the huge amount of hype I've heard about it on YouTube and it definitely lives up to it! Before this I used a concealer which was really hard to blend. This one on the other hand blends beautifully and is a great match for my skin, plus it's a total steal at £3ish... Another skin product I've been loving is Rimmel Clear Complexion Clarifying Powder in Transparent. I really wanted a matt powder but I was a bit nervous about ending up with that orange dust so this was a right find! It's transparent so matches your foundation beautifully. I've been applying this with a E.L.F Total Face Brush which is a great blending brush! I use it to apply powder but also just to even out my foundation etc. and it works brilliantly!  I love E.L.F brushes - they feel professional and soft and are really reasonably priced!

Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer, E.L.F Total Face Brush, Primark Crackle Nail Polish, Chit Chat Juicy Lipstick, Bourjois Liner Stylo

There's been a big trend for nail art this season but considering I am a fiendish nail biter I didn't want to invest in super expensive stuff. I opted for Primark just so I could test the waters, for £3 I got a base coat, crackle coat and top coat! They work brilliantly and the top coat is so useful for brightening up other colours! Another product I cannot stop singing the praises of is Bourjois Liner Stylo in Noir. I love a good kohl eyeliner and this is the best one I've tried. It lasts all day which is often a problem with pencil liners and gives a really good dark colour - the only slight problem I have is with the packaging which is really easy to break if you're as heavy handed as me...

When I said I was investing in good-quality, slightly more expensive make-up I may have told a slight white lie! One of my favourite lip products this year was Chit Chat Juicy Lipstick in Damson. It offers a really vibrant pink colour which is extremely long lasting - enough to rival the Clinque Chubby Stick or Revlon Just Bitten! And the best part is it's from Poundland's make up range and cost £1! Ah-mah-zing!

So what have your favourite products of 2012 been? Anything to recommend? What should I try in 2013?

My first university haul

(Left to right) Owl hat, £3, Primark. Grey infinity scarf, £4.99, H&M. Claw Ring, £3, Republic. Berry boots, £8, Primark. Floral blazer, £7 (Sale) New Look. 

Yesterday I had my first proper trip into town here in Norwich. I'd been a few times but this was my first time without a full on agenda, time to browse. The city is really nice here and there's a good selection of shops (3 New Looks though. Who has EVER needed 3 New Looks?!?) I hadn't brought that many winter clothes with me to university, obviously because I am some kind of idiot so I really wanted to buy some warm things (hence the adorable Owl hat and the Infinity Scarf). I think I found some good bargains, the blazer in particular I absolutely adore! I'm still getting used to the city so I don't really know where all the best places to shop are yet!

So, I've never really done a post like this before...do you like it? I really love hearing from people so pleeeease let me know if you read this...

Also I now have Instagram. I don't have wi fi at Uni so I'm not amazing at it but feel free to follow me (@maisiemaizz)