What's In My Make Up Bag: Glastonbury Edition

As I mentioned in a previous post I'm off to Glastonbury this year! It's my first festival and I could not be more excited! My cousin lives in Glastonbury and the school she works for is working Glasto to fund school projects so she managed to get me and a friend a job. Our wages go to the schools fundraising but as we aren't working the three main days and we get free entry I am so happy with it. There's quite a few people I can't wait to see but I'm most excited for The 1975 who I love at the moment.

As it's my first festival I'm not really sure about the whole make up situation but I do know its an excuse to use bright colours. As a girl that always sticks to brown eyes and neutral pink lips I can't wait to have a chance to switch it up. Due to the risk of loosing or ruining make up I made the tough choice to leave many of my high end favourites at home but I'll still take lots of high-street make up. After all I have to look good for the gorgeous Matt Healy!

For a base I chose Revlon Colour Stay in Buff. This is a little do dark for me but there's a heatwave forecast (fingers crossed!) so I'm hoping to tan. I chose this because it's a good medium coverage and long lasting. Underneath the foundation I'm going to be using the Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer to hopefully boost the longevity. To conceal there's no option other than  the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light. I completely forgot to photograph it but Rimmel Matte Perfection Powder in Transparent will be coming with me to keep the sweaty shine at bay.
Of course there's no way a summer look would be complete without tons of bronzer so I'm bringing my favourite pale bronzer, the Body Shop Honey Bronzer in Shade 2. For blush I'm taking this fake Mac Blush. I ordered it off depop knowing it's a fake for £3 because it's the most perfect pink coral with gold shimmer that will do a great job at replacing Nars Deepthroat. For highlight I had to break the no high end rule and bring Mac Cream Sheen in Pearl which has almost ran out. It's going to give a perfect summer glow to finish off my face make up.

Next I chose the eye make up to take. I'm keeping it summer simple with single eyeshadows and eyeliner. My Mum gave me an old shattered HelenE Eyeshadow in Peacock Blue. It's a gorgeous bright blue and I'm so excited to have a chance to wear it. To go with this I got an MUA Eyliner in Turquoise. As an alternative to blue I have a Sephora Waterproof Eye Pencil in Purple which is going to be great for lasting day to night. Of course there has to be glitter at a festival so I'm bringing a Sephora Glitter Liner in Purple too. Just in case I want a more done up look I can't resist taking the amazing Stila Felt Tip Liner in Black. It's such a dark black and lasts all day on my oily lids. For my lashes I'm taking and old pair of curlers and the L'oreal Milliion Volume Mascara. Finally for brows there's the Max Factor Brow Pencil in Hazel but I've just died my hair dark brown so I may have to replace it with a darker alternative.

Last but definitely not least is lips. As a beauty junkie I found it hard to chose only a few bits of make up to take and I especially struggled with lips. Eventually I decided on the Revlon Lip Butter in Sorbet as it's a cute bright pink to draw attention away from dark under eye circles. Then I went for a Topshop Lipstick in Ooh La La which I don't wear this anywhere near enough and it's a beautiful bright summer coral. My personal favourite is the Maybellline Baby Lips in Strike A Rose. It's a gorgeous pink coral colour that can be built up to be really bright or toned down for a subtle flush of colour.

Swatches:

Top Row L-R: Maybelline Strike A Rose, Revlon Sorbet, Topshop Oh La La, Body Shop Bronzer, Mac Blush, Mac Pearl
Bottom Row L-R: MUA Turquoise Liner, HelenE Peacock Eyeshadow, Sephora Purple Glitter Liner, Sephora Purple Eye Pencil, Stila Eyeliner

So that's all the make up I'm taking! I feel like I've done well at minimizing what I take but there's a good chance I'll be too hot, tired, hungover and grubby to use much of it. If you've been to a festival before I'd love to know any tips and your experience with make up there.

Home Sweet Home Cafe

On Friday me and my friend Katie went to my favourite cafe in Manchester - Home Sweet Home! It's located in the Northern Quarter which has lots of cute quirky cafes.  Home Sweet Home is an American style cafe that serves delicious breakfasts,  lunch and tea. Its got really pretty unique decor with miss match furniture and quirky little decorations. I wasn't brave enough to snap pictures of the decor but you can click here to see a google picture of the pretty interior.

Her milkshake didn't bring all the boys to the yard 

The star of the show has to be the huge range of incredible cakes! They have loads of flavours like Oreo, Bubblegum and they do a peanut butter cake that I'm desperate to try but I've been 4 times in the last month and they've not had it each time. That's a good enough excuse to keep going and getting more cake for me! This time Katie and I opted for the chocy road cake which is chocolate cake, with lots of chocolate butter cream and pieces of rocky road on top. As always, the sponge was so delicious,moist and light. In my opinion they are the best cakes in Manchester both appearance, variety and taste wise.

I'd definitely recommend going to Home Sweet Home if you're ever in Manchester. I'll leave you with a picture from @HomeSweetHomeNQ twitter of their beautiful cakes. 

Dusted Off From The Drafts: Revlon Raspberry Pie Lip Butter

This post has been sat in my draft box for a whole year so rather than waste it I've decided to post it now. Better late than never!

I'm not normal a bright or dark lip colour kinda girl so I'm not to sure why I picked up the Revlon Raspberry Pie Lip Butter a little while a go. I must have been wanting to get out of my comfort zone of pale pinks but whatever the reason I'm so glad I got it!

At first I wasn't to blown away by the lip butters but this one is a beauty! It's so creamy and moisturising but still really pigmented. The texture means the lasting power isn't the best but it goes a good few hours as the dark colour leaves a sort of stain. After the eating it's a must to reapply unless you want multicolored lips. I love the beautiful berry colour because if it's a dark colour without being uber vampy. My Mum is convinced this a red lippy but in my opinion it's more of a dark deep pink with berry tones.

If your after a moisturizing lipstick for all seasons then it's worth checking out Raspberry Pie. I'm glad I did!

Back From The Blogging Dead

I can't believe it's been 6 months since I last posted! Wow! Recently I've started to realise how much I miss blogging and being part of the community. So I'm back! But  since I stopped I have stopped buying so much money and saved a fortune haha.

I never stopped posting on purpose but I think it happened because of a lack of confidence mainly. Despite the fact I have followers and people read my blog I never truly believed anyone really liked it. Unfortunately I let a lack of confidence stop me from carrying on. But I decided to return! Right near exam season, I couldn't have picked a worse time.

So much has changed since I last blogged. In October I turned 18 and I still can't believe I'm officially an adult. I'm in final year at college and in September I'll hopefully be starting University which is a mix of terrifying, exciting and very stressful.  Little things have changed too like I have a nose ring, my hair is longer and a different colour. I'll be writing a post on my hair dye hell soon but it's still a sore subject.

There probably wont be very regular posts because exams are coming up but I'll try to post when I can. In the Summer there will be loads of exciting posts as I'm working at Glastonbury, going to Kavos and best of all a holiday to New York! Until then I've found some posts gathering dust in the draft box so I'll be posting a few of them and writing some new ones.

Guest Post| Girl Meets Dress

Recently I was contacted by the company Girl Meets Dress asking me if I'd like to do a guest post on their blog! If you haven't heard of the site it offer a service for women to hire beautiful designer dressed for a couple of nights. As someone who can't afford a designer dress (yet!) I think it's a fab idea. It's still not the cheapest dress but if you're the sort of person that will buy a topshop dress and wear it once than Girl Meets Dress is ideal.

The post I wrote was my top five picks of their cocktail dresses. If you want to read it in full click here. I'm seriously considering treating myself to dress number one to wear out for cocktails on my 18th birthday. 10th October, put in your dairies. Not gonna lie, the fact I could tell people "It's Marc Jacobs, darrrling" is a major factor. I'm not normally a label whore but one night couldn't hurt, right?

Click here to red the post.

One Year Blog Birthday & Giveaway

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday  Dear Life And Lipsticks
Happy Birthday To You

(source)

I bet you sang that in your head instead of reading it normally. It's impossible not to.

If you haven't already guessed (in which case your not the brightest spark in box) its my blogs one year birthday!! I can't believe it's been a whole year since I started blogging! So much has changed since back then, it's crazy to think it was only a year a go.

I know I haven't been the best blogger especially when it comes to regular posting. I haven't even done 100 posts yet- oops! Even so I've really enjoyed blogging. Its given me so many more opportunities and I've talked to so many amazing people that I never would have spoken to. It's really cheered me up at some pretty miserable times. But it has left me a hell of a lot poorer too!

Thank you to everyone has read even just one post or left a comment. After my long Summer break I'm still trying to re build again but so far so good. So to properly say thank you for your support I decided to do a little giveaway. You can win one of my current favourite products- Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Androgen. It's a beautiful multi-use pinky peach cream product. I love it so I thought one of you could try it out and hopefully love it too!

The giveaway is open world wide so you can enter no matter where you are! It will run for three weeks and I will announce the winner on twitter as well as sending them an email. Just as a quick disclaimer I purchased the product with my own money and it is completely unused.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer

As promised in my July Favourites post, this is a review of TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter. I'd been needing (as much as you can need make up) a new highlighter for a while and I'd seen a few reviews of this before but when EssieButton raved about I knew I had to get it for sure. The amount of things I've bought on Estee's recommendation is ridiculous!

First off, I feel the need to address the name, you wouldn't believe how long it took me to work out the pun and when I did I had one of those "OooO" moments. But I do love a good pun. The packaging is quirky and definitely stands out in my collection but I wish it wasn't plastic considering it was fifteen pounds.

So I'm sure some of you will think this looks pretty scary in the pan and I agreed at first. If this was an eye shadow I'd laugh at anyone telling me to use it on the cheeks. I put it on the cheekbones, nose and inner corner of eyes it gives a gorgeous golden sheen but if you're into the natural look it isn't for you.  A little bit of gives the "hello I have highlighter on look" but too much gives the " HELLO I HAVE HIGHLIGHTER ON" look. What I'm saying here is less is more with this bad boy. Also it is completely free from glitter so it's right up my alley as I don't want a glittery face everyday. That's the reason I didn't get the Mac Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft & Gentle that so many bloggers rave about.

Overally I absolutely love this highlighter. It gives such a gorgeous golden sheen that I haven't seen from another product. Its so gorgeous and buttery soft in texture that sometimes I'll be sitting at my desk and not be able to resist swatching it.

TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer is available for £15 from FeelUnique.

Getting Some Volume

When it comes to beauty the thing I am worst at is probably hair. That may not be the best introduction to a post all about hair styling though! One of the important things about hair, for me at least, is getting volume. Despite having fairly thick hair I struggle to get that extra bit of oomph but recently I've found a few different tools and products to help out.

 1. Volume Powder- For me this is the best option. I use the Label M Resurrection Style Dust* but I've also heard that V05 do a good one for less than a fiver. All you have to do is sprinkle it close to the roots, rub it in and your done. It works by kind of matting the hair which does mean it feels a bit nasty and needs washing the next day. Worth it though!

2. Backcombing- Not the best option for your hair but a nice and easy one. I backcomb by sectioning my hair in half by clipping the top layer up. Then I use the brush to push the hair up to the root. To avoid the bird nest look that some girls seem to go for I lightly brush over the top which smooths it out. I then repeat on the top layer of hair. My hair dressers told me to do it this way but I was also advised to spray it with hair spray then repeat. My favourite hair spray is the Tresemme Salon Finish because it gives good hold without setting like a rock and brushes out easily. It's also important to use a backcombing brush as they are much less damaging to your hair than a normal brush.

3. Extensions-I'm currently growing out my hair at the moment but it's taking so long to grow! For a quick fix there are extensions such as the ones here that are clip in and seriously easy. If you follow me on twitter you'll have seen me tweet about debating getting extensions a lot the past few month. Gorgeous luscious locks in minutes? Yes please! Besthairbuy.com have lots of extensions that I've been lusting after. It would make do wonders for quickly adding lots of volume.

How do you get volume in you hair?

*PR Product
*Sponsored Post

July Favourites

Last month I didn't post a favourites because I forgot to publish it before I went on holiday and when I came back it was far too late even for me. I know being so rubbish at posting the past few months, I feel guilty! After exams I planned to bombarded you all with posts but I've ended up being really busy this summer. I managed to get a job June which has kept me busy and I was spending all my days enjoying the glorious weather! That seems like a life time a go compared to the horrible clouds we have now Clearly "the sun has got his hat on" song is not working at bringing the sun back out. I'm going to attempt to blog more in August but my cousin is coming over all the way from Texas so we have lots of exciting things planned to do with her. September will be very difficult with college all week and work all weekend! Hopefully I'll be able to work out some sort of schedule but that's for future Megan to deal with.

 Anyway  let's get on with the favourites!

 First up are a couple of brushes I picked up at Imats from Crown Brushes. The large angled contour blush is absolutely perfect for applying bronzer (we'll  get on to what bronzer next) and blush. It's a little to big for contour or highlight but I use the real techniques one for that anyway. The brush is so soft and makes blending really quick and easy. I also got the eye shadow blending blush for around £4. It's meant to be a dupe for the legendary Mac 217 brush which I own. The crown version is a lot cheaper and very very similar so if you're on a budget its a great alternative. Unlike a lot of cheap blending brushes it's dense and tapered.

Next up is a new purchase, The Body Shop  Honey Bronzer in shade 2. Yep that's right, caspar the ghost here hasn't got the lightest shade in a bronzer! This shade is actually still really pale so I don't look tangoed. The texture is really smooth and this bronzer is well pigmented which works as the colour is so light. It's so easy to apply and gives a boost of colour. If you're a pale beauty it's worth investing in one of these.

Finally is the absolute star of the month- The Balm Mary Lou Manizer. I'd wanted to get this for ages so I finally bit the bullet and got it. Boy am I glad I did! This is the most beautiful gold highlighter I ever did see. They'll be a full review of this coming in the next week so you can see it in all  it's glory.

What have you been loving the last month?

Max Factor Hazel Brow Pencil

(Excuse the gross dry skin! And the fact I chose to take these pictures on a minimal make up day!)

 Max Factor Brow Pencil In Hazel £4.99

I don't normally buy from Max Factor. It's just not a brand I  gravitate towards to for some reason but when I was in Boots with my friend Alice she recommended this brow pencil to me. The thing that sold it for me was that when I swatched it I saw the colour is completely free from nasty orange tones. I also liked the handy brush on the end but annoyingly on the writing as rubbed off on my old pencil. Some high street brands (but we won't mention names will we now, MUA?) claim a colour is for blondes when it's in fact pure ginger. I often use this pressing down quite hard for a darker colour but it can be used lightly for a more natural look. The texture of this brow pencil is quite hard put personally I love this. Pencils that are too waxy are difficult to work with, smudge everywhere and don't last all day.

Have you tried this? What's your favourite brow products?

Nail Obsession:Filthy Gorgeous- Tea Bird

As most of you probably know I'm not a massive nail varnish person. I feel like the only blogger who isn't sometimes! Although I do always wear it I don't find it particularly excitng and I would never spend money on a new nail varnish. I own a fair few polishes but almost all of them have been gifts and the one I'm showing you today is no exception

Sorry for the messy painting! 

Filthy Gorgeous isn't a brand I'd heard of before but last year I received a set of their nail varnish from a friend. To be honest I was a little dismissive at first as the packaging (that I threw away- sorry!) looked a little cheap. But I'd wanted a summery pastel blue for ages so as soon as Spring hit I tried this colour out which is called Tea Bird. Oh my god is it gorgeous! It's such a pretty light blue colour and I've had lots of compliments on it, especially at work.

It gets better though. Not only is the colour perfect it has a great formula too. It needs to coats but the coats dry so fast that it's really quick to do. I put three coats on, which I'm normally far too lazy to do, and it didn't take much longer at all. When I had three coats on and a layer of Seche Vite top coat I got two and a half weeks wear out of it!! I'm normally the person that chips their nails after the first day despite doing zero manual work. So I was very very impressed when there was only minimal chipping after two weeks.

What shows how much I love the colour and staying power is that I've worn it for two months straight. Two whole months! All the other pretty coral, pink and mint polish shades are sitting unloved now. And I can't see that changing in the future!

Filthy Gorgeous can be purchased from Feel Unique for £9. 

My First OTTD: Ibiza

I just got back from Ibiza! (Yes, I did have the Venga Boys song for the whole trip). It was an absolutley amazing trip and I have fallen in love with Ibiza. It was so hot, the sky was so blue and the sea was so clear. I went with my parents to the more family friendly side of the Island away from all the parties so we had a relaxed holiday with lots of sunbathing and swimming in the sea but my Mum and I went parasalling which was really out our comfort zone but incredible.

Crop Top- Topshop

Maxi Skirt- Primark

Converse- Schuh

Bag- Mulberry (fake-shhh)

Daisy Hair Band-  Primark

Aviator Sunglasses- Primark

Nails- Filthy Gorgeous in Tea Bird

Bracelet- Thailand

Anyway enough of me rambling about my holiday, on to the outfit of the day. This is my first ever one because I don't consider myself very fashionable and I'm very insecure about my figure but you gotta push yourself sometimes.

I took these pictures we went on a day trip to the old town in Ibiza town which is a beautiful place. I acctually regretted wearing this outfit because I was far too hot in it. It was nice to wear Summer clothes again though- they usually only getting an outing once a year when I go abroad. The bracelet I wore was actually from last years holiday in Thailand which I got after an elephant ride (coincidentally I was actually wore this exact outfit!) and conveniently elephants are in fashion at the moment, at least I think.

London IMATS Haul!

*Incase you're confused I had already posted this before but being a ditzy idiot I accidently deleted it so I've had to rewrite it*

Last weekend I made a trip to London to go to Imats. It was the first time I'd ever been to it and I bought the tickets way back in January so you can imagine how excited I was. On the day I met up with the lovely Alberteen from the blog Dippy Writes and it was so good to be with someone as mad about make up as I am! Just as a little disclaimer, I did spend a lot of money considering it's just make up but I've been saving up for it for months now and  it was my end of exam treat.

L-R: Sweet Prawn Lipstick, Princess Lipstick, Dolly Pink Liner, Desert Rose Blush, Bourgeois Pig Blush

Cork Eyeshadow, Light Brown Pencil, Sparkly Lepoard Jumbo Eye Pencil, Yogurt Eye Pencil, Eyebrow Kit

 The first stall I bought from was NYX. There was a ridiculous queue that we must have been in for at least twenty minutes and it was still heaving around all the make up. So I did go a little crazy and bought lots of things to make it worth the wait. I had wanted to get the matte bronzer but I couldn't get near it and the swatches pictured was the first time I had swatched most things.

The first things I picked up were two lipsticks in Sweet Prawn and Princess. I wasn't sure about the colours but as they were only £2 each it was a good chance to try them out. I've not worn them out yet but I'm so impressed with the creamy texture when I tried them on. I also picked up a lip liner in Dolly Pink but I don't know what lipstick I was thinking for it to go with. I can't see myself getting much use of it! For blush I picked up Desert Rose with is a dark purple pink and Bourgeois Pig which is a bright pink. I love the pigmentation and texture of NYX blushes so I would've picked up more but there were hardly any left. Eye wise I picked up two of the famous jumbo eye pencils in Yogurt, a gorgeous shimmery beige, and Sparkly Leopard which is a beautiful bronze colour. I also got a pretty gold eye shadow called Cork and an eye pencil in Light Brown. Finally I got an Eyebrow Palette in Light but I'm not sure why as I already have a few eyebrow palettes so I might end up giving this one away.

The next stall we went to was Crown Brushes. I'd already planned my purchases because I'd been wanting to try the brand for ages. I got an angled contour brush for £12 as an alternative to the real techniques contour brush. I got a couple of blending brushes for eyeshadow. The pure white one is supposed to be a dupe for the Mac 217 which I already own so it'll be interesting to compare the two. I think these brushes were about £4 each which is pretty good. I also got a new eyeliner brush for the same price because I've been needing a new one for ages. Being ditzy I forgot to photography a fan brush that I got, mainly because of the cute pink handle. Lastly I got a daily brush cleanser for £8, which is a bit of a steep price in comparison, and I'm so annoyed with it. The spray cap is awful so the cleaner sort of spills out making it really difficult to use and the bottles already lost it's shape. I like the brushes but the cleanser has left a bitter taste about the brand in my mouth!

Next I popped over to Inglot for one of their freedom palettes. I got two matte shade, 329 and 3  because I feel like the Naked 2 palette is missing some more mattes for the crease. I do love some shimmer on the lid though so I got the colour 4  which is a beautiful bronze with gold shimmer. Can you geuss I like my golds and bronze colours?

I wasn't planning on buying a Mac lipstick because the discount wasn't great and the stall was manic but when Alberteen was getting one I noticed this gorgeous coral lippy aptly named Coral Bliss. It's such a gorgeous colour and in my favourite formulation- cremesheen.

Nars had the best discount by far- 60%! As it was the last stall and I'd already spent a lot of money I only got a couple of things. I got a Matte Lip Pencil in Never Say Never for the bargain price of £7. The purple colour isn't something I'd usually go for but its gorgeous and I'm glad to get out my comfort zone. Next I got a cream duo with the famous Orgasm and South Beach in it for £12.50. The colours are quite subtle but they will give a beautiful summer glow. While we were in the queue we saw Sammi from Beauty Crush and Patricia from Brit Pop Princess. They were both so lovely and just as gorgeous in the flesh.

That's everything I got! I had a fantastic time and I'm really happy with all my purchases.