Guest post - L'Oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash Review

Today we have a guest post from Beth Tinkerbell.


Hi!



I thought I'd share my thoughts on the L'Oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash. I own 3 of them which I picked up a little while ago but I haven't got round to reviewing them on my blog yet!



They are a lip lacquer and are similar to the Rimmel Apocalips, and of course are a dupe for the YSL Rouge pur Couture Glossy Stain. I picked these up in my local Superdrug where they had about 8 shades, ranging from a neutral pink to a bold red. When I bought them they were on offer 3 for 2 and are £7.99 each making them more expensive than the Rimmel Apocalips which are £6.49.

I am a person who hates lipglosses, I hate that sticky feeling you get on your lips and you've got to tear them apart and they just make that horrible noise. However, I find that these aren't too tacky, and even when they begin to wear off they leave a nice stain on the lips so you don't need to rush to top them up. I find that all the colours I have transfer to cups when they've first been applied but once the sticky/tackiness has gone they don't transfer.

I'll start off with Lolita (101) which is a nice neutral pink that you can wear everyday. I usually wear it for work where one of my bolder colours isn't acceptable and it means that I don't need to worry about topping it up.



I also picked up Juliet (300) which is the classic bold red colour. I wouldn't buy this unless you do love a bold red because even the stain is very bold and it's not easy to get off. However, I would say that the stain is slightly pinker than lacquer is on application. If you are after the bold read then you will want to keep topping it up throughout the day.



My third choice was Bonnie (501) which is a terracotta shade of orange. I find that this is my favourite colour and when I'm not at work i'll wear this for going out during the day. I keep this in my handbag so that it's always on hand.



I first swatched them with just one layer so that you can see what the colour likes if you want to put a light sweep on when you're in a rush.



Here I've built them up with a second layer and you can see how solid the colour is, they are very easy to build up, with Juliet and Bonnie creating a very bold colour.



I left all 3 colours on my hand for about half an hour, and when I washed them off all 3 left a stain, with Juliet being the boldest.

Have you tried the L'Oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash, or will you be trying them now?

Tink x

Tink's blog can be found here.

JASON lip balm - a must for chapped lips

Hello sunshine!

I've had bronchitis for quite a while now and the constant coughing up of muck and subsequent mouth wiping has left me with the sorest lips I've had in ages. I had this little beauty lying around and I'm so glad I did.

Here's what they say about it: Prevent Parched lips with this rich, natural combination of moisture-trapping Beeswax, Vitamin E, and Green Tea Extract.

Organic Aloe Vera Gel helps heal, soothe and protect chapped lips while Shea Butter and Sweet Almond Oil moisturize. Leaves lips tingly and soft with peppermint Oil.

It healed my red raw and scabby lips up in 2 days flat, all the while I was coughing up more phlegm, which of course would've caused more soreness had I not been using this lip balm.

All told, it's the most moisture-drenched lip balm I've ever used. It goes on feeling very wet and sinks in really quickly. The peppermint in it makes it smell delicious. I can't get enough. If you have really parched lips and have a miserable experience in Autumn and Winter I urge you to try this bad boy out. I'm going to purchase back ups.

It's just my luck that I can't find this on the Jason website. Me thinks I'll get a couple as it seems hard to get hold of and may have been discontinued. Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Have you ever fallen in love with something to find out it's hard to get hold of or discontinued?

Thanks for reading.

Purple people eater OOTD

Hi-de-hi!

I haven't eaten any people, honest....but if I ever come across Jason Momoa in the flesh I'm gonna nom him until I get arrested. Nom-aloma-nom-nom-nom. 

Apologies for the umpteen outfit posts recently. When I'm really busy it's relatively easy for me to whack clothes on and prance about in front of the camera like it's my job. :)

Showing off the hair, daaaaaahlings!

Things have slightly gone to shit in my world...but I'm still smiling. Don't ask me how I am, but I am and that's worth being thankful for.

There's been one thing after another with my health recently - a cold, thrush, then another cold leading to this bronchitis which just won't bog off. I think I went a day between having thrush and then coming down with this cold. Back-to-back crapness, all in the space of about 6 weeks, and THAT came after CFS had been kicking my arse in spectacular style for about 2 months. Waaaaaaaaiiii meeeeeeeee?! Hahaha. The last 3 months or so have kicked the shit out of me. Still I smile. Maybe I'm stronger than I think.

There's been some things going on (family stuff, friends who've needed me) and since I'm so good at neglecting myself at the best of times, I haven't been eating till 6-7pm some days. It's no wonder I feel like microwaved merde.

I've never been so thankful for a holiday! :) 

Anyhoo, on to the outfit details.

Top, Leeds clothes swap
Skirt, ASOS Curve
Shoes, Rocket Dog
Necklace and earrings, Luna
Belt ASOS Curve

Thanks for reading and I hope your weekend has been going swimmingly!

Leopard Lovin OOTD

Howdy pardners!

As I don't have much money at the moment to buy new things I'm digging deep in my wardrobes to find gems I haven't shown here for a couple of years. 

I bought this top from Yours Clothing a couple of years ago. I used to buy LOADS from Yours but they really ramped up their prices a while back and I don't find them to be at all competitive now, especially when you have the likes of ASOS Curve and Pink Clove whacking out brilliant, affordable fashion.

I'm struggling with the early darker evenings Autumn is bringing. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome buggers up your sleep patterns and has made me nocturnal. I usually stay up till the early morning and wake up early afternoon. CFS also dictates I need at LEAST 10 hours sleep a night, but often it's 12. Some people with CFS are bed bound all the time so I'm grateful to be out of it for half the day. This means that in Autumn or Winter there's little time for me to get photos in daylight, and I have to edit my photos more, which often leaves them looking weird. My apologies, in about March everything will be OK again. Hahaha! ;)

Top, Yours Clothing
Skirt, ASOS Curve
Shoes, Mr Price (from South Africa.)
Earrings and necklace Extreme Largeness
Bracelet, eBay

Does the lack of light in Autumn and Winter affect you?

I think I also get a bit of SAD. I always feel so much happier in myself when the sun is shining.

Thanks for reading!

What I'm taking on holiday - make up & toiletries

Howdy!

Here's what I'm taking on va-cay!

These babies are going in a series of make up bags, the biggest of which is this blighter, which is at least a foot across.

Bag - Everything 5 Pounds

Deodorant, Hypnotic Poison and 3 The Morbid The Merrier perfumes

Shampoo, shower gels & body lotion

Cleanser, toner, exfoliator, Steam cream moisturiser

Cotton wool, hand cream, dry shampoo, body spray, eye drops

Brushes by MUA, ELF, Real Techniques and Eco Tools

Eyeliners by Barry M and Sleek

Brow kits by Catrice (L) and Fashionista (MUA) (R)

The tweezers in the Catrice kit are AMAZING! They're tiny but so, so sharp. I'm a recent convert to brow wax and it makes such a difference. This Fashionista kit is dead handy because of the wax and the bigger mirror.

Palettes by Sleek and MUA

Blushers by MUA and Dainty Doll

The flash has leached all the colours out of the blushers. The left DD blush is a bright pink, and the right is a browny shade I use for contouring. The MUA ones are two pink shades.

Lippies by VIVO, MUA, Nuxe, MUA & Lime Crime

Nail bits & bobs

Lily Lolo foundation, oops another brush, mascara by MUA & Illamasqua concealer

Some of this stuff I've yet to do my 'show and tell' on, so there'll be lots of stuff coming up for your viewing pleasure once I come back from holibobs!

Thanks for reading and have a fab weekend!

What I'm taking on holiday - clothes

Hi lovelies!

I've decided to do a couple of blogs about what I'm taking on holibobs with me. Excuse the none too sexy locale of the back of my bedroom door!

Famous Big Cat eye palette

Hiya!

Famous Cosmetics have always got 50% deals on and a while back I bought quite a few pieces to review. I first came across Famous in Superdrug a couple of years ago, had a swatch and was blown away by the pigment of their eyeshadows. A while afterwards they disappeared and I was worried that was the end of them, but they rebranded and branched out to their own website.

Look at that pigment from one swipe!

In this palette you get 16 eyeshadows, a small mirror and a couple of (naff) brushes. The packaging itself is glorious. I can't get enough animal print and this is a sexy looking palette. There's a handy laminated flap which goes over the shadows. It serves two purposes - to give you the shade names and to stop fallout of shadows getting on the mirror.

This palette is currently only £4.99, which is an absolute steal.

See my posts about the Famous Zebra palette post here and the Leopard palette post here.

Have you tried anything by Famous before?

Thanks for peeking.

Prints Charming OOTD

Hello you!

I had my undercut shaved almost bald last weekend while we were in Manchester. My friend's hubby did it for me as it was about 2 inches long. Last time I had it cut my hubby did it almost this short and I didn't like it, but this time I've embraced it totally. I knew I was going to be bald from the start of the cut and thought that was better than having a really cruddy looking overgrown undercut. So expect lots of shots of my hair worn to show off my new baldness - at least until it grows again!

This recent arrival of sunshine in the UK has really brightened things up for me. Although I was all ready for jumpers and boots, the sunny days have really perked me up after a couple of grey weeks. I had to get the fan back out of the spare room as it's been roasting here. Lovely!

Top, Leeds clothes swap
Skirt, Simply Be (old.)
Wooden bracelets, gifts from my mum
Necklace, gift from a friend
Belt, XL Matalan (it also comes in black, which I hope to snag soon.)
Shoes, Matalan (no longer available.)
Lippie, W7 matte red lip cream thingy

Thanks for reading!

Flashback Thursday 3

Hello loves!

I'm really enjoying a blast from the past digging up these photos. This photo was taken in 2009 at my aunt's house in Kent. I look terrible, like I'm stoned, but I must've been very tired that day. James looks delicious, which is why I'm posting this photo.


Hellllllllllllllloooooooo husband face.

Thanks for sneaking a peek!

Outside My Comfort Zone 16 - Nightwear OOTD

Hello pickles!

This challenge was chosen by Rebs, who said:  "I want to pick 'nightwear'! Let's see what you wear to bed, or flash us your naughty but nice undies, or show us what you'd wear for a good old fashioned sleepover."

Well, I sleep nude, so I'm not showing you that! ;) Since it's nightwear I have no make up on and no bra. I don't sleep in one, although I probably should if I don't want boobs down to my knees when I'm an old lady.

Nightie, Virtu (won in a blog giveaway)
Hello Kitty slippers, Primark (April, don't know if they still have them.)

I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but when I'm going through my photos for which ones to post, I like almost all of them. I think 'Ooh, I look cute in that one. And that one. And that one!' Of course there are some photos I don't like, but on the whole I love myself, and I wish that for everyone. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but taking photos of my body regularly has been THE biggest key to loving myself. How can you see your own beauty if you don't look at yourself?! Become a selfie queen and start appreciating yourself. I swear it'll work.

Thanks for reading!

Elf jumbo eyeshadow sticks

Hiya!

I bought these jumbo eye pencils a while back and just realised I didn't post about them. As many a beauty blogger before me will attest, often the rate at which things are bought vastly outweighs the rate they're shown. Mea culpa!

I got French Lace, a champagne shade and Little Miss Thing, a bronze.
I didn't buy these pencils to use on my lids as I find any kind of creamy/waxy/pencil eyeshadow to be a big fat loss for me involving pretty horrible creasing, so I'll use them in the inner corners of my eyes to make me look wide awake. They apply pretty smoothly in that they don't drag on me, but they are a teeny little bit patchy in the heart shaped swatches above and look kinda waxy. I haven't tried them on my lids yet as I don't intend to use them there, but I suspect without some kind of primer their longevity will be poor, especially if you have oily lids. I don't consider myself to have oily lids, and don't have a problem with most powder eyeshadows even without a primer, but creams don't like my face. Hey ho! I know with these kinds of products they work best with a powder product applied over the top, but I can't be arsed with that most of the time, to be frank!

They're £2.50 each for 3g, available in 10 colours.

There are a lot of bolder colours which look pretty enticing on paper, but again for the reasons previously stated I'm not buying.

Have you tried these eyeshadow sticks? Do creamy eye products work for you?

If you've got some of these and they work for you I want to hear allll about it!
Thanks for reading!

Berry tunic OOTD

Hiya lovelies!

I hope your week is going well?

I bought this tunic from Yours Clothing a couple of years ago and it's been a favourite for a while. It's a sort of berry, sort of plum colour which photographs as red. I also have it in blue, which I'll show you soon.

I'm as tired as all hell from the weekend and am really looking forward to my holiday. I hope this lovely weather carries on long enough for us to experience it on holiday. It's been so lovely to see sunshine for the last few days again after a grey cold week or two. It's really cheering me up.

Tunic, Yours (old)
Belt, (XL) Matalan
Cropped leggings, Very
Shoes, Rocket Dog

Thanks for reading.

I'm still alive...honest!

Hello!

I've had rather a busy few days so here's a bit of an update. We've had a visit to Manchester, a family visit today and I've also been trying to give my support to a family crisis so I really haven't been able to blog as much as I usually do.

On Friday we went to stay with friends near Manchester, a visit which had been planned for months. The traffic was abysmal and it took 8 hours to get there, but we soon got stuck into the festivities for my friend's 50th birthday. We had a pinata, which my friend Tim is sporting on his head in the photo below.

I don't know if you've ever tried to smash a pinata, but it's highly entertaining trying to break it open to get the sweets out of it, more so when you're a bit tipsy! There were 8 of us in turn bashing the guts out of this thing for over 15 minutes before it gave up the goodies. The stick provided to hit it with broke before the pinata did!

On Saturday evening we went to a rock pub nearby because there was a band on. A couple of our other friends had joined us by this point so there were 10 of us in all. What a motley bunch! I've known some of these people for 14 years, and some as little as a couple of years, but whenever we get together it feels like no time has passed at all. It doesn't matter what we do, we always have fun. We only see each other a couple of times a year so we leave all our troubles at the door and enjoy each other while we can.

I had a minor victory over anxiety on this trip. I've got bronchitis and a bad cold and I was stressing myself out about giving other people a cold or holding everyone back from doing things in my ill state. I did consider not going at all, but my friend reassured me we were having a chilled weekend, so I felt relieved. I woke up on Friday morning after a fitful night's sleep from coughing, but with a little voice within telling me things would be OK. Everybody went out to the pub on Saturday afternoon, and I knew I needed to save myself for later, so I stayed behind and chilled out. My friend had sprinkled boxes of tissues all over the house and I was absolutely fine. I slept a lot in the car on the way there (and back) as the chest infection is really taking it out of me, but I still had a fantastic weekend and I'm so glad anxiety didn't lead me to missing out.

We came home yesterday - another 6+ hours in the car. We came home, had takeaway last night then crashed out. This morning I got up and started cleaning like a demon as my dad and brother came down to visit us today.

My outfit today - I wore the Simply Be Em dress

My dad and brother today

My dad in the pub

Hastings Old Town

We had a lovely meal in a pub in Old Town and went in a few shops. It was boiling hot here today, far too hot for comfort, which is very odd since it's nearly October, but it was the perfect day for an outing.

I'll be back to my regular schedule from tomorrow onwards.

How was your weekend? Did you do anything nice? Thanks for reading.

Illamasqua Electrum liquid metal

Greetings earthlings!

When Jane from British Beauty Blogger (who writes a must-read blog) put together a beauty box a couple of months ago I was all over it. This was included in the box (more details/photos about the contents of the beauty box in my post here.) This is not a review, just a first look. I need to have a proper play with it and test its longevity.

As far as I know it's not supposed to be worn as a lipstick, but I thought why not.

It's such a bold & beautiful shade which would be great as an eyeshadow or eyeliner for a sparkly look, or even as a facial highlight, blended out well.

I'll use it in a make up look soon.

Have you tried anything by Illamasqua? I have a few bits. I love their concealer, hate their normal eyeshadows (but their pigments are great) and there are a couple of bits the jury is still out on.

Thanks for reading.

The first time tag

Hi! I saw this tag over at She Might Be Loved and thought I'd give it a go as I don't feel well and it's an easy post to do while I snuggle up under a blanket.

1. First Best Friend?

My first best friend was a girl called Rachel, who I'm still very good friends with now. I met her when I was about five. Our mums went to the same church and they were friends so we became friends.

He we are on holiday in Gran Canaria in 2001

2. First Kiss?

My first proper kiss was with someone called Paul who was a bit of a weirdo, to be frank. I think I wanted to get it out of the way just to say I'd had my first kiss! I got my first boyfriend not too long after when I was 15.

3. First Concert?

I went to my first gig when I was 16. I don't do things by halves - I went to the Monsters of Rock gig at Donington in 1990. (Yes, I'm that old!) I went with a couple of friends on the coach. It was a looooong old day but it was really good. Whitesnake headlined, and the other bands were Thunder, the Quireboys, Poison, and Aerosmith.

4. First Celebrity Crush?

I think it was Erik Estrada from CHiPs. I loooooooooved him.

5. First Word?

Probably 'fuck' knowing me!

6. First Pet?

We used to live with my nan and grandad but when we got our own house we got a dog called Nipper, who was a very ratty Jack Russell terrier. She used to bite our heels, hence the name. As she got older she was a little shit who used to attack other dogs. She's get into bed with one of us, nick all the covers then growl at us if we tried to take some back. Little ratbag. She was about 17 when my mum had to have her put down. She was blind, deaf and lame. Later I had a cat called Tilly, who broke my bloody heart when she died. She was my baby.

7. First job?

I worked for Unwins, who were a wine merchants with a few hundred stores. I worked at their head office doing telesales.

8. First Phone?

I had one of those black Nokia things with an aerial you had to pull up.

9. First Tweet?

No idea. I think I'm on my 5th or 6th account now. When I get hacked off I start again from scratch.

10. First make-up?

I used to go through my nan and mum's make up bag. I remember when I was about 14 wearing bright blue mascara and pink eyeshadow with frosted pink lipstick. Ye gads. Crimes to beauty!

Thanks for reading.

This weekend is going to be low on posts because I'm feeling craptacular. Have a good one!

...but you've got such a pretty face!

Hiya all.

It's 2.54 am as I start writing this and I'm holding off going to bed because as soon as I lay down I'm going to start cough, cough, coughing. Excuse me while I empty my mind out before I go off to the inevitable.

I was thinking earlier on today (yesterday?) about some of the things that have been said to me in my lifetime and I'm feeling quite angry. It's a shame to call BULLSHIT so long after the fact, but if this can help anyone I will recount some of the things which have been said to me.

#1 When sitting on Brighton Pier one day on my own, as happy as a clam soaking up the sun, two men walked past. 'Cor, look at THAT!' said one. 'She's all right for a fat bird.' said the other. Gee, don't kill me with compliments. At the time I wasn't aware of the whole dehumanisation issue which goes on when men relate to women as things rather than people, but I now know calling any person 'THAT' sucks camel dong. Also, the '...for a fat bird' thing, really? I wish I'd been quick enough to retort 'And you're all right for a TWAT!' Stop with the classification thing people. Don't say that shit about fat people or anyone else. Labels are for jam, not people.

#2 A work colleague said to me one day 'You're the prettiest girl here, Leah. All you've got to do is lose a bit of weight....' The sentence trailed off. I don't know what the 'prize' at the end of the goal was for me. Was that his way of saying if I lost some weight he'd deign to stick his dick in me?! Or was he doing this as a public service? Who knows. I didn't know how to answer that then and I don't know now, except for maybe 'Errr....thanks?? You're an asshat!' That came from someone I actually fancied, so it stung a bit, that biggest of back-handed compliments. I was at one of the slimmest points of my life then, ironically. Ha. Wait till you see me now, fucknuts!

#3 Another work colleague said to me 'You're a lovely young lady. If you stop swearing so much all the boys will be after you.' Well, at least he wasn't telling me I was too fat! Maybe I didn't want someone who wanted a prim and proper lady. Maybe I wanted someone who liked me for ME! Why is that so hard to grasp?

#4 The old chestnut, which I have heard so many times 'But you've got such a pretty face!' Well duh, newsflash! You can be fat AND pretty. I know, shocking, right?! It has been said to me so many times over the years that I can't remember individually who said it to me, but I do remember something in common with cases 1-3.

THEY WERE ALL MEN.

This is why I'm angry now, because I've just realised how this shit happens. All of those comments were made to me when I was a teenager. Men tell little girls (and grown ones, too) we need to modulate ourselves to be more appealing to them or other men. Why can't we be ENOUGH just as we are?

Girls and women are so used to it that sometimes - like me - it takes a whole lifetime of this crap before the lightbulb moment occurs. Men are so used to the world revolving around them that they might not even realise their privilege. Men are conditioned to demand women change to please them, and we're conditioned to oblige.

Run your mind back to times you've been given unwarranted 'advice' by 'well meaning' people. How many of them were men, and how many were women?  I'm really interested to know if my experience bears this out or else maybe I'm just unlucky and have met a lot of stupid men. What can I say? I had a very busy time in my 20s. ;)

I'm so thankful after many years of asshats, I found my husband. He gives me renewed faith in mankind. I know that not all men are entitled fools who think the Earth turns on its axis for them, but some of them are. The shitty experiences always linger, right?

Next time someone says I have such a pretty face (It rarely happens these days as I have a low dickhead tolerance and give off a 'Don't fuck with me' persona) I'm going to say 'You think my face looks good? Wait till you see my arse!'

Next time someone tells me I need to lose weight to be beautiful I'm going to say 'But that'd give me an unfair advantage! I can't have the wit, the brains AND the looks! What's everyone else going to do??'

Next time someone suggests to me I have to change myself to become a more palatable package I'm going to give them the finger. I suggest you do the same.

Whatever you're told by shallow idiots you are ENOUGH no matter what. You are perfect as you are. You don't need to change a thing to be loved. You are not the one with the problem. Society is.

Tell me the shittiest things said to you. Feel free, unload.

Thanks for reading.

Stop! Henna time

Howdy doodly!

I refreshed the henna on my hair a couple of days ago and thought I'd post some photos of my hair and face. For new readers, I'm allergic to actual dye so I use henna instead and have been doing so for about 4 years now.

The henna really conditions my hair and makes it feel softer and thicker. I miss having bright streaks and different coloured hair. For anyone who's interested you can see a variety of my past hairstyles here.

I'm wearing a matte brown eyeshadow called Fantasy from the MUA Smokin palette, which I swatched here.

The redder bits of hair you see are my greys being covered. Some of my hair is black and some of it is red - you can see it best in the middle photo. I finished off two colours of henna to do my hair this time. I don't mind having piebald hair - it'll soon wash out anyway! It'll last for about 6 weeks, depending on how often I wash my hair. When my greys start to peek through again it's time to start again.

I use Surya henna cream, which is cruelty free. I have no patience for henna powder. I need something I can whack on straight away then forget about because Fibromyalgia makes my arms T-Rex useless and dyeing/washing my hair kills my arms.

I'm getting a friend to trim my undercut this weekend. It's about 2 inches long now and is starting to stick out at crazy angles. I'll probably post photos next week.

Thanks for peeping!