Close your eyes and tap your heels together three times...

 Fur Stole H&M

Knit Jumper H&M

Jeans ZARA

Bag MISS SELFRIDGE

Shoes KURT GEIGER

And think to yourself "there's no place like home".

Tenby, a beautiful seaside town  full of balamory esque houses, brimming with history, quirky gift shops and the best fish & chips shop for miles, is one of those places that never fails to bring a smile to my face come rain or shine. 

With nothing but a handful of tourists and locals out for their afternoon stroll, I spent my Sunday afternoon wandering around this fabulous town with the boyfriend taking in the beautiful scenery, whilst taking a photo or two. 

Full to the brim, curled up on the sofa with Christmas money in hand, I found myself on boxing day browsing the Kurt Geiger website, which ultimately ended up with me purchasing the above sparkly red Carvela pumps. In all honesty I do not regret buying these one bit, even if they weren't the biggest bargain in the world. Beautiful yet comfy whats not to love?? needless to say they've received several admirers and have gained the nickname "Dorothy", which I would totally agree with, What do you think?? 

NOTD Feeling Nautical

Nail Art tools- Ebay 

Ciate Cupcake Queen, magic Carpet, Power Dressing

Models Own Snow White 

I cannot deny it, my biggest weakness has to be nail polish, nothing beats browsing a makeup stand and admiring all the fabulous shades on offer, or the feeling of buying a brand new polish, having to road test the shade immediately (I have issues ha). This weakness has no signs of disappearing any time soon and the love affair is only fueled further due to having best friends that share this ever growing obsession. So its hardly surprising that one of my Christmas presents from one of my fellow nail addicts was well, nail related. Iv'e been eyeing up nail art tools for quite some time, yet never got around to purchasing them. Unwrapping the rather lovely purple tools, I couldn't help but plan nail related ideas in my head. Being the novice that I am, I opted for..uh well stripes, and in all honesty I ended up using the nail art pen more so than the tools (tut tut). 

I was rather unoriginal with my design, and based it upon this NOTD from the Beauty Department. For the base coat I used Ciate's Power Dressing, and opted for Ciate's Cupcake queen on my ring finger (ah such a blogging cliche). I then used models Own's Snow white to create the stripes aswell as Models Own's White Nail art pen. Finally I used Cupcake Queen and Magic Carpet along with one of the pens to create little hearts. 

Il be the first to say that its definitely not perfect, but for a first attempt Im quite pleased!! 

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua.. My thoughts

Its been a while since I took the plunge and purchased Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua. So after much use and enough road testing I thought it was about time I gave my two cents on this hyped about foundation. In all honesty Vitalumiere Aqua was an impulse buy whilst perusing the aisles of a fabulous pharmacy in covent garden. With its £32 price tag, in the back of my mind I did question whether it may be a purchase I would later regret, however I listened to the little beauty addict devil within me, thought bugger it and purchased it anyway. Something Im glad I did as this little bottle of loveliness has become a firm faviourite within my makeup routine, resulting in studio sculpt being a little neglected, making its way to the back of my ever growing drawer. 

Formula

So as the name would suggest Vitalumiere Aqua is a water based foundation, something that originally caused me to be hesitant with the fear of it being a watery mess, aswell as the concern that it may be unsuitable for my oily/combination skin. But with a little help from Loreal's Lumi Magique, Vitalumiere will last reasonably well throughout the day, and seems to work well with my skin.

Coverage

Vitalumiere Aqua really gives the appearance of a second layer of skin. Light enough to cover problem areas for example my rather rosey cheeks (although concealer is needed for those dreaded spots), yet still easy enough to create a buildable coverage without the end result being cakey. The foundation feels very much lightweight with an overall smooth finish. 

Vitalumiere is a great everyday foundation, however for a night out I would rather opt for something else, as I find that the SPF within the formula causes flashbacks in photographs, and lets face it no one wants to see photos of themselves looking like ghosts on Facebook the following morning. 

Packaging

In terms of packaging, its Chanel, I dont think I need to justify my thoughts haha. Compact and light enough to carry on the go whilst still being fabulous enough to adorn any dressing table with its CC embossed lid, whats not to love? Another plus with the packaging is that I dont find myself with excess product, like I have done with various other squeezable packaging.  

Have you tried Vitalumiere Aqua?? If so what are your thoughts??

Best of 2012

Raiding through my ever growing makeup drawer whilst trying to decipher what my my most used and loved beauty products have been over the past year, made me realise just how much my tastes have changed. Last January I would have picked MAC Studio Sculpt as my holy grail foundation in a heart beat, whereas today I would firmly chose Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua.

Ive gone from opting for a neutral lip, needless to say creme cup has been replaced with various shades of bright pink (hello show orchid). As for skincare, I am no longer that girl who would lazily use wilkos finest face wipes and the cheapest cleanser on offer. These days I have a range of products that suit my skin, and in return ive noticed a dramatic difference in my complexion. 

So after much consideration, here it is my Best of 2012

Best of Makeup

 Foundation- Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua

Concealer- Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer

Highlighter- YSL Touche Eclat

Blush- Nars Orgasm

Bronzer- Mac Refined Golden

Eyeliner- Estee Lauder Doublewear 01 Onyx 

Eyeshadow- Bobbi Brown long-wear cream shadow (velvet plum)

Mascara- Benefit they're real

Lipbalm- Fresh Sugar Lip Balm 

Lipstick- Jack Wills Hot Pink

Nails 

 Barry M- Red Glitter

Chanel- Peridot

Essie- Tart Deco

Best of Skincare

 Toner- Caudalie Beauty Elixir

Cleanser-  Philosophy Purity 3-in-1

Moisturiser- Liz Earle Skin Repair Light 

Eye Cream- Benefit its potent

Face Mask- Elemis Fruit Active Rejuvenating Mask

Make up remover- Bioderma

Best of the rest  

Shower Gel- Lush Ponche 

Perfume- Jimmy Choo

Bath & Body Works Hand Sanitiser 

Mulberry locked cosmetic purse 

What were your faviourite Beauty Products of 2012??

A pure Bargain

Philosophy's purity has become a firm staple within my skincare routine. In fact ive raved about this product so much so that my brother even has a mini bottle of this 3-in-1 cleanser. So when I spotted this miniature bottle encased within festive Christmas packaging in boots for the grand total of £4.50, I thought it was rude not to add it to my ever growing skincare stash. 

Although some are weary or dislike this cleanser due to its ingredients, I however find that this cleanser works wonders for my skin, leaving it feeling smooth and fresh.

With the usual mini bottle of purity selling for about £8, this Christmas version is a total steal whether you fancy trying something new without splashing the cash, or just fancy a bargain!! 

What do you think of Philosophy??

Party Pigments

One of the many things I love about this time of year is the total acceptance of the over excessive use of sparkle. Out come the sequin clad dresses and heels covered in so much glitter Dorothy would be green with envy. Apart from a handbag here or a collar necklace there, I will admit im a little scared to embrace a fabulously glitzy outfit, so this Christmas to add that little touch of glamour, pigments have been my party sidekick. Used right pigments can add an extra something to a simple look (I say used right as ive seen many a girl adorning a face full of Barry Ms finest baby pink and purple pigments, resulting in a look even Barbie would struggle to pull off, ugh).

My faviourite dressy pigment would have to be MACs Blue Brown, a gorgeous blue toned bronze, its such a unique colour and a great alternative to the traditional smokey eye.

The no7 pigment (the shades unknown as it was part of a set) has just the right amount of sparkle to transform a  basic gold eye! Iv'e been using this alongside urban decay's half baked.

Finally last but not least Barry Ms Dazzle dust in DD97 is a great pigment for any night out, I originally purchased it for a Halloween look, but this lovely black shade with golden flecks has become a firm faviourite in my makeup collection.

What do you think of pigments?? Do you think they add a touch of glamour to a look??