30 March 2012

REVIEW: Benefit Remove It Make Up Remover

Benefit Remove It Make Up Remover: RRP £16.50

I tried this make up remover last night, after a long day in Brighton, where my make had practically welded to my face thanks to the wonderful British weather -Read: gail force winds and arctic conditions.

I have to say i'm always a bit cynical about make up remover creams/gels/solutions, as i'm really a make up wipe kind gal, but i'm not opposed to trying them out (especially when they're free)!

I was pleasantly surprised by this oil-free, no-rinse formula. Benefit say they love it because "Remove it makeup remover effectively removes eye make up, including long-wear and waterproof formulas." I have to say i kinda agree; although my make up wasn't long wear, or waterproof, i had been applied since about 7:30am and i took it off at about 8pm. It took a few pads worth of formula to get every scrap off but i didn't feel like i had to scrub or pull at my skin to get it to go anywhere.

It's got a really smooth, clean texture when it goes on the skin and i used it all over my face to get every scrap of make up off. It glided along and made me feel fresh, and like i'd had a really good wash. There was no make up left on my face, which was brilliant and i feel like it really does it's job.

K|xo

28 March 2012

Benefit a Student

On Thursday, 15th March, me and the girls had planned to go to the weekly pub quiz, at our local watering hole. We then found out that there was a beauty event happening at the Debenhams, next door, so we decided to check out what was going on - with the promise of free things!

There was masterclasses going on, raffles being held and staff on hand to assist any of your purchasing needs.

Here's my friend Izzi receiving a make up lesson from one of the lovely girls at Benefit, who i didn't catch the name of!

We found that if you paid £3, you received a goody bag, including: a bag, from one of many bags, and a little container with three sample perfumes, as well as gaining a strip of tickets to enter into the raffle. The prizes ranged from make-up to bottles of perfume, and beyond. We'd all been eyeing up a collection of Benefit skin care, and i was lucky enough to bag myself the lot! I am now the proud owner of over £150 worth of Benefit skin care, that i'm excited to try out. I've really been getting interested in looking after my skin lately, as i've been prone to break outs, as well as experimenting with my make up routine so this is the perfect place to start, giving me some products to test.

Here's what my box contained:

Benefit Hoola Bronzer: RRP £23.50

Benefit Remove It Make Up Remover: RRP £16.50

Benefit Refined Finish Facial Polish: RRP £17.50

Benefit It's Potent! Eye Cream: RRP £23.50

Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion SPF 15: RRP £19.50

Benefit The POREfessional: RRP £23.50

Benefit Magic Ink Eyeliner: RRP £14.50

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! Foundation Samples in Champagne & Honey

I'm yet to try everything out, but i'll be doing reviews as soon as i do - with the Remove It Make Up Remover coming to a computer screen near you, very soon.

I was over the moon to receive these products, as i'm always looking for new ways to look after my skin!

There are also the three perfume samples i gained from my goody bag, and i quite like all three:

The CK Shock is my favourite, as i'm quite a fan of the Calvin Klein scents - CK In 2 You being one of my favourite perfumes. They'll be perfect for travelling, so i was happy to receive these!

Overall, we had a lovely evening being plied with wine and cupcakes with the pub quiz to follow.

K|xo

26 March 2012

REVIEW: Collection 2000 Lasting Colour

Collection 2000 Lasting Colour Lipstick in 5 Passionfruit

I adore this colour, and this collection of lippys. Collection 2000 is so well priced, and at £2.99 this is a total bargain.

For someone, like me, who doesn't really suit a red lip, this colour is perfect. It's a gorgeous coral/pink toned lipstick, which is dark/pigmented enough to dupe for a red lip, with little flecks of glitter. This sounds quite mad, but when on the lips it just gives the colour a beautiful shimmer. It glides on easily, and is super easy to get the perfect lip shape with, eg. in your cupid's bow and lower lip line.

It feels super moisturising, and is amazingly pigmented. I didn't feel like it dried my lips, but i also can't vouch for it's staying power because i haven't worn it for a full days adventures, only for occasions. I recently used it for a photoshoot, for a Uni project, and it looks great on camera too.

I can't rave about the colour, the texture or the brand enough so i urge you to go out and try it yourselves.

K|xo

24 March 2012

Paris OOTD


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Jeans: Topshop Tall | Long Sleeve Top: H&M | Blouse: New Look | Blazer: H&M | Scarf: H&M | Bag: Oasis | Scarf (On Bag): Vintage | Shoes: Topshop | Necklace: Topshop

So, this was a snap from our first full day in Paris, as you can see the weather wasn't perfect but at least it wasn't raining! I have to say that wearing such flat shoes, without socks, was such a mistake because by the end of the day the heels of my feet were burning and felt incredibly bruised! Needless to say the next day, i made sure to cushion my poor feet with socks. We did walk a very long way this day, all the way from the Louvre - where this picture is taken - up Jardin de Tuilleries, and all the way up the Champs Elysees to the Arc De Triomphe and back again, trust me that is a very long way!

I absolutely adore these jeans and i cannot wait to buy them in other colours - i have my eye on the mint and coral - they're insanely comfortable, and fit me like a glove. As for this gorgeous blazer, i bought it especially for the trip as i was in need of a new black blazer anyway and it's just lovely with a silky lapel, and buttons, but a matte body. It's smart but can be dressed up or down, and made my jeans and blouse outfit a little more interesting, for this day. I adore this combo, and will definitely be swapping tops with these gorgeous jeans all the way through Spring!

K|xo

22 March 2012

Laduree

Macaroons: Laduree
2 x Vanilla, 2 x Cherry Blossom, 2 x Orange Blossom, 1 x Lemon, 1 x Soft Caramel with Sea Salt

I briefly mentioned in my Paris post that i visited Laduree, and since knowing that i was going to be visiting Paris, i knew that i wanted to visit Laduree and pick myself up some macaroons, more than anything i wanted the beautiful boxes! Ever since watching Tanya & Jim's Paris Videos, i've been desperate for a Laduree box of my very own. I decided to go for the beautiful gift wrap boxes, rather than the usual boxes, because for the usual 8 macaroons it was €12 and for 8 in a beautiful gift box was €15 so i decided to treat myself!

K|xo

21 March 2012

An Alien World


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Here is a post just dedicated to a wonderful female i am ever so glad to be able to call my friend.

Alice, from An Alien World, has supported me, and my blog, pretty much from the beginning and we've corresponded via all forms of the internet as well as, our favourite, post. Writing is something i love to do but don't quite do it as often as i'd like, but there's something about writing to Alice that fills that hole. Maybe it's her wonderful flare of letter writing or maybe it's our mutual love of whimsical letter paper, our favourite being Cath Kidston, but i love that she's only a letter away.

Alice is a wonderful person, and one of the most kind hearted people i've ever met. She's selfless, with the biggest beating heart - i can practically hear it from here - and i can't thank her enough for her friendship, and support. We've supported each other through some tough times but now i'm lucky enough to watch her beautiful engagement play out - yes, engagement!! I know that Alice's dream was to visit Paris, and just having that wish come true was enough for her, last week, but to top it all off her wonderful Mr, Simon, proposed to her on top of the Eiffel Tower - you can go read her tear jerking post here - and i know how much this will have meant to her. Now Paris will always be that special place for her, and always give her a reason to re-visit.

I'm so happy for them both, and can't wait to discuss wedding themes(!!) with her, via who knows which communication! Basically, what i'm trying to say is that Alice, i loves ya and thank you for everything, and that i can't wait to hear about everything!

K|xo

19 March 2012

Brighton Pier


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Sticky Toffee Pudding at Palm Court, Brighton Pier

On Friday, 16th March, a few of the girls and i took a trip to Brighton to get some snaps for a University project, in which we have to produce a cover and double page spread, with all our own content, ie. images and text.

I thought Southampton was freezing, but crikey - Brighton was another level. I felt awful getting my friends to strip down to bare arms in the arctic conditions, but despite the weather we enjoyed a busy, work filled day seeing Abbie's hometown.

We stopped for lunch, and to get out of the cold, at the Palm Court restaurant on Brighton Pier, which was delicious and i highly recommend it!

K|xo

17 March 2012

Motel Aztec

This post is starring the dream jeans, all the way from sunny Topshop. When i created this outfit it was working some of my favourite items together, and i love how it turned out.

Jeans: Topshop Tall | Top: Motel | Long Sleeve: H&M | Belt: Primark | Pendant: Miss Selfridge

I utterly adore these jeans, and i have no regrets whatsoever in buying them. They're the most gorgeous colour and, frankly, i'll take any tall coloured jeans opportunities because retail seem to think that tall people only want to wear dull bottoms, which i can clarify we certainly don't (or i don't, anyway!) Without even thinking about it i'm channeling some serious SS12 trends in this outfit: pastels, print & monochrome.

For starters, colour is huge this season but the extremes are standing out from the crowd, literally. Both pastels and neons are riding high, this season, and i thought seeing as it's still pretty chilly out there i thought it best to start with the cooler toned of the two. Ice cream shades and sherbet tones are in every fashion mag you stick your nose into, this month, but i'm not quite your pretty in pink kinda gal so i thought i'd give the next best thing a go. These delicious purple jeans are almost good enough to eat, and are surprisingly easy to work into your current wardrobe.

The next biggest trend for Spring is print, and pattern, from graphic to floral it's all game this season. I'm not really your average floral chick, so this graphic scoop vest from Motel is right up my alley. They have a range of fab printed clothing, and are infamous for their out of the ordinary pieces.

Finally, although i'm not quite sure it's a real trend, both black and white are in the fashion stakes this Spring, together and apart. I always feel a little plain wearing them on their own, but together they create a stand out mix, pair it with print and you've got yourself a winner!

What are your favourite trends, this season?

K|xo

15 March 2012

Aventures Parisiennes

Finally, here's my recap of my wonderful time in Paris! I could write you a step by step of my time away, but that probably wouldn't be too exciting for you so i'll give you an overall summary of what went on, when i was in Paris Thursday 1st - Sunday 4th March 2012.


Our Hotel (Hotel Mercure, La Defense, Paris) | Carousel | Business District | Eiffel Tower | Risotto | Louvre | Louvre Pyramid | Eiffel Tower viewed from Jardin De Tuilleries | Banana & Nutella Crepe | Jardin De Tuilleries | Place De La Concorde | Pigeons on the Champs Elysees | Even the French love M&S! | I'm Lovin' It! | Metro | Trying to make a man look like he's peeing | The Mona Lisa | Louvre from the Inside | Soaking Our Feet after a Long Day | Notre Dame | Paris Shop Signs | Pompidou Centre | Desserts | Chicken Dinner | How Cute We Are! (Left for our Waiter!) | Thomas from Made In Chelsea busking with his band on the Metro

Now, frankly, i did not know what i was getting myself in for with all this Eurotunnel business, i didn't know what t expect and for someone who's a bit of a claustrophobic it wasn't the best situation to be in - especially being on a double decker coach, on the top deck. Close to the roof. Making it feel like there's no space. Gulp. However, we were able to shimmy down the side of the coach and sit in the cubicle on the train, which was great because it got like a sauna on that coach! I also have to say that 10-12 hours is a long time to spend sitting in the same position. It was pretty boring, and we spent a lot of the sleeping - on the way there and back, because trust me when you've been sat on a coach for 3 hours from Southampton to Folkstone and then another 4 hours from Calais to Paris, with a half an hour trip on the Eurotunnel in between, you're gonna get a little stir crazy!

However, when we got there the hotel was lovely. It was in the middle of the business district, about 10 minutes outside of Paris but there was a Metro station near by so we had easy access into the centre of the city. The beds were super, super comfortable - you could literally sink into them - and they gave you complimentary Evian (they love themselves some Evian, in Paris!) and a lovely marble bathroom, so nothing much to complain about - apart from an Ipad and an Ipod being stolen from two different rooms from two people who were on the trip too, but i don't know what happened so cannot comment but to me, the hotel was lovely.

Our first evening was spent hanging around the business district, waiting for one of lecturers to get us our metro tickets - he had to pick up over 200, so it was easier for him to get them all at once than for all of us to queue up ourselves - and for our female lecturer to hobble up to us as she fell over in the middle of the road! I felt insanely sorry for her, as we'd only been there a matter of hours, and she was the one who had lived in Paris for two years, we joked we were relying on her and she'd already toppled! It took a long time for our lecturers to come back to us (about an hour) but once the wait in the chilly Paris air was over, off we totted to the metro and went directly to the Eiffel tower to see it in all it's lit up glory, and glory it was. It's such a spectacular sight that it doesn't matter how many times you've seen it it never gets old, it really is quite something, breathtaking. Once we'd taken some snaps we headed off to find some dinner, but all the restaurants closest to the tower were pretty pricey, so we took ourselves down one of the streets coming off the square and stumbled across "Cuisine Italienne" which is pretty self explanatory - i should make the point now, that they love Italian food in Paris and we found it incredibly difficult to find anything other than, so i'm yet to try anything traditionally french! It was reasonably priced and the waiters were lovely, helped us with our french and were polite and speedy. I had the most amazing risotto that evening, followed by a limoncello sorbet - shared with Izzi - that had a definite kick!

All of our evenings, and into early mornings(!), were spent chatting in our PJs together about everything, and nothing. This trip was the most amazing bonding experience and i can now say that i truly love the girls i spent my time with, every last one.

Friday was spent the three other girls i spent most of my daytime with - Nicole, Abbie & Izzi - as we stayed behind with Izzi, as she wasn't feeling well after breakfast. We stayed about an hour behind everyone else, and went into the city via metro, instead of the coach like the rest of the group. After a failed meet up with the rest of the remainder of the trip, later on at the Louvre, we decided to spend our day shmoosing up the Jardin De Tuilleries, Place De La Concorde & the Champs Elysees - right up to the Arc De Triomphe, and back down again. We stopped off at all the regulars, like Zara and H&M, into Mcdonalds to rest our acheing feet and Laduree for me to pick up my macaroons(!) - and their beautiful box.

When we finally met up with the group, at around six, we headed into the Louvre to see the infamous Mona Lisa - which isn't as spectacular as we all had hoped - but didn't spend too long as we were all bursting for the toilet, and incredibly hungry. So trotted off back to the hotel to freshen up and then head out to dinner, same as most nights.

Saturday was, again, spent with the same girls as we decided not to go up the Eiffel Tower as the lecturers had planned - because we didn't want to pay to get to the top and see nothing (it was heavy fog, and was for the majority of the trip) - so, instead, headed down to the Louvre as a starting point and walked down the river Seine to the beautiful Lock bridge - as seen in Tanya & Jim's vlogs - and then down to the sightseeing boat tours, and took one of those all the way up past the Eiffel Tower, back again, and up to Notre Dame. We saw everything! They're a great way to really see Paris, as they were ever so thoughtful to build everything super close to the river!

After a busy day we headed back to the hotel earlier than usual as we were well and truly pooped. So lazed around and took a nap when we got back, decided not to join the Paris by Night bus trip (and 5:30pm, when it's not dark yet) that the lecturers had planned. However, our plans quickly changed when we then heard that Amber, our female lecturer, had organised a dinner at a converted train station - which was supposed to be amazing - so we quickly changed out of our pyjamas and into something more decent, before heading off on the bus to the Sacre Coeur to proceed to climb the 25o + stairs to the top. Unfortunately, these seemed to do me no good as almost as soon as i got to the top, i began to feel ill so persuaded Abbie to go back down the stairs with me so i could go for a wee - i'd needed one for a while - but alas, this made me feel no better but in fact worse. So, using Abbie as a crutch (just in case i fainted), we hobbled off to catch up with the group walking to the train station restaurant. We soon realised this was not going to be a quick trip, but after an hour of walking we finally landed where we were supposed to be - luckily all this walking made the icky feeling go away and just made me hungry - but as soon as we got there, after lots of grumbling and complaining we were faced with a 45 minute wait to even get in to the restaurant. This was too much for us and we decided to eat somewhere else, finding a lovely little place across the road where the waiters were super lovely.

After a seriously long evening we headed back to the hotel, moaning about having to change twice - but our luck must have kicked back in when we realised we had stumbled across a really cool jazz band busking on the other side of the metro. Oh, but it wasn't just any jazz band - oh no - but none other than Thomas', star of Channel 4's Made in Chelsea, jazz band - the Under Wolves - so we spent our evening chatting to them and bopping along to their music. Needless to say, this made our night.

Sunday saw another long journey spent on the coach, nothing eventful there, and my stomach saw a Dominos pizza upon my return which was gratefully received.

So, there it is. Paris in a nutshell! I hope you enjoyed my summary of Paris, and do let me know if any of you are going/have been - i'd love to hear!

K|xo
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