Clinique Pop Lip Colour in Poppy Pop - A Review

There have been so many fabulous make-up launches this season it's been pretty tough for me to keep up! If you're keen to get involved, perhaps one of the more affordable new lip launches comes from Clinique.

Their new Pop Lip Colours come in 16 shades ranging from beautiful nudes, to shocking pinks to vivid reds meaning there really is something for everyone. At only £16 each, I find this latest beauty launch to be incredibly affordable!

What sets these lipsticks apart from others on the market is that they're a lip colour and a lip primer in one. This basically means the colours stay as bold as they are in the bullet, the bullet glides onto the lips AND the formula actually feels nourishing and moisturising!

As you can see, I went for Poppy Pop having said to the lady on the counter "I want something to match my nails," this shade being a bright coral/orange/red shade which is perfect for summer. I think you'll agree, the colour shade is pretty spot on match!

One of the things which I'm loving about this lipstick is that the packaging actually reflects the colour inside, gone are the days of having to open all your lipsticks to try and find the specific shade you're after.

The finish of the Pop Lip Colour is velvety with a slight gloss. This does dry down to more of a matt stain type finish which still feels comfortable and moisturising on the lips.

Whilst Clinique do say the lipstick wears for 8 hours, I would say that to keep the vividness of the colour I had to apply every few hours or so. I was drinking tea, scoffing cake and drinking water though so it was never going to last forever. The need to reapply didn't really bother me but I'm putting it out there in case you're expecting this to be super long lasting.

Next on my hit list is Melon Pop and Punch Pop, two more gorgeous colours to add to my growing arsenal of lip colour.

Have you tried the new Clinique Pop Lip Colours? Which shades did you go for?

Outfit Of The Day - The Paint Splattered Dress

Lately, I've been going through something of a dress phase. From the simple yet chic shirt dress to the fuller 50's style complete with circle skirt. I've always been one who's struggled to put pieces together, but with dresses, it's so easy! Just grab a pair of shoes and some simple accessories and you're done and ready to go. No faffing around in your wardrobe or emptying the contents of your chest of drawers.

For this particular outfit, I wanted something which was a little more polished without being overly 'done'. Hopefully you'll agree that I've managed to pull things off!

Today, I'm wearing:

Jacket: Oasis

Shirt: Dorothy Perkins

Dress: Gap, I managed to grab this in the Black Friday sales in the hopes I'd get some use out of it over the summer!

Boots: Clarks

Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren 

The weather here in the UK has been, what the weather folks call it 'unseasonably warm' so I've been making the most of it by pulling out some dresses which have been tucked away for months. I did some serious shopping in the Autumn/Winter sales and I've been desperate to pull things out for a while. This dress is probably one of the pieces I've been most keen to pull out with it's slightly unusual print and fuller skater style skirt.

The print makes you look twice, at first I thought the print was stars, but on closer inspection, it's actually paint splattered (in case you hadn't guessed by the title of this post). I don't think there's anything about this dress I don't like! The skirt is lovely and full, as I've said, the waist is nice and nipped in and the round neck is really flattering and highlights, well, a good aspect of my figure.

I paired the dress with a cute polka dot shirt to make things a little more polished and I think it worked really well. I also think I'm right in saying mixing prints in still pretty on trend, it's always a nice surprise when I make a choice which is fashionable!

As I wanted the focus to be on the dress, I kept my hair simple and sleek and the make-up pretty minimal with natural eyes and a pink flush to the cheeks and lips.

Overall, this was a sweet look which I happily wore to the office a short while later, what with the navy and the collar it's clearly work appropriate. Oh, and before I forget, this dress also had pockets...WIN!

Are you still playing with prints? Are you still hoarding dresses from the Winter Sales? How would you style this dress?

Lancome Mini Haul Featuring The Miracle Cushion Foundation

Ad was recently very lucky and had some extra pennies wired his way by my lovely mummy-in-law to be. He was under instructions to treat me to something nice and so being a beauty fiend, I asked for the new Lancome foundation which had been on my radar for some time. At the time, Lancome were doing their 'bonus time' type event whereby if you purchase ANY two products, you get a bag full of goodies. So, two products it was!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you can't have failed to notice that Lancome have brought out their new Miracle Cushion Foundation which is the first of its kind in the UK market. 

Now I know that these cushion type foundations have been around in the Asian make-up markets for an age, but us lot in the 'west' as it were, are only just catching on. I predict that over the next few months, more and more brands will be introducing foundations in this sort of set up. They're so convenient for travel and popping in your handbag. Lets take a closer look inside shall we?

Basically this is a liquid cushion compact, so, as you can see, on the top we have the sponge which you use to lightly pat the liquid foundation onto your skin.

The foundation is tightly sealed by a lid under the sponge.

There we have it, this ladies and gents is your foundation, all contained within this little cushion. It's simply a case of pressing in the sponge and patting or smoothing it onto your face. The initial outlay is £29.50, but after that, you can simply purchase the refill at a more purse friendly £19.50.

Ad purchased the shade 01 for me and I've been wearing it in all of the outfit posts which have sprouted up on my blog lately. I find the coverage to be light (but buildable if you're so inclined), the feel on the skin to be even lighter (I forgot I had it on!) and the finish lovely and dewy. The foundation almost felt water like when applying it to my skin which is just what you need in the hotter weather, something lovely and cooling, not to mention, something which contains SPF!

Finally, lets take a look at the nail varnish. The colour is gorgeous and Lancome claim that it's long lasting with a flawless application. Sadly, I can't remember which shade this is, but can confirm it costs £13.50.

My thoughts? Whilst the brush is pretty wide making for smooth and easy application, I didn't really find the varnish lasted any longer than say my OPI polishes. All in all, I got 4-5 days before major chipping set in. Maybe I'm just too heavy handed? You can't deny though, that colour is a beaut!

Have you tried the new Lancome Miracle Cushion Foundation? What did you think? 

Outfit Of The Day - Playful in Pink

Today, I'm sharing another sale bargain of mine which has been tucked away for a wee while. This was an absolute steal having been reduced from £50 to a bargainous £11.99. It would have been rude to say no right?

Ad took some candid photos this week, if you're not sure what I mean, then look at the above shot. I was contemplating what sort of poses to pull and Ad was happily snapping away. In the interests of keeping things a little different, I thought instead of hitting delete, I'd upload some of the nicer shots.

This week I'm wearing:

Jacket: Oasis

Dress: Gap

Belt: Primark

Shoes: Converse

Whilst the cut of the dress is fairly simple, there were a couple of aspects which made it stand out to me. One of which being the exposed zip detailing to the back. Great for adding interest, not so great if you're trying to avoid chipping your nails.

The print and colour were what really drew me in. I have very few items in my wardrobe which are pink, it's not really one of those colours which I'm instantly drawn to so I thought, what the heck, try something different for once and get out of your comfort zone.

The print is a whimsical white, black and grey floral number. It's probably a little more dated than some prints you see in stores nowadays, but given fashion is so fickle and constantly harking between the 80's, 70's, 60's and even the 90's I'm not all the bothered, I think it's awesome!

Again, I wanted something comfy and fun so I paired this with my cherry print converse and nipped things in with a skinny belt. Oh, and did you spot, I'm modelling the pockets this time? Such a handy feature!

My hair during the shoot was not in the mood for cooperating, it was flat and lifeless and clearly called for a good old ruffling with the hands! Make-up, again, you've got to keep things simple with this kind of dress. Natural eyes and a pretty pink flush in the cheeks and the most fed up look you can muster.

Anyone who says I take myself too seriously clearly hasn't seen my unimpressed face above. Ain't it a beauty? Lordie knows why I'm struggling a smile nowadays but apparently things were getting serious.

Are you still enjoying prints? Any other suggestions for styling the above piece? If you have any tips on faces and/or poses which might be good for future outfit posts please ping them over, I'm conscious my poses are becoming somewhat repetitive. 

Tuesday Tasties (Sort of) - The Breakfast Club - A Review

Ad and I have a Bucket List of places we need to venture while we're living in London. Naturally it includes a number of places to scoff as well as some more tourist type attractions. Today's post focuses on the former and is a place we have been to scoff.

This weekend we ventured to The Breakfast Club which has several branches in London. We opted for the Shoreditch branch as we wanted to potter around the markets and explore some vinyl sales around Brick Lane.

The interior was good fun, full of mismatched furniture and quirky features such as the below wall which we enjoyed admiring while we hanging around the queue. Don't worry, we weren't hanging around for too long, around 10 minutes when we arrived at about 2:45.

This sign in particular made me chuckle.

While this made me want to burst into song having viewed Rock of Ages a few weeks prior (the movie is awesome, I don't care what you say!)

Right, that's enough of that, what we're all here for is the food! As you'd expect, on a Saturday, Brunch/Breakfast is served until 5pm with scrummy dishes such as Boston Beans, Breakfast Burritos, Pancakes and even Huevos Rancheros if you're so inclined.

I was ravenous having not eaten since 8:30 and opted for the All American Pancakes with eggs, sausage, fried tatties, bacon and maple syrup for a bargain £11! The tatties were really tasty and crispy and the pancakes were lovely and fluffy.

Ad went for the Boston Beans which were full of slow roasted pork, cannellini and butter beans, a fried egg and egg bread. Ad struggled to polish it off so it must have been filling.

Despite this, we both managed and peanut butter and banana milkshake before calling it quiets.

The brunch menu was pretty substantial so I doubt you'd struggle to find something you liked the sound of. There are plenty of veggie options so don't worry, it's not just for meat eaters.

All in all, we had a great experience and the bill was really reasonable (£30 for the two of us) although I'd like to go back and sample their dinner menu. Ad has his heart set on the fried chicken which we didn't realise wouldn't be on offer till gone 5. Never mind, maybe next time eh?

Have you been to The Breakfast Club? What did you think? Is the fried chicken worth a return visit?

Outfit Of The Day - The White Jeans

Round about October last year, one of my blogger friends, Liz over at With Wonder and Whimsy did THIS post where she totally rocked a pair of white jeans. I made a point of telling her she was totally rocking those jeans and let her know that I'd actually been avoiding lighter coloured denim like the plague. I'd always thought it'd make me look huge and draw attention to my thighs which were big enough already.

The point being, her post actually made me think twice about my white denim fears and made me realise that when worn with the right pieces, it could actually look pretty darn good. In step another buy from the new Loved By Mollie Collection at Oasis.

As a word of warning, I look seriously moody in most of these pictures. It'd been raining most of the day and the back of my spotlessly white jeans suffered the brunt of the rainy weather. Moving swiftly on though, I grabbed THESE gorgeous white ripped Isabella jeans from Oasis at the same time as my Utility Jumpsuit. I know that if I dither around long enough, my favourite pieces will be snapped up by more savy buyers and I'm determined not to miss out this time!

Today, I'm wearing:

Jeans: White Ripped Isabella Jeans - Oasis - £45

Top: Engineered Strip Tee - Oasis - £22

Jacket: Charlie Lightweight Parka - Oasis - £35 in the SALE!!

Boots: Clarks

First, a quick shout out to the Parka (which sadly went into the sale the week after I bought it...tres annoying) which was actually a piece Ad had picked out for me. It's a super transitional coat as it's lightweight, fashion forward in colour, incredibly flattering on and gives a sweet nod to the 90's trend currently going through it's first revival. Tis almost festival season so it's little wonder these sorts of jackets will be flying off the clothing rails!

Next, the cropped tee, I have to be honest and say I was a little self-conscious about baring my midriff to the world but on some level, I think this works. The balance of the fitted jeans and the looseness of the tee means it doesn't look overly juvenile, albeit I wouldn't go as far as saying it looks classy, cute maybe, but not quite classy.

The jeans, as you can see have just the right amount of distressing with super cute ankle zips, hidden by my boots, which add more interest and a touch of something different to what would otherwise be a super basic piece.

If you look closely enough you might be able to make out the track of puddle marks creeping up the back of my legs. Bloody rain, the below picture is dedicated to you!

How would you style white jeans? Any tips for removing puddle marks would be greatly appreciated, white jeans appear to be a little more high maintenance than anticipated. Still, totally worth it ;p

Chanel Rouge Coco in Arthur - A Review

Unless you've been living in a box, then I'm sure you won't have failed to notice that the infamous Chanel Rouge Coco lipsticks have been relaunched. 

This seemed to me to be as good a time as any to invest in my first ever Chanel lipstick (with a little help from Ad I might add) as despite the hefty £26 price tag, I knew that this would be something I would treasure for a long time.

The most difficult decision however, was what colour to go for! I'd been lucky enough to receive some mini samples with a selection of 6 colours from the 22+ shade range. Some I had been seriously enamoured with such as the beautiful coral red of Coco and the "my lips but better" shade Adrienne but I really wanted a statement colour and one which I'd feel was special each and every time I pulled it out of my make-up drawer.

As you can see, I went for 440 Arthur, an absolute corker of a red and one which I felt, despite my paleness, really suited my complexion. I had actually nipped into the store with my good friend Jaque the week before and she loved this shade on me. 

The formula of these lipsticks is wonderful. They go on with a little hint of shine and dry down to a semi-matt finish. The texture is surprisingly nourishing and hydrating at the same time and not drying in the slightest. The jojoba and sunflower butters mean these literally glide on the lips with no pulling or tugging and I didn't feel the need to use this with a liner at all.

I managed to avoid the temptation to lick my lips and rub them together too much whilst I wearing this. It meant I managed to sip four cups of tea and drink a bottle of water without the colour budging, the lipstick itself actually lasted surprisingly well once the shine had dulled down. It was almost like a stain.

The below is with one sweep, you can certainly build up the colour a little more if you fancied it! As you can see from the swatch on my hand. there is colour payoff to be had if you so desire it.

Have you tried the new Rouge Coco Lipsticks? What are your favourite shades?

Outfit of the Day - The Utility Jumpsuit

Any long time reader of the blog will know I love Oasis, it's one of my favourite stores, not least of all because their clothes are chic, stylish and best of all, affordable.

Oasis have done a number of collections with Mollie King of The Saturdays and I have to say, I'm always a big fan. This season is no different with 8 key pieces ranging from jeans and cute summer dresses to 70's inspired trousers and a gorgeous duster coat to really round things off.

I've grabbed a couple of pieces from this seasons collection, the first being this Utility Jumpsuit which comes complete with subtle military detailing and a simple tie waist. It's super soft and cost a bargainous £55.

Today I'm wearing:

Jumpsuit: Oasis - £55

Jacket: Warehouse - last season

Shoes: Clarks 

The utility trend is set to be a big trend this spring/summer with everything from military inspired duster coats, khaki shirts (reminiscent to those donned by Scully in the X-Files) to chunky lace up boots. Whilst I'm not normally one for buying into trends, I can see this piece being pretty darn versatile.

As I wanted to keep the focus on the jumpsuit and this kind of outfit is still out of my comfort zone, you can see I kept things simple. A pair of boots and a jacket (which I'm not 100% convinced works but I went with what I had available).

Despite my recent weight loss, I opted for this in a size 10 which is my usual size. There are no zips on this piece and you step into the jumpsuit from the top, the button on the back is the only fastening. The fit was good, loose but not overly so, there was certainly a little room in the thigh area and the jumpsuit as a whole felt super comfy on.

The tie waist means you can really nip yourself in which helps to stop thinks looking overly frumpy. You can belt the jumpsuit but I wouldn't use anything overly skinny as it just wouldn't look right. 

At home, I've also paired this with strappy heels, rolled up the bottoms of the trousers, an obi style belt and a bold red lip to really add some definition and interest but I genuinely think this piece works just as well in its own right.

I'm loving this jumpsuit and I can't wait to get some more use out of it when the weather really warms up. Fingers crossed my mind gets out of the "the jumpsuit is wearing me" phase soon as I'd hate for this to sit at the back of my wardrobe for months!

Have you purchased anything from the Loved by Mollie collection yet? How would you style this jumpsuit? I'd love some tips from my readers to get the most out of it!