Most Hyped Mascara Of The Month | Benefit Rollerlash

Like many others, I snapped up this month's Elle magazine for £4 after hearing it came exclusively with the mini of Benefit's latest mascara. I have seen so many bloggers and vloggers raving about this product, so I knew I had to pick it up and try it out for myself.

This stuff does not disappoint; the idea behind it is that it will immediately lift and curl your lashes in one step, with no curlers needed. To be fair, my lashes aren't dead straight to begin with and usually I skip curlers anyway as they curl naturally and usually are helped along the way by my sleep mask. Still, it does exactly what it says on the tin! On first impressions, it appears to be quite a wet formula that just glides easily across my lashes, separating them and covering every lash. As there is something fitted inside the tube to get rid of excess product, there is no horrible clumping; my lashes feel light and lifted, yet still voluminous and beautifully curled.

This is all because the wand has been designed for a 'Hook & Roll' use; the thin plastic applicator is slightly curved with tiny spikes to catch, comb through and lift each individual lash. It really, really does work! After just one coat (although I do apply a couple more) my eyes appear more opened up and the lashes are left super black. IT ALSO LASTS ALL DAY! (And is easy to remove too).

The packaging is an added bonus. The sleek black tube topped with a rose gold lid is stunning (although the full size has a baby pink lid in the pattern of a curling wand), whilst the curled writing makes it sophisticated and adds to the aesthetics.

For me, this mascara ticks all the boxes and I just can't praise it enough. I love it!

❤️

ps. I have also decided that I am going to try to upload on as many Wednesdays as possible as well as my usual Sunday, because I have lots of post ideas that I just won't get a chance to include otherwise. I know also that most people upload on the weekends, so I thought I would be nice to have something extra during the mid week.

I will be busy some weeks, but I want to try :)

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away - Lush So White

For Christmas I received from Lush's limited edition holiday range 6 of their So White bath bombs as well as a bottle of the matching shower gel.

Appearance wise, they are spherical bombs the size of my hand, and are a crisp and clean white as the name would suggest, like untouched snow.

The scent is heavenly. A strong apple aroma (which is one of my favourite smells ever), is currently coming from my box of lush, leaving a very fresh and crisp smell all around my room. I can't get enough of it!

The surprise is yet to come... 

As So White meets the water, the seemingly pure whiteness of the bomb disappears almost instantaneously, revealing a gorgeous, hidden baby pink shade at the core. It's soooooo pretty!

So after I had popped one of the bombs in - however they are so large that you could cut it in half to get two uses - it immediately began to fizz. It didn't dash crazily through the water like the ballistics do as it is only a bomb, but it did create a hissing sound and create tiny bubbles that quickly disappeared. (They were created purely because of the bomb's movement; only the bubble bars create mounds of soapy lather).

 

To add bubbles to my bath, I added a few drops of the shower gel. The scent is the exact same, but it's a totally different colour. The gel is an almost transparent pearlescent sheen that shimmers so beautifully on the skin.

Together, the bomb and gel clearly had excellent moisturising properties, as when I left the bath my skin was feeling very smooth and soft. The smell also lingered for ages! When I went into the bathroom the next morning, I could still smell the delicate appley fragrance.

If only they sold these all year round!

❤️

The Bold Lip: Purple Edition

A new blogpost? On a Wednesday?

I am currently on school holidays, so seeing as that gives me some extra time I thought I would squeeze in an additional blogpost this week, hope you enjoy.

Just before Christmas I bought two lip crayons for £2.50 each from Claire's Accessories, (their makeup is surprisingly good!), both being very 'in your face' colours; a bright orangey coral, perfect for the summer and the other a true electric purple. Scary!

Wearing bold lips and stepping out of your comfort zone can either make you feel self conscious and paranoid constantly, or it can make you feel confident. I don't tend to use Berry loads as it is SUCH a bright colour, but I have worn it a couple of times lately and received compliments from friends. I've had no Coral opportunities yet, as Coral is definitely a spring/summer colour and Berry an autumn/winter, however I still think it would be pretty to wear in the spring months.

Wearing Berry during the day time does require everything else to be fairly low key, however, so today I have gone for simple, light, pinky eyes using the naked 3 palette just to add pretty colour that will work well with the lips. Still for an everyday look, you can instead opt for a soft brown look, or even no shadow at all. 

Obviously just do whatever else you would do makeup wise on a daily basis, till all is done but the lips, this time the main feature of the look. You can line your lips, or just miss that out - I always do. Unless you are really practiced, I would suggest you carefully begin to apply the product; bold colours are extremely difficult to wipe away when it goes wrong... A couple of weeks ago, my friend gave me bright red overdrawn clown lips that took a severe amount of scrubbing and left a slight stain for hours. It was funny though!

Remember that colour is build-able. Like I said, it's easier to add than takeaway so just take your time, but keep tissues or makeup wipes within reach just incase it does get messy. To tone down colour, you can blot your lips, and this also will matte-ify them slightly, lowering the risk of smudging, which is always a bonus! (But if you do prefer the glossy look, just apply a sheer but shiny balm or gloss).

Because this shade of purple is so bright and noticeable, I also like to keep my outfit fairly low key for the day time, too. I like to wear it mainly with monochrome, or mix the colour into another area of the outfit to match. For example, I own a pair of purple tights that are pretty much the same shade, and they look nice together.

Of course this colour isn't for everyone, but this is just me experimenting and playing around with makeup, which I enjoy doing. Some will like it, some won't but I think it's fun and different.

If you are feeling unsure about whether to wear a statement colour out, my advice is to be bold like your lips, and just step outside your comfort zone and try it. It may look amazing, but you'll never know until you try it!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments, 

until next time

❤️

Nailed It! AW-14/15

Stuck for nail inspiration? Want to hop on the current nail trend?
Lately I have been noticing a particular colour on just about everybody's nails - the palest nude shades all the way up to the browns and greys. The current nail varnish trend - which I have participated in - is becoming really popular, so I thought it would be a great idea to write a post on it and give you a few tips, as well as featuring a hand and nail care routine. Where I am in the UK, it's very cold and the bitter wind is not too kind to my hands at the moment.

It's funny, if somebody had said to me several months ago, "I'm going to paint my nails a nude pink/brown/grey/beige shade", I probably would have squirmed in horror; it sounds repulsive and how on Earth would it ever look good against ANYBODY'S skin tone?

My opinion has taken a complete turn now. Seeing these colours on various nails has made me realise how good they actually look!

Something I like to do every night at the moment is apply a moisturiser to my hands and nails, just to keep them soft, smooth and ready for the next day. I have recently rediscovered my Soap & Glory 'The Righteous Butter', a luxurious body butter with 'softening shea butter and aloe vera'. This butter is super thick and so, so creamy, not like some lotions that just dribble onto your hands a bit. The scent is light and delicately perfumed with hints of floral, and is one of Soap & Glory's signature ones - it matches all the scents from the 'Soapremes' set: 'Hand Food', 'Clean On Me' etc.   

Then a couple of times a week I will smooth a nail treatment into my nails to keep them healthy. I am lucky because my nails are naturally very strong and white, and tend to grow long without snapping.

My nails after moisturising and cuticle-creaming, pre painting

I also don't really have cuticle problems and never really have to tend to them, however I still like to apply this tiny little pot of sweet, pink, vanilla goodness to help them along the way. For anyone interested, this a Superdrug product and is called 'Conditioning Cuticle Cream with Vitamin E'.

Now onto nail varnishes. The first thing you MUST do is apply a clear base coat so your nails aren't stained underneath the polish, and remember to apply a clear topcoat over the varnish once it is dry to seal in the colour, add shine and prevent them from chipping as soon. Today I am going to use one called 'Caviar' by NailsInc and apply that all over my nails. 

Now, I have quite a few nail polishes that I would say fit into the current nude pink/brown/grey/beige theme. First I have a few colours that I got in a set a few years ago so I'm not sure where they are from and they don't have names, but one is a purpley brown, another a very sheer pink nude and the other a blue toned grey.

the purpley brown and blue toned grey

the purpley brown on my nails

I also have a few from NailsInc that I really like, one of them being a foil finish and called 'King's Road', which I think is a great name because the royalty of the King fits the silver metallic colour. This one is an exception as the colour is far from nude, but shimmery metals and holographic I have been noticing lately as well.

King's Road

I have a pink nude from NailsInc called 'St Ann's Lane' (I just love their names!) which is also really lovely and is great for transitioning into the spring months from winter.

Caviar, St Ann's Lane

I have swatched all the colours down below, and added a few extras...

From L>R: NailsInc - Caviar (which is showing up white but is there next to the brown one), brand I don't know - brown, brand I don't know - grey, NailsInc - St Ann's Lane, NailsInc - King's Road, brand I don't know - nude pink, Boots - Lovely Lilac (very old so you probably can't buy), came free with an issue of Company magazine - blue, brand I don't know - purple

 I realise that not all of these quite fit the colour scheme I mentioned earlier, but they are still perfectly current colours to wear at the moment. If after this post you are still looking for the perfect colour, I suggest you visit the BarryM counter as they have a ton of shades and are really affordable. Their shade 'Lychee' is a highly raved about nude!

My final couple of tips would be to make sure you own some hand sanitizer; germs are everywhere and you want to keep your hands as fresh and clean as possible! I have Soap & Glory's 'Hand Maid' which smells super sweet, fruity and fresh.

Last but not least I would recommend that everyone owns a handy nail set with scissors, tweezers and a file!

This owl emery board is from Sass & Belle

 So that's all for today, I hope you enjoyed reading and have maybe gained a few ideas for the next time you are planning to paint your nails

bye❤️
  

 

Valentines - Red Velvet Heart Cake

As it's a week till Valentines Day, I thought it would be very appropriate to bake a themed cake and share it with you all. I will be baking a red velvet cake in the shape of a heart, decorated with red and white toppings on a white chocolate cream cheese frosting.

I found this recipe on the internet having never tried it before, but let's give it a go!

*this recipe serves 8 generously*

INGREDIENTS:

CAKE

125g softened butter

300g caster sugar

3 eggs

1 tbsp red food colouring

1.5 tbsp cocoa powder

187g plain flour

125ml buttermilk

0.5 tsp vanilla extract

0.25 tsp salt

0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda

0.5 tbsp white vinegar

ICING

200g cream cheese

175g white chocolate

125g softened butter

White chocolate buttons, strawberry laces, pink sugar sand (optional)

METHOD:

CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 170C / Gas mark 3
• I then greased my silicone heart mould with vegetable oil
  
• Cream the butter and the sugar together
  

• Add your eggs one at a time after beating them, then stir into the mixture
• Next you'll want to add the food colouring and the cocoa powder into the mix
• Add the flour and the buttermilk, but alternately so you won't accidentally have a mixture too gloopy or too dry
• Add the vanilla extract and the salt
• Gently stir in the bicarbonate of soda mixed with the white vinegar, but be careful not to over stir
  
• I poured my cake into my silicone heart mould and baked it for 30-35 minutes
• After checking that the middle was cooked with a skewer (which must come out clear) I left it to cool in the mould for about 10 minutes
• After these 10 minutes, I peeled the cake from the mould with a pallet knife, and then tipped it onto a wire rack to cool for another half an hour
  

ICING AND TOPPINGS

• Firstly, I melted my white chocolate and allowed it to cool till lukewarm in temperature
• Next, beat the cream cheese so it is light and fluffy, then gradually stir in the lukewarm white chocolate and softened butter
• Beat until the mixture is the consistency of whipped cream
• With a pallet knife, ice the cake all over
• Now I added the next bit myself - strawberry laces in the shape of hearts decorated with white chocolate buttons
• For the finishing Valentines touch, I gently sprinkled pink sugar sand all over the cake
  
  
  
  
   
  

Finished! Now you can enjoy :)

Happy Valentines Day!

❤️

Bookworm Wednesday: January

I missed last month's BWW as I didn't actually finish an entire book; I had two on the go and December is a very busy time!

 It's back this month and I have three books to share with you, one non-fiction, the other two fiction.

#1 City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare

This is the second time I have read this book, but I got the DVD for Christmas and so I wanted to remind myself of all the things that are missed out in the film, as I did read it a couple of years ago.

City of Bones is the first in the Mortal Instruments series, of which there are six I think. 

This story has literally everything supernatural - blood thirsty vampires, prowling werewolves, sinister demons, warlocks and witchcraft, fallen angels and merciless shadow hunters, all set in a darker, parallel New York City.

Clary Fray thinks she is just a normal girl living a normal life, until she subconsciously begins to draw mysterious symbols and views a horrific murder in a night club that no one else seemed to see...

I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is into that kind of vampire-werewolf-angel supernatural genre. Give it a go!

#2 Tony Northrup's DSLR Book: How To Create Stunning Digital Photography

Calling all photography lovers!

My Nana bought this for me for Christmas as I have been getting more into photography recently - I really enjoy it! This non-fiction manual has pretty much everything in it: from quick tips to an in-depth section on lighting and flash, problem solving, notes on composition, controlling the camera to portraits, weddings, animals, night photography and so much more including nine hours of video!

Everything in this guide is laid out clearly so you can easily find what you're looking for. The explanations and instructions are easy to follow yet detailed, there are examples of good photography and bad photography, different angles and depths of field. 

It's also very easy to dip in and out of this book; it's not like reading a boring textbook. I have really enjoyed just flipping through different paragraphs or sections as a bit of light reading as I find photography very interesting to read about.

I feel this book is already improving my photos, and it will continue to in the future.

#3 Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

Under the anonymous name of Girl Online, Penny Porter secretly blogs about her life. Everything is changing for her - an old friendship is failing, the boy she has liked for years begins to notice her, and anxiety attacks begin to rule over her. 

Everything that has been going wrong begins to melt away after her parents announce that they will be going to New York for Christmas; there, she is captivated by the stunning sky lines, the festive excitement, and Noah, a mysterious boy from Brooklyn who whisks her away on roof top picnics, to secret lunch cafes and vintage junk shops. Penny is quickly falling in love and having the time of her life, and sharing every moment of it on Girl Online.

There is a huge twist in the tale which I will not spoil, but it had me breathless until the end... 

I enjoyed this so much! It was the perfect feel-good, warming story to snuggle up to under the duvet with hot chocolate and the fairy lights on.

Thankyou for reading my three recommendations of the month, come back soon!

January Favourites

It's that time again! Time for you to all find out what I've been loving this month - there's quite a bit...

#1 Pretty Little Liars

Netflix has recently updated all their films and TV shows, which is great because they now have a good selection of things to watch. 

I'd heard a lot about Pretty Little Liars and had been wanting to see it for ages, so I was thrilled to find that it had been put on the UK Netflix.

I know I'm so late to the craze, but I have just finished season 1 and it's really, really addictive - I love, love, love it! So far it's about four old friends who are trying to uncover the truth about their dead friend Alison. I'm not going to go into detail or give any spoilers, but there are twists and turns throughout the show, and it's just so gripping. No spoilers in the comments!

#2 Maybelline Baby Skin
Just like Pretty Little Liars, I am late to jump on the bandwagon; this product has been raved and raved about in the blogger/vlogger world ever since it came out. I am so happy to finally have bought it just after the New Year, as I can definitely see what all the hype is about.
Baby Skin is described as an 'Instant Pore Eraser', a 'lightweight primer for smooth, poreless looking skin'. It's a clear gel-like formula and feels so hydrating and softening on the skin. It may feel greasy at first, but then it sinks in, leaving a smooth, matte finish.
I never used to use a primer, but now I am so glad I started using this - my makeup lasts longer with it and applies more evenly and effortlessly. I like to apply this product around my nose and towards my cheeks as they are where my pores are biggest.

#3 Clementine Oranges

Ok so this is a bit of a weird one I know, but this month I have just really, really liked them. I tend to go through phases with oranges - one month I hate them and they taste weird and the white pith is revolting, the next I love them because they're tangy and sweet and refreshing. Does anyone else go through fruit phases?

#4 Maybelline Electro Baby Lips in Berry Bomb

Sticking with the Maybelline Baby range, I have used this lip balm almost every day this month. My sister bought it for me for Christmas; she loves my Baby Lips just as much as I do. Berry Bomb is the first I've had from the Electro range - in the tube it's bright purple in colour but when you apply it to your lips it's pretty much sheer with a slight hint of purple depending on how much you build it. The smell is amazing as the name would suggest, and overall it is a good, nourishing balm.

#5 Fat Face Body Mist
I can't get enough of the smell of this product! It smells kind of like one of those softening liquid moisturisers, which sounds disgusting but it's so nice. I don't really know how to describe the smell, but trust me on this one - it's sooo good. I have worn it so much this month and I'm sure I will continue to in February.

#6 Girl Online
I won't talk about this book too much now as it will be featured in my Bookworm Wednesday in three days time, but it definitely has earned a place in my favourites this month. I am a big Zoe fan, and had been wanting to read her book since she first announced it last summer. I love love loved it!

#7 Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation
This featured in my Small January Beauty Haul and Reviews blogpost a couple of weeks ago. I loved it after only a couple of uses then and I have continued to enjoy it a month later; I have used it every day! I don't want to repeat myself as my January Haul is still quite recent, so if you want to know anymore about this foundation, head on over to my blog archive.

#8 Pinterest
I have been using this site as I have changed a couple of things around in my room and Pinterest is the place for inspiration and more. If you want to follow me to see what I've been pinning, I have changed my username to 'rosalynalice'.

#9 Soap & Glory Archery
You're probably not surprised this is featured in my favourites after how much I went on about it in my January Haul - I can't talk about this product highly enough. It will basically transform your brows so naturally with the wax and pen and just leave them so perfectly shaped and defined. I just can't get enough of it! Get your hands on this if you can; I now swear by it, and am never ever going back to using a powder or pencil. Ever.

#10 Songs!
These have all been replayed on youtube about a million times:
'Uptown Funk' by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars - if you haven't heard this, I don't know where you've been.
'Up' by Olly Murs and Demi Lovato - again, it's been high in the charts lately and it's very catchy.
'Like I Can' by Sam Smith - I just really, really, really love it.

Let me know what in the comments you've been loving this month :)
Don't forget to come back next week for an edible Valentine's special!

Rosie x

ps. I don't know why it won't centre ://