December Favourites...

Hey guys! I thought I would do my first favourites post. Although December has been a really good month and I have bought lots of lovely beauty bargains, a lot of them have been bought towards the end of the month, so I am going to save them for later blogs once I have used them enough to review.

But on with these products!

So my first ones are the Schwarzkoph Super Soft Yoghurt and Red Berries Smoothie Shampoo and Conditioner for coloured hair.

When I am in Leeds, I use my usual Herbal Essances Shampoo and Conditioner, but since I've been home in York for Christmas, I have been using my this of my Mums. It is absolutely DEVINE. My hair has been so soft and lovely and seems to be a lot stronger and seems to be full of moisture, which is much needed for my blonde hair! It really is a pleasure to use, and the impression that I get from my Mum is that it is dead cheap, which is always a good thing!

My next favourite of the month is the Superdrug Cranberry and Pomegranate Body Butter.

This stuff is ah-maze-ing. I love body butter because I love how thick they are and how you feel that your body is being well and truely nurished everytime you put it on. Like a lot of people, I love the Body Shop versions, but I really can't justify spending £12 on them. This superdrug version is so good, I would definitely say it was of the same standard as the body shop version. The smell is like nothing I have smelt before and it lasts all day. I have been using this after showers everyday for just over a month now and my skin is thanking me for it. Even in this horrible skin drying weather, it is so lovely and soft and feels so healthy. I'm not sure on the price, but I would say it was no more than £3 - and I think I bought this as a buy two get one free deal. Big thumbs up. I was bought a few of the Boots body butters for Christmas, so expect a comparison bog soon!
Next on my list is the Urban Decay Naked Palette.

There are so many reviews on this product that I think it now speaks for itself - and with good reason too. This is my number 1 make up product of the moment, and most definitely my favourite eye palette of the whole year. It's such a versatile palette. I have been wearing it none stop, day night, plodding around the house - you name it, there is a look in here for it. I would HIGHLY recommend people buy it before it is discontinued. Go on. You know you want to... :)

Next up is the Me Me Me 'Blush Me!' blusher in pink.

You'll see from previous posts that I am a fan of this blusher, so I couldn't resist popping it into my December favourites. I wear it all the time, and I love it for a really natural day look. I especially love it in this weather, as it gives you those lovely glowing cheeks that you get when you've been out in the cold for hours. It really brightens up the cold days!

I have a couple of Benefit items to pop in. One is the Lemon Aid eye primer and concealer and the other is the It Stick concealer.

Both of these concealers are great and I have been using them daily. I don't really use the Lemon Aid as a primer, but it is by far the best concealer I have found for dark eyes. The It Stick is a fairly thick concealer, but I prefer a thicker concealer so it works really well for me. It lasts all day long, so I don't feel the need to take it out with me which I LOVE!

Next I have chosen a Barry M Dazzle Dust in number 39.

This is quite a pinky nude colour. I love wearing it during the day as the colour is not too in your face, but it is still very pigmented and has a lovely shimmer, giving your eyes a bit of a twinkle. Although it is not the easiest eyeshadow to appy as it is a loose powder, it lasts all day. Just Fabulous :)

I have been using a lot of the Soap and Glory Glow Job Daily Radiance Moisture Lotion recently.

It has been great as it gives you a lovely glow, which I am seriously lacking during these long winter months. I love how individual this product is. It has bronzing beads hidden in the cream the burst when you rub it in. The thing I love most about this product is that it is so versatile. It has been great during the winter to brighten up my skin under make up, but it is perfect in the summer as well to use as a tinted moisturiser, when foundation is a little too much. I also love popping this on when I'm just wondering around the house and don't want to put make up on, as it nurishes your face, but your still looking pretty :).

And last but by no means least, I am loving this little body spray by FCUK.

It came in a gift set that my mum was given but didn't want, and I really love the musky smell. I'm not really a fan of body spray as it reminds me of being a teenager at school, but this one lasts surprisingly well, and I would love to find the perfume version of it (if there is one!).

So tell me, what do you have planned for new years eve?

Lots of Love

Lola Rose...x

The weather outside is frightful...

Hey Lovelies!

How have your christmases been? I hope santa treated you all as well as he treated me :)

I thought I would pop up a little rambling post about my christmas and what I was lucky enough to get.

I was a very very lucky girl this year, and got sent a new DSLR camera - so no more photos on my phone! I am sooo excited about it, I can't put it down! Literally anything that is still for more than a second is snapped!

I was also treated by my boy to a new pandora charm, lots of nice smelly beauty goodies, like the boots body butters below and LION KING TICKETS! I've ALWAYS wanted to see the Lion King in London, ever since I can remember, very excited about this! Has anyone else seen it?

So yesterday I went for a lovely nice long walk along the beach with my family. It was so cold, but so lovely and refreshing - a great way of walking off all the food from the day before!

Today I've been treating myself (again) to a LOT of make up, including lots of MAC goodies, so will be blogging about these soon.

I hope you all had a great christmas!

Lots of Love

Lola Rose...x

NOTD - Collection 2000 Hot Looks Fast Dry, No. 29 Big Hair

Hey :) So this is more than likely going to be my last post before christmas as I am working all day tomorrow, so I had to get the old red nail varnish post in!

I got this Collection 2000 varnish from Asda, it is number 29 - Big Hair.

I've had a few of the Hot Look Fast Dry varnishes before, and I do quite like them. The brush is nice and thick so applying it was easy, although I felt like it needed a few coats, especially as the second one didn't really make any colour difference from the first one.

The colour in the picture above looks like it has pink tones in it, when in actual fact the varnish is more orange based.

I was not very happy today. I went into a little shop near me, that sells random reduced price make up brands, and found a really nice red glitter that would have gone over the top of this. As you will have seen in my previous blog posts, I have been looking for a red glitter varnish for christmas for the past month, with no luck. The red glitter I found was a BARGAIN at £1.50, but I stupidly left the house without my purse, so I couldn't get it :( Nevermind, there's always next year!

I'm half way through my wrapping now - it looks like santa's grotto in here - so I will carry on with it before I fall asleep with tape stuck to me!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and will speak to you all soon :)

All my love

Lola Rose...x

Sleek Make Up Eye Palette - Sparkle

Ok, so I bought this eye palette a few weeks ago now and it has been the perfect time to try out the Sparkle edition of the Sleek Make Up Palettes, what with it being the festive season.

The Palette itself, as with all other Sleek palettes, is bursting at the seams with beautiful colour, yet is light and compact - perfect for travelling with. I recently took 3 of the palettes to London with me and didn't notice I had them, which is unusual for a palette that holds 12 colours.

So lets get stuck in...

From the top left across to the top right we have -

Cranberry, Dream Maker, Galactic, Twinkle, Star Light and Noir

From the bottom left across to the bottom right we have -

Illusion, Festive, Mistletoe, Glitz and Glamour, Gold Ribbon and Tinsel

I've done swatches of all the colours below, and as you will see, all of the colours are so pigmanted.

From left to right -

Galactic, Dream Maker and Cranberry

From left to right -

Twinkle, Star Light and Noir

From left to right -

Mistletoe, Festive and Illusion

From left to right -

Tinsel, Gold Ribbon and Glitz and Glamour

Although I absolutely LOVE all of these colours and have tested every single one of them at some point, my favourite has to be Twinkle. It is such an amazingly intense dark blue, which I would never usually go for, and you can make some really good smokey evening looks with it. The sparkle also gives it that extra touch. 

The colour I was most surprised about was Gold Ribbon. It looks very yellowy, and I'm not too keen on yellow based shades for myself personally, but when I tested it out, it was a much warmer gold tone, and made a great base colour.

I am so so impressed with this palette, as I am with all Sleek Make Up Palettes, and, although it is definitely more for evenings, it will be getting a great deal of use!

I have other Sleek Eye Palettes that I will blog about over the next week or so.

I've FINALLY got my Hoola through the post, as well as my ELF brushes today - sooo excited to getting down to test them all out!

I'm also expecting a package from Lola Cosmetics - a lovely make up brand from the USA that I found on Twitter. They are kindly sending me through some products to test, so as soon as they get here I will let you know :)

Lola Rose...x

NOTD: George at Asda Quick Dry Nail Varnish

Ok so before I talk about the nail varnish, I just wanted to get a little excited with you! I've bought so many lovely things online and I can't WAIT for them all to come through! I've got a couple of Mac Blushers coming, Benefit Bronzer, and - one that I am VERY excited about - a nig order of ELF brushes. Stupid me though, ordering them jsut before christmas with weather like this - I hope they come SOOON!

So onto the nail varnish! The first thing that attracted me to this was the colour, Sunset Orange. I've never seen one quite like it anywhere else. It's such a nice creamy orange colour I just couldn't resist! And with it being under £2, it was definitly worth slipping in with the shopping.

I have never tried a George nail varnish before, or any of their make up products for that matter, so I was excited to see how it would turn out.

When I put the first layer on, I instantly noticed how thick it was, and I found it really hard to get the right consistancy. As a result, it came out really streaky, and almost had a matte finish to it, which didn't impress me. It did however dry very quickly, meaning I could get on with the second coat, and although this went on a little easier, I still didn't find it as easy as a lot of others.

However having left it for a while now, the second layer doesn't seem to have dried in such a matte way, and I actually quite like the finished result.

I don't think I'm going to keep it on, simply because it isn't a very festive colour and I bought a pillar box red (will be blogging about it tomorrow) to see me through christmas, but none the less, I won't be putting it to the back of my draw and forgetting about it.

I think that with a bit of time and effort getting used to it, this nail varnish is ok for the price. But definitely not one to dig out if your in a hurry.

Lola Rose...x

Me Me Me...

I must tell you about this Me Me Me... Blusher that I recently purchased. It is called blush me! and I bought it in pink, however there is a coral colour available as well as more of a bronzer too.

I have been a loyal fan of my mac mineralize blusher in Gleeful that I have been wearing for over a year now, and although it is still safely tucked away in my make up bag, I was on the look out for more of a day time blush that wasn't as dark.

I've often looked at the Me Me Me... counter at my local Superdrug but never really delved in.

I was a little apprehensive about the blusher at first, as the packaging seemed to be a copycat version of the Benefit blushers, and I couldn't see how it could compete, but the colour was exactly what I was looking for - a bright but still quite sheer baby pink, that I thought would be perfect for a day time 'girl next door' look.

The blusher is a lot lot better than I expected it to be, and I have worn it most days since it was bought. It is a very buildable product, although it is quite sheer, so I've found that I have been applying quite alot of it to get the look I want. It comes complete with a brush - which I was very impressed with and have continued to apply the make up with. I often find that brushes that come with products just don't meet my needs, and I end up throwing them away and using my own.

I will definitly be having a good rummage through the Me Me Me... counter everytime I go into superdrug now, as I have been so impressed with this purchase.

Lola Rose...x

Make up with Benefit...

 I recently had a wee bit of a Benefit haul, which included "Hello Flawless!", Lemon Aid and Ooh La Lift. I also ordered Hoola, but I'm still waiting for that to come from boots.com - fingers and toes crossed that it's before christmas, I'm in much need of a matte bronzer fix! 

So having had a dabble with the other three over the past few weeks, I couldn't wait for Hoola to come any longer and wanted to share my thoughts.

I have been a fan of benefit for many years, and not only do I love the quality of their products, but I also ADORE the attention to detail they give, from the unusually quirky names, to the thoughtful, flattering product descriptions.

Before even trying the product, the "Hello Flawless!" packaging is very pleasing on the eye, as is with all benefit products. I went for the "Me, vain?" Champagne colour, but was impressed with the amount of shades that were available.

The powder itself is such a pleasure to apply - it has a really creamy texture and almost melts into my skin, blending perfectly.

However my favourite thing about this powder is how versatile it is. I've been searching for a powder that can take me from day to night for a while now. Something that is light enough for me to wear during the day, but something that I can also build up to give me more coverage. I have finally found the product that does all of this. Included with the powder is not only a brush, that allows me to apply a light, even dusting across my face, but also a good quality sponge, which is perfect for building the coverage up. The powder doesn't become cakey, which more often than not becomes an issue when wearing some powders, and it is so easy to build up, especially across my problem areas such as my nose.

"Hello Flawless!" was everything I was hoping for and more. I would highly recommend this to anyone of any skin type, and it will definitely be a permanent fixture in my make up bag.

I was recommended Lemon Aid by a friend who swears by it. I have never found a concealer that has ticked all the boxes, so I decided to give it a go.

The pot was smaller than what I was expecting, however it is great to pop in my bag and touch up throughout the day. The product describes itself as a 'colour correcting eyelid primer', and is very creamy. After experimenting with it over the past week, I've been impressed. Not a lot needs to be applied to the top of the lids - I think that despite its small size it would last for a while, and although it doesn't spread very far, it does conceal dark areas surprisingly well.

It works as a primer, but I think using it as a concealer is a lot more effective.
I've also found it really good for putting under the eyes and on patchy areas of skin before applying foundation, to give a really even complexion.

Ooh La Lift is an eye birghtener, and boy does it brighten! Not to be confused with a concealer, when I put it under my eyes, really brightened my eyes and made me look more fresh faced and wide awake. I also LOVE using it along my brow as a highlighter.
The texture isn't thick and gloopy as I expected it to be - although I'm not too sure why I expected this! It is light, and when I put it under my eyes, it blended in really easily and didn't feel like I had anything there at all!

A product that is great for tired eyes, and a real pleasure to use!

I'll get back to you with my Hoola review as soon as it comes - exciteddd :)

Hope the Christmas planning is going well...

Lola Rose...x

Oh hello glitter...

I've never been a fan of glitter nail varnish. It reminds me of when I was young and I used to play with my cousins nail varnishes when she was baby sitting me. I haven't owned one for years, and never really had the desire to. That is until I saw a recent picture of Katy Perry and her new husband at an awards bash, and she had the most fabulous red glitter on her nails. It was so sparkley and festive that it was hard to not to fall in love with instantly.

So what with all the snow we've had recently, I couldn't think of a better way to get me more in the christmas spirit than bagging my own bottle.

When I went to my local superdrug however, I was surprised by the lack of glitteriness I saw. There were lots of shimmer and sparkle varnishes, but I was looking for full on GLITTER.

I saw that the oh so reliable Barry M had the red glitter I was looking for, but the not so reliable superdrug had sold out. So I settled for the only other glitter varnish I could find. The Barry M 297 Blue Glitter.

The Nail Varnish itself is a vived blue, not one for the faint hearted. I was very surprised about how easily it glided onto my nails - I was expecting it to feel like sand paper. The varnish does need at least 2 coats - I put on three - but I found that after every coat that went on the colour intensified rapidly - a lot more than I was expecting and I would say more than your average varnish.

I would say the colour had more greeny tones than that in the picture. It does have a very course finish, as you would expect of any varnish of this nature, but after a slick of top coat, I was good to go and extremely pleased with the end result. I will definitely be purchasing the red glitter next time it is available. All I can say is Barry M - Bring out more! <3

While in superdrug, I wanted to take full advantage of the 3 for 2 on all cosmetics that they have running at the moment.

I decided to go for the Bourjois Fan Effect Brush in a shimmer pink colour, as I have always wanted to test out the brush and see what difference it made. Firstly the colour intensity was fabulous - you could definitely get away with just one coat of this stuff if you are in a rush.

But this was nothing compared to the brush. It was AH-MAZE-ING! It made painting my nails so quick and easy, and worked on every nail no matter how big it was. It gave each nail a ful even coat, and really did only take a second to do each nail as it says on the bottle. By far the best brush I have ever used. I was a little disappointed with the lack of choice on the colour front, but there is no doubt in my mind that I will be buying more of this nail varnish.

The third purchase I decided to go for was the new Barry M Instant Nail Effects varnish. This was bought as an experiment, and, although it is very different, I think I like it!

The idea is that you paint your nails as normal with a chosen colour - I used the Bourjois pink shimmer from above, but before putting putting on a top coat, you slick on a layer of this black varnish. As it instantly dries, it starts to crack, leaving a black pattern over your nail colour. It's a bit scary to use at first, and the amount that you put on can effect the outcome, but onces you find the correct consistancy, it looks really effective, and is also really fun trying it out with different colours. 

These pictures don't justify how good my nail looks, but it gives you an idea of the effect you get. I would highly recommend having a play about with it.

Stay safe in the weather :)

Lola Rose...x

The First Chapter...

I've been looking into blogging for a while now. It is something that has always interested me. I like nothing more than getting lost for hours in a good blog, and had often thought about the idea of having one myself, but I guess I was pretty reserved about the idea. Why would anyone want to read what I had to say?

That all changed when I joined twitter a couple of months ago (@justLolaRose). I say joined, I've actually been on it for a couple of years, but used it solely to have a noisey at celebs and interesting people I had followed along the way - I never used it to its full potential.

I now realise how addictive, and fun, it is. Although I only have a small number of followers, the idea that even one person wanted to read what I had to say inspired me enough to get over worrying about what people thought about me starting a blog and just do it. It's something I've always wanted to do, and something I would enjoy so why not?

I new all along that any blog that I started would be about my passion for make up. Make up has been something that I have adored for as long as I could remember, something that used to take up my £2 a week pocket money. I fell in love with the idea that, no matter who you are, whether it be an actor on the west end stage, or an 84 year old lady, heading down to bingo, make up can change who you are, make you into the person you want to be, or enhance the beautiful person that you are. It gives people a boost of confidence that gets them that extra bit further. Make up is about making yourself feel as fabulous as everyone else knows you already are.

I know I will have a lot of fun with this blog. Whether anyone else will or not remains to be seen. But even if one more person gets as much out of it as I do, I will be happy :)

Lola Rose...x