Murder Mystery Party

Hello again!

I wanted to tell you all about a murder mystery party that I attended last night as it was SO MUCH FUN! It's something a bit different for a get-together and can certainly be done on a budget, so I would urge you all to try one if you haven't already!

It was my friends who threw the party, and the game that they had chosen was Murder in the Thirties. They had bought a kit from Amazon (although other places stock them too) which included invitations, characters profiles, scripts, a CD of 1930s music and a DVD. It also included clues that were used throughout the night, as well as tips on what to eat etc. 

(Here is the link to this particular game http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00DJQSKUY/ref=redir_mdp_mobile)

We had chosen our characters before the evening so we knew how to dress and our character name & profession, as well

as the scene of the murder & who had been killed, but that was it! Upon arrival we were given our character script which would form the dialogue for the evening. This included prompts, conversation starters & most importantly it told you whether or not you were the murderer (I will not give away who it was in case you decide to play this one!). It was a bit confusing at first but we all got into the swing of it quite quickly!

I have been to 2 murder mystery parties in the past, but they have been very different as they were acted out by the company hosting the event and we were the guests who had no part to play but to observe & try to uncover the murderer! This was a completely different experience & I have to say I loved it! The fact that we were fully immersed in the plot was so much fun & made the whodunit part even more exciting! We all had a great time & have all agreed to do another very shortly. I can't wait to see what the theme will be...I love any opportunity to dress up! 

Here are a few pics from the evening, try and guess who was the killer from these ;) 

This was me & my other half (funnily enough our characters were married in this game!)

A shocking reveal....?!

And finally here is a close up of my hair & make up! I had so much fun researching 1930s looks, it's all red lips, dramatic eyes and beautiful hairstyles. I had planned on curling my hair (finger curls) but found that sadly on the day I didn't have the time. Instead I opted for this twisted up do, which was so easy to create & different for me as I rarely wear my hair up on nights out! It was simply a case of creating a side parting, twisting the front sides of your hair and pinning them back, then taking the remainder of the hair you twist it all together then pin it in a twisted knot at the side. It took about 3mins to do & you only require hair pins & hairspray. I think it really completed the look! 

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed & leave a comment if you have any questions, ideas of a fun murder mystery theme or simply want to share your experiences of a similar night!

Until next time! Xo

My first Illamasqua purchase...

Hello lovelies!

This week I purchased my first 2 Illamasqua products in their online sale so I wanted to share my thoughts on them. The items purchased were a matt lipstick in the colour Fable and an eyeshadow in the shade Succumb. I have to say that I have mixed feelings about them!

Firstly, let's look at the lipstick. Here is how it looks:

And on my lips:

I loved the look of it on the website, and at just £7.50 (from £18.50) it seemed an absolute steal! I adore the packaging and the colour looks great off, but I can't say that I'm overly impressed with it on. I had to apply quite a lot to get an even coverage, and disappointingly found that after taking one sip of my drink quite a lot of the colour seemed to transfer off of my lips and on to the glass. I'm glad that I purchased this in the sale because if I had paid full price I would of been even more disappointed! 

Here is the eyeshadow that I purchased:

And here is a swatch:

This also cost me £7.50 (down from £15.50) and I adore this matt eyeshadow!! It's a gorgeous pinky nude colour and blends SO WELL!! It's highly pigmented so there is minimal (to zero) creasing and lasts all day. Unlike the lipstick, I'm really impressed with this product and would not object to paying full price for their eyeshadows. In fact, I'm going to go back on to their website this evening and order some more colours! 

I have a mixed opinion of Illamasqua products following my purchases. I was incredibly impressed with their cute packaging for their deliveries (below) and the eyeshadow was wonderful! It was the lipstick that let it down but I would consider buying a non-matt shade in the future to see how that fares.

As always thanks for reading, until next time! xo

Fragrance Product Review

Hello everyone...and happy Sunday!

I just wanted to put up a post about my new favourite perfume because I am completely obsessed with it!! It's the new Marc Jacobs fragrance called Daisy Dream, and it really is a dream!

I needed a new 'daytime scent', and whilst on the hunt came across this one. I was in Selfridges, London, and the gentleman there asked me to try it. I'm so glad I did because I fell in love instantly (Which I bet he was glad about too!). He also gave me a token to put into the Marc Jacobs vending machine and a travel sized sample fell out, which sealed the deal for me (I love a gimmick!). I purchased the medium sized (50ml) bottle for £52, which may seem quite a lot but you don't need to use lots of it so I expect it to last me quite a while. Plus I got the travel sample to top me up when I'm on the go :)

The scent itself is divine. It's beautifully floral with hints of fruit, but without being heavy or overpowering! It's a very light fragrance which is why I felt it would be perfect for daytime wear. There are notes of jasmine, pear and musk, amongst other scents. It really is a dreamy combination...I wish I could apply the scent to this post for you to try!

Then there is of course the bottle & packaging, and MJ never disappoints! The pastel blue packaging with highlights of gold and daisies throughout is so pretty that I have kept it to put on display! The bottle is so beautiful. There are white and gold daisies scattered all over it, the presentation is lovely! This really is an all-round winner for me :)

I urge you all to try it when you are next in need of a new perfume, my only regret is that I now wish I had got the bigger bottle!

Thanks for reading, let me know whether you have tried it and liked or disliked it! If you disliked it, what would you recommend instead?!

Until next time xo

July Beauty Favourites!

Hello!

So as it is still early(ish) in August, I thought the best place to start with my beauty product reviews would be with a post about my July favourites!

July was a very good month for product purchases, I think I was pleased with everything that I bought. Here is a round up of my thoughts…

From top left: Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub, Barry M Gelly Polish in Rosehip, Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Santa Fe, Bourjois Volumizer Mascara, Revlon Colourburst in Demure, MAC eye kohl in Fascinating, and Real Techniques Powder Brush

Now, I just want to mention that I wouldn't normally have this many products in my favourite list, but as I said before it was a good month for shopping! So on to the item breakdowns:

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub- £5.50 from Lush stores

This does exactly what it says on the pot! Essentially it's sugar and oil mixed together with colouring (so may seem overpriced) but it is done oh-so-well! There are a range of 'flavours' to choose from, but I opted for the bubblegum as personally I think it had the nicest smell. I certainly wasn't disappointed. You just rub the scrub across your lips and it seems to do the trick. If like me you suffer from dry lips, this is a great product to use. They felt much plumper afterwards too, and tasted incredibly sweet. The only downside is that this definitely needs to be done in front of a mirror, as even when you may think you have licked away all of the sugar granules there may be some left! I would definitely recommend though, I was very pleased with this buy.

Barry M Gelly polish in Rosehip- £3.99 (and part of a 3 for 2 deal) from Boots

I am already a big fan of Barry M nail polishes as I think they are hugely affordable and of rather high quality, I can usually get at least a week's wear before I start to see any signs of chipping. I also tend to buy them in 3's as Boots almost always has an offer on them. The Gelly range always exceeds my expectations, and in particular this colour has been a dream! Not only does it go on so evenly, but the colour is beautiful! I had at least 4 people asking me if I had Shellac on my nails when wearing this as the quality of it seems so high. I did use 2 layers of colour but feel one would probably be enough if you used a generous amount (and weren't such a perfectionist like me!). I am totally in love with this product and shall be repurchasing shortly in case Barry M decide to discontinue. Perfect for Spring and Summer, a massive thumbs up from me!

Nars Sheer Glow in Santa Fe- £31 from Space NK

This has to be the BEST foundation I have ever purchased! I do tend to jump from brand to brand when it comes to foundations as I have found they all tend to be of a similar quality…until now! I can safely say that this will forever be in my make up bag. The coverage is fantastic, the colour is a perfect match for my skin and despite the fact my face can sometimes be dry, it still manages to give me a dewey effect which I have struggled to achieve in the past. I know at £31 it is quite expensive, but in my opinion completely worth it as a little does go a long way with this product. I shall be recommending this to anyone who listens in the future! I only wish I had tried this foundation sooner instead of the Rimmel's, Maybelline's and MACs etc that I was purchasing.

Bourjois Volumizer Mascara- £10.99 from Boots

In the past I have had mixed opinions about Bourjois product, a lot of it has seemed overpriced for the quality that you get. However, this is a product that has pleasantly surprised me. I actually heard about it watching one of Tanya Burr's tutorials as she referred to it as one of her old favourites that she had rediscovered. I trust her judgement and needed a new mascara so decided to give it a go and I'm glad I did. The mascara has 2 'steps' involving 2 different wands. The first brush separates the lashes and gives some volume, the second wand has a thicker brush which builds up the volume without clumping. It is also sensitive to contact wearers, so perfect for me!

Revlon Colourburst Laquer Balm in Demure- £7.99 from Boots

This is a great take on Clinique's chubby stick, I just love Revlon's version! The colour that I purchased (Demure) has a beautiful gloss to it, and can be worn both during the day and at night. Unlike other lip crayons that I have tried, this does not dry out your lips and in fact has been infused with ingredients such as shea butter to keep your lips moisturised when wearing it. My only concern with this is that I did seem to have to reapply quite a lot, but this has been during times when I have been eating and drinking so for the price this isn't too much of a worry. 

MAC eye kohl in Fascinating- £14 from MAC Stores

I was looking for a way to make my eyes look brighter and slightly wider as I feel they can get a bit lost under heavy eye make up, so thought I would try this. It's one of the products that I decided to try before hearing anything about it, and much to my delight have seen it cropping up in tutorials and blogs since then, so I must have done something right! The kohl certainly opens my eyes up when applied to my waterline and disguises any redness that may be there. I am happy on the whole, the only slight disappointment is that it does seem to cling to my lower lashes if I apply 2 or so layers so I have to be cautious not to build the kohl up too much on my eyes.

Real Techniques Powder Brush- £10.99 from Superdrug

I have to confess, I am a bit of a Real Techniques geek! I LOVE their brushes, I purchased my first set early last year and haven't used another brand since (but am open to suggestion if you guys have any!). I haven't bought the powder brush until now as it is quite large for my face and I wasn't sure that I would get much use out of it. As you can probably tell from the colour in the photo though (sorry!) I actually think it's great for applying setting powder and find that when sweeping it across my face the size is perfect. They are so easy to clean and stay incredibly soft for so long that I continue to be impressed by their product.

And that's it…PHEW. Sorry for the essay, I promise to keep it shorter next time. I hope you enjoyed reading, please feel free to leave your feedback and I would love to hear about your experiences with these products :)

Thanks for reading, until next time! xo <3

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog <3

I can't believe that I am actually writing this, it's something that I have been saying I will do for quite some time but have never actually gotten around to it. Now here I am!!!
For those of you who have stumbled upon this and are interested, I thought that I would just give a quick summary about me. I am 25, female, and live in Brighton (UK). I grew up here and have never moved away, it's such a great city!

I love books (I work for a publishing company!), clothes, shoes, make up, beauty products, celebrities, trash TV and junk food. I try to sample all of these in moderation, but sometimes fail miserably. I have (very) often been known to go on a huge retail therapy haul, where any sense of moderation goes out of the window (along with the majority of my wages….).
I also love spending time with family and friends (awww!) as well as my lovely boyfriend. We try to see as much of the world as possible together, so travel will no doubt play quite a big part in my blog. Here we are on Christmas Day in Thailand last year…

I hope that with my blog I can entertain and inform you. I will mainly be reviewing beauty products, commenting on fashion and as mentioned will try to update you on my travels. If there is anything else that you would like to see as the blog progresses then please let me know. But for now, welcome, and I hope to see you back here soon.

Thanks for reading xo <3

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