Hello lovelies, I hope everyone is well and had a lovely long Bank Holiday weekend off work, I was working (boo!) and it was extremely busy so I thought I'd share with you today the products I reached for most last week to mask my fatigue in the office.

When I'm feeling tired the last thing I want to to is spend 30 minutes on my base and strangely enough I find the more foundation I'm wearing the worse my skin looks so I start with Topshop Beauty Airbrush Primer to help shrink the appearance of pores and just smooth everything out and then I apply the seriously impressive Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream, this stuff does an amazing job of covering imperfections, evening out skin tone and leaving a healthy dewy glow. For my tired eyes I start with my holy grail eye product Bobbi Brown Corrector to counteract any darkness and then I use a light dabbing of Clarins Instant Concealer I also like to apply a little to my chin, nose and cupids bow as it leaves a gorgeous glow to your skin and brightens my face up. For cheeks I'm loving an old favourite which I dug out from my collection Bourjois Cream Blush 02 Healthy Glow, this colour blends seamlessly and lifts my whole complexion.

When I'm feeling/looking tired I like to keep my eye makeup quite fresh so I start with Lancome Base Paupières Pro to keep my eyeshadow in place and then apply a light sweep of the lightest shade from L'Oreals Color Riche La Palette Nude Beige being sure to apply in the inner corners of my eyes. I then like to apply a thin line of Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner to my lash line and the instantly brightening Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl in the shade nude to my waterline, this instantly makes me look more awake. For lashes I am loving Clinique Lash Building Primer to really add body and volume to my lashes and then finish with a sweep of my favourite mascara Lancome Hypnose. For brows I am loving Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade as it has everything I need to quickly fill in sparse brows and stay put all day. To set everything in place I'm absolutely loving NARS Light Reflecting Setting Powder as it sets everything in place but doesn't take away the glow of my base and enhances the glow of my skin.

Phew it seems like a lot of products but we're actually talking about 20 minutes in the morning from looking half dead to healthy! Do you see any of your favourites here or anything you'd want to try?

Celebrating 5 Years Of TOPSHOP Beauty | Nevada Lipstick

TOPSHOP Nevada Lipstick £8

I've been a real packaging-whore this week, this time with TOPSHOP's beautiful rose gold embossed 5 year beauty anniversary releases. You can't have missed the new releases, TOPSHOP have complied their best selling products including 5 lipsticks, 5 nail polishes, gleam pot, cream blushers and a liquid eyeliner. I have pretty much everything from their permanent range (with the exception of a couple of polishes) so I decided to pick up Nevada, a creamy pale nude shade.

A good nude shade is always welcome in my stash, my days at work are usually quite busy so I don't have much time to apply the precision required with applying a bold lip colour. I was a little concerned about this being a bit of a concealer-lips nude but formula wise it's quite similar to MAC's lustre lipsticks making it creamy yet glossy, if you know what I mean?! 

Did you purchase anything from TOPSHOP'S celebratory anniversary range?  

Topshop Sheer Lips in Alibi

I don't know about you but I am totally embracing the lighter, fresher makeup trends for SS15. Not only ditching the heavy winter makeup give me that extra 10 minutes in bed in the morning but it's also getting me excited about spring's neighbour summer!

Over the last 6 months Topshop have brought us some gorgeous beauty offerings and today's post is one of those. The Sheer Lips range are a moisturising, balm like lipstick that offer a medium yet build able slick of colour in a creamy, slightly glossy finish. I'm embracing the barely-there face (which actually takes me like 15 more products to achieve!) and this nude shade is great for just that.

The only thing I will say about this peachy little nude shade is that if you have rough, dry lips then you may find the colour settling onto the dry patches a little. Other than that I absolutely adore it! I'm pretty sure Topshop's Sheer Lips will be the only lipsticks in my bag this spring/summer!

Topshop Metallic Cream Blush in Aorta

One of the newest additions to my cream blusher arsenal is the beautiful Aorta rrp £7 from Topshop. Topshop have given us an impressive AW14 collection of beauty products and their new cream blushers have been amongst my favourites. 

In the pan the colour looks like an intense berry colour but on the skin it offers a luminous wash of colour to cheeks. As with all of Topshop's beauty products the packaging is extremely cute and the compact comes with a handy little mirror.

The formula is a little on the waxy side so I found it best to warm the product between my fingers before applying to my cheeks and then blending with a buffing brush. This blush gives a lovely rosy glow to your cheeks with no need for a highlighter over the top.

Topshop Naturist Lipstick

Last week I indulged my Topshop lipstick collection with a new addition Naturist rrp £7. Described as 'a pinky nude' it bares a striking resemblance to my MAC Faux lipstick, only slightly less pink toned and leaning more on the chocolate side.

I adore this colour, it has a definite Kylie Jenner 90's nude feel to it and is the perfect shade for winter. The finish is a creamy satin and really leaves lips feeling moisturised and nourished. 

Topshops AW14 makeup range is really impressive, from 90's nudes like this to gorgeous metallics there really is an affordable option for everyone.

Topshop Metallic Cream Blush in Pulse

I picked up Topshop's metallic cream blush in the shade Pulse rrp £7 a few weeks ago and it has become a new favourite for my cheeks. Although described as 'Blossom Pink' on Topshop's website  I thought it was going to be more of a nude shade from the photo and was pleasantly surprised with the finish.

Pulse has a gorgeous iridescent finish with pink, berry and gold tones. I was concerned when looking at it in the pan thatI would end up looking like a disco ball but it gives just enough colour and a gorgeous glow to my pale skin. Out of all of the Topshop blushers I own I found this one to be the hardest to apply, now I don't know if it's the fact it's cold in the morning thus making the product hard, but I find the product quite hard to warm and have to use my stippling brush to apply to my cheeks rather than using my fingers as I usually do with a cream blusher.

I would definitely recommend this blusher to anyone that wants a little flush of colour but a totally luminous finish. Topshop really does offer a surprisingly great quality cosmetic collection and I can't say I have been disappointed with any of their products I have tried to date. 

Topshop Nails Arabesque

I've had this polish in my arsenal for a couple of months now and really should have done a post on it before as it is simply the perfect nude shade for me! Arabesque is simply described as a 'Creamy Nude' on Topshop's website, I was a little apprehensive when ordering it online as I've never tried Topshop's nail polishes before, however now I find myself removing when my nails are looking a little tatty and re-applying straight away!

This nude polish is the most complimentary to my (NC15) skin tone that I have found to date. So, there are many pro's to this polish, (the colour, the cute bottle and the longevity-5 days without a chip!) but there is one con...the formula. The formula is great in the respect that I have not had a single chip, it grows out before before it chips but I needed FOUR, yes four coats for complete opacity. Not really an issue as I use Seche Dry Fast Topcoat which means my nails are dry super quick but for people without it may be an issue.

Despite the one niggle I love this polish and am really excited to try some more from Topshop!

Autumn Beauty Picks

I love this time of the year, ditching the fake tan and opting for more full coverage make-up is where I'm most at home. Here's a few of my favourite beauty products so far this autumn...

Clinique's Black Honey on lips
Topshop Dream Phone on cheeks

My favourite lip and blusher combo lately has been Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey rrp £17.50 and  Topshop Powder Blush in Dream Phone rrp £7. These two berry shades compliment each other perfectly and really warm up my complexion now I've stepped away from the fake tan. 

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Grand Cru

Another lip product I've been sporting is from my favourite drugstore brand, Bourjois. I have all but one of their Rouge edition Velvet Lipstick's rrp £8.99 and Grand Cru is one of my favourites. Described as a dark burgundy you can either apply one coat for a dark red (as seen above) or another coat for a deep burgundy red.

Essie Sole Mate

My favourite autumnal nail polish shade is Essie Sole Mate rrp £7.99. This gorgeous deep plum colour has a glossy finish and really gives your nails a polished look. I will be sporting this colour pretty much all autumn/winter!

Topshop Inhibition Lipstick

Last but certainly not least is Topshop's Inhibition lipstick rrp £8. Described as a deep plum colour I would say this leans slightly more on the purple side, but is a gorgeous matte shade none the less. I adore Topshop's make-up range, I'm yet to find a disappointing product.

Topshop Powder Blush Dream Phone

Since the first leaves started falling from the trees I have been obsessed with anything berry toned. For the last two weeks I have been donning some lovely dark red and plum lippies but have been struggling to find a blush to pair with them...until I found Topshop's Powder Blush in Dream Phone.

Dream Phone is described as a dark pink but it definitely has more of a berry tone to it than pink. It has an ever so slight gold shimmer to it which gives your cheeks a slight sheen keeping the colour from being flat. Like all of the other Topshop blushers I own, this applies like a dream and you don't need to apply a ton of it to get a nice flush of colour.

I love this shade, it pairs perfectly with my current favourite lipstick (Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey) and it will be one I will be wearing all autumn/winter!

Topshop Lipstick Ohh La La

I do love a Topshop lipstick and whilst shopping for some essentials online last week I spotted an irresistible offer of 2 lipsticks for £12 so of course I obliged and chose two, one of which was the beautiful Ohh La La. Ohh La La is described as a 'Coral Blush'and has an ever so slight pearly finish. 

When I initially opened it it looked very orange, I wasn't sure I could pull it off however on it is an extremely wearable and beautiful peachy coral.

Excuse the grainy photo, but you get the gist...it's gorgeous right?! This shade is a velvet finish lipstick, it can be a little hard to wear on the lips because of the texture but I found it works best if you apply directly to the lips and buff in gently with your finger. Boy I wish I had bought this shade earlier in the year, I know this would have been worn all spring/summer!

Topshop Lipstick Inhibition

I posted a review on another recent Topshop lipstick (Oh La La) purchase the other day, in the same little haul I picked up Inhibition, a dark plum colour. With autumn on our doorstep I have desperately been searching for some vampy shades to rock and with Topshop having a 2 for £12 offer on their lipsticks I though what the heck.

Described as a velvet matte finish it actually initially feels a little waxy and moves around the lips when applying it, I found it best to apply and buff into the lips with my finger. 

I'm still on the bench with this lipstick. I like the finish however it sits on my lips a little weirdly and the natural colour of my lips peeps through. The colour is a little more purple toned than I was expecting and quite bold so it will take a bit of getting used to! 

Spring colour pop!

 

Spring colour pop trend

With February over and us seeing in a (hopefully) warmer and dryer March (ok, I'm being far too optimistic!) I am being drawn away from all of those nudes and vampy reds I have been wearing over the last few months of Autumn and Winter and towards the gorgeous pastels and popping brights out there. My main obsession this month has been bright pinks, oranges and orange reds...here are some of my favorite buys (and there have been many, to my bank balance's dismay!) of February...

Topshop lipstick in Innocent £8

This is a really easy to wear pink, I have been wearing this alot in the daytime since I purchased it 2 weeks ago. I would say they are correct in their description of "a velvet finish lipstick to smooth and moisturize lips" as its a creamy, non-drying formula that you can really build the colour in a couple of slicks.




Bourjois Rouge Edition lipstick in 09 Orange Pop-up £7.99

I was really excited to purchase this lipstick as I have a real thing for orange and orange red lipsticks, I swatched it on my hand and the colour was a nice bright orange, however, on my lips it comes out more pink! It's still a very nice colour, just not as bright orange as I was hoping it would be. I didn't find it had the glossy finish it claimed to had, it definitely is more matte, but definitely not drying.

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in Audacious £7.99

This is going to get alot of wear from me! I already have all of Revlon's ColorBurst Balm Stain's (as well as most other lip crayons from various other brands!) and the colour is always vivid and true to the description. This new matte version is no different, it has a lovely velvet matte texture and the colour is a fab bright orange!


 
Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in In Love With Ginger £6.49

Another colour that is going to get alot of wear from me! This is the first lipstick I have purchased from Rimmel since I was a teenager and I really feel like I have been missing out! This is a gorgeous, bright orange red. It's very moisturizing and the colour is very vivid with just one slick! I usually prefer matte lipsticks so I did end up blotting off the shine...this will be a staple part of my make-up bag over the next few months!

Ciate polish in Red Hot Chilli £9

I adore this orange red shade! It goes perfectly with the Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick...I had been wearing it for 3 days when I took this photo, still glossy and no chips...another winner for me from Ciate!

So despite the weather being dreary outside, my make-up bag is certainly lifting my spirits and I now can't wait until I have a tan to sport with my new favorites!

Jodie 

xoxo