Bank Holiday Weekend & Estée Lauder Double Wear

 Unlike most of the people I know, I didn't spend my weekend at a festival! I had a nice weekend at home with my family and boyfriend with a little bit of shopping and a barbecue! On my mini shopping trip I picked up a sample of the esteemed Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation. From research online I had read good things about this foundation and after having trouble with my current Dior Skin products I thought I'd try it out.

The claims on the Estée Lauder website (link!) say "Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup. 15-hour staying power. Flawless all day. This worry-free, long-wearing foundation makeup stays fresh and looks natural through heat, humidity, nonstop activity. Won't change colour, smudge or come off on clothes. Feels lightweight and comfortable. Now the flawless look you see in the morning is the look you keep all day."

I was matched by one of the ladies at the counter in John Lewis and my shade was Pale Almond.

I wore it that night when I went out with my parents for dinner and at first I really liked it. It had good overall coverage for the small amount that I used and I thought it matched my skin tone well. When I applied it on Saturday morning I noticed it was probably a shade too light for me but still liked the coverage. My only criticism is that initially it felt a little "cakey" but that feeling went after I'd applied the rest of my make-up. I found it lived up to all the claims on the website other than being "lightweight". It didn't smudge or change colour and other than being slightly too pale it did look very natural on my skin. I didn't find myself checking to see if I looked shiny or if I needed a top-up as I was confident enough with what I'd put on that morning.

Unfortunately, I seem to have had an allergic reaction to this product, boo hiss! I've now got two patches of dry skin around my nose and on my chin as well as a break-out of small spots on my forehead. I can't blame the product as I know I have sensitive skin and that's why I went away with a sample rather than the full size bottle so this is in no way a bad reflection of the foundation, just my personal reaction to it.

I'd recommend it to anyone who is after a long-lasting foundation, especially as such a little amount goes a long way. If I hadn't had this reaction I'd be going back in a week or two to get colour matched with the Double Wear Light! 

xo xo

absolutely typical!

As today is the first day this week I've had no plans whatsoever, I had arranged myself a lie-in! It's so nice knowing you don't have to get up for anything at all unless you want to... unfortunately the doorbell went, my phone rang and my younger brother didn't set an alarm so I had to turf him out of bed. It's safe to say my lie-in didn't exactly go to plan. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as I hate wasting the morning by sleeping, I'd much rather be busy...though a longer nap would have been good!
To top it all off I had to pop to my local shops to get some cash out and I had the classic "looking-like-shit-and-seeing-someone-you-know" scenario. I looked terrible! It was pre-shower, so I was wearing a pink hoody and black leggings (which I dripped nail varnish on last night!). My trip then involved seeing him go to the cash point just in front of me (damn it!) and dashing into the shop and walking down a separate aisle while he walked in, and making the quickest cash withdrawal known to humanity!
Sometimes I feel like I'm in the Truman Show and these things are set up to test me!

Now that I'm home I'll be spending the day with my boyfriend before he has to go to work tonight and then testing my new Estée Lauder foundation sample!


xo xo

I ♡ River Island

Tonight I decided to have a little play on my polyvore account after a while and I chose my top picks from River Island's "Just Arrived" section!

I adore Autumn/Winter fashion and I love being able to wear so much cream and have it still be cute! Cream scarves and gloves or long cream socks over the top of wellies! Winter can't come quick enough for me ♡♡
If you click through the link above to my polyvore profile it shows you exactly where you can find these items with their prices, though going straight to the River Island website would be the easiest thing to do.
Do you love winter fashion just as much as me??

xo xo 

Shellac Manicure

Last Friday morning I had a Shellac manicure on my nails. I chose a "Barbie" pink and initially, I was very impressed. I had my nails shaped very square, as that's how I prefer my nails to look, almost fake looking. The process took about 45 minutes and it looked very simple, only 4 coats were needed, one base, 2 colour and one "sealant". In between each coat I had to place my hands under a UV lamp for about 3 minutes. One thing that made me dubious is that I couldn't file my nails once the process was complete due to the top coat being "sealed" over the end of the nail, if that seal is broken then it can allow for the varnish to chip/peel off.

Shellac claims to have a "14 day finish" and unfortunately, I can prove that wrong. By Sunday evening the tip of the varnish on my left index finger had peeled right off. You can see in this photo that I painted over it with a similar shade of pink but even that is peeling off now..

My right hand has been a bit more resilient to whatever it is that my left isn't! I haven't had to re-paint any nails though I have noticed a couple of the tips are cracked slightly more than others, again my index finger is suffering!

I think Shellac nails are perfect if you're looking for a couple of days of flawless nails but you should be prepared for one or two to suffer, especially if you type or do jobs that are very "hands-on" as such. In this sense I don't see why a normal manicure wouldn't suffice.
To look at the 8 nails that aren't chipped I am very, very impressed. They're long lasting and they look like I could have painted them five minutes ago! The chipping could be due to the fact I'm an ex-nail biter and sometimes I find my hands wandering up by my mouth! I don't blame Shellac for not being good enough in this situation, my nails are very impressive to look at and I've had a lot of compliments so I would definitely recommend them.

Shopping is Love

This afternoon I popped out with my mum to get a birthday present for a friend and ended up wandering into Lipsy. Since losing weight I've been much more open to trying on clothes in shops and I decided to try on a couple of dresses as I've never actually bought a dress from there. The first one I tried was this one but I looked like some kind of nurse in it! I'm only 5'3" and I'm quite busty so usually high necks don't look very good on me but this would have been lovely had it been all black! I can't see one in black on the website at the moment but I'll be keeping my eyes peeled. The second dress I tried was this one and since I'm not a size 8 I looked like a total pleb! I can just about manage the one shoulder but the cut-out sections didn't look too great on me!
This is the dress that I bought...

It looks really plain and frumpy on the hanger so I was dubious about trying it on at first but I have a very persistant (and super, wonderful, lovely) mother who convinced me I should, and I'm so glad I did!

I would never have thought to try something like this on a few months ago so it's a total success! I'm wearing a UK size 12 and it fits so perfectly all over. 

If you're on O2 like me you'll be aware of their Moments scheme which allows for certain discounts and opportunities for their customers and you currently get 10% off at Lipsy + a free gift with every purchase! The free gift is between 2 canvas tote bags in your choice of black or white. I chose white and it looks like this

I'll be using it for my library books when I'm back at uni in 3 weeks.

Big love for Lipsy today! I couldn't be happier with my dress :) ♡♡♡

xo xo

If only my camera wasn't broken...

I went out with my best friend for her brother's birthday last night and let myself have a curry for the first time in months, y u m! I wish my camera wasn't playing up so I could show you my new Shellac nails that I had done yesterday morning! (*Update on that later*)

I ended up getting home at about 12 and I was absolutely ready for my bed! Unfortunately I was so tired that when my boyfriend got home from work at 2am I totally ignored him and kept trying to go back to sleep while he was talking to me! Whoops.

Today my mum and I went down to see the house that I'm living in for my second year ... unfortunately it was an absolute disaster :(
I have a very small room and unfortunately I can't make it more personal with the furniture or change the paint colour and decorations so I have a very tiny blue and green bedroom.. definitely not me! The rest of the house is in a very sorry state at the moment which lead to me having a little cry before I left. I hope we can get it sorted as there has already been a delay in our contract start date!
We've finally arrived home and I'm with my brother tonight so we're going to get stuck in to the first night of the X Factor.

xo xo

yaaaay for employment!

I went in and saw my boss this morning and he gave me my job back! Yaaaay :)

I gave smart/casual a go with black leggings, layered vest tops and a pink blazer

And did very simple make up with cat-eye liquid eye liner. I found the most beautiful earrings that I'd forgotten I'd bought. They are exactly the same pink as my blazer!

I also celebrated after by buying 3 Models Own nail polishes from Boots. I only paid for two as Lilac Dream is currently free when bought with any two other Models Own cosmetics (apart from the Pro range)

A great start to my day :)

xo xo

last day (potentially!) without a job for a few weeks!

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about having a job again (though I know the £££ will be wonderful!) as I haven't worked since the Christmas season. My old boss has offered me back my job working 2 or 3 days a week until I move back down to uni mid September. I was a sales assistant from the age of 16 to when I left for university last September including through my gap year so I think I'm unsure only because I grew to resent working so much on my gap year while all my friends had gone off around the country for university.
I made the most of having today at home by fully unpacking my suitcase and getting to work on the terrible messes that were my desk and dressing table. I'm not a naturally tidy person by any means so it was a big job but I managed to leave it respectable. Tomorrow I'm going into my (old/new) work to see my boss and then my boyfriend and I are going to Ikea to buy furniture for his uni house! Living the dreeeaaaaam! (I say that sarcastically but I'm absolutely psycho when it comes to homeware/decorations so it's kind of true...)
I also took an impulsive trip to the gym with my brother this evening. It took about 10 minutes of me begging him to come with me so I wasn't alone but we went there! I wore a Hello Kitty vest top and Hollister bottoms (basically rocking the 12 year old girl look) and actually had an alright time! I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym now I'm home from my holidays! 7lbs to go until I've lost 2 stone and 10lbs until I'm at the weight where I hope I'll be happy.

Being a girl is way too stressful sometimes!

xo xo 

Summer Holidays 2011

Since I'm back in gloomy England I thought I'd relive my travels by posting some photos from my trip to Florida.

At the beginning of July I jetted off to Disney World with my boyfriend and his family. We went for just under two weeks and I had an absolutely incredible time! We met all the characters we could find including 3 of the princesses! Here are some of my favourite photos from the trip

Cinderella's Castle!

We went out to dinner at The Peabody hotel one night and this is the dress I wore. I've got my Coach clutch bag as well but you can't see it very clearly (just as well as it was brown so didn't match my dress!)

Lots of shopping happened but I was very pleased with these 3 items! I love how America has better sizing than England, so for once I found jeans that fitted at the waist and on the legs!

The jeans in this photo are the same ones pictured above. 

 2 of my birthday presents! I couldn't help but spend a little two much on these two items, my new Ted Baker purse and a Tiffany & Co. ring!

Hogwarts castle at Universal Studios. I had one of the best days here and the ride in the castle is my favourite. It's terrifying and brilliant at the same time!

Welcome to my home!

And finally, July 4th fireworks over Cinderella's Castle. It was absolutely magical!

xo xo 

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Clinique Skincare review

I picked up this travel size Clinique collection from the duty free shop in Luton Airport before I went on holiday a couple of weeks ago. I was initially drawn to it because I've got very temperamental skin when it comes to skin care. I rarely have breakouts or terrible blackheads, but my skin is quite sensitive; hence why I was drawn to Clinique's allergy tested and fragrance free products. 

I take my make up off every night and exfoliate 2-3 times a week and my only staple product before trying this range was the St. Ives Apricot Scrub. 

This pack of "daily essentials" was £33 for this travel size selection but the full prices for each product can be found here, here, here, here and here.  Each bottle in my pack is around 50ml except the eye cream which is 15ml. I bought the package designed for skin type 2 - Dry / Combination as I occasionally suffer from dry areas around my nose but generally have no specific "problems" with my skin.

(The products are used in the order they're displayed on the box apart from the make-up remover, naturally you'd use that before the facial wash to remove mascara/eyeliner/eyeshadow etc.)

The description on the official Clinique website for the full size Liquid Facial Soap, Clarifying Lotion and Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion says "It's easy with the 3-Step Skin Care Introduction Kit. Just 3 minutes, morning and night, to see clear, smooth, radiant skin in about two weeks. Cleanse, exfoliate, moisturise. Dermatologist-developed to meet your skin's needs and custom-fit by Skin Type. Works gently, each step enhancing the next."

Personally I haven't seen a change, but like I said above I rarely have any problems with my skin so that's neither a positive or a negative. I really like the facial soap which foams lightly and the moisturiser which is very quickly absorbed and not too thick, though I found the Clarifying Lotion was much too strong. It smells very strongly of alcohol which I found disappointing. I used it all over my face  after washing and before moisturising, but kept a good distance from the eye area as the scent is so strong that my eyes watered! It doesn't require washing off after and the scent doesn't linger it's just quite overpowering when first used. I would advise not using on broken skin as it would be quite painful. 

Looking at the Take The Day Off make up remover I am a huge fan! This product is quite oily which is very effective on waterproof eye make up, I removed my Nars volumising mascara with only a couple of sweeps with a cotton pad (usually it doesn't budge when I use a facial wipe!). You just need to shake the bottle a couple of times and then apply a small amount to a cotton pad and sweep over once or twice. My usual routine was to use the make up remover on my eyes (using a separate cotton pad for each eye and my face to avoid contamination of germs), then the facial scrub, clarifying lotion and facial moisturiser. 

The All About Eyes eye cream has a very pleasant smell and you don't need to use more than a finger tips worth per eye, if that! It claims to be a  "Lightweight eye cream [that] diminishes the appearance of eye puffs, darkness and fine lines. Non-creep, cream/gel formula actually helps hold eye makeup in place. For use morning and night, both under eyes and on lids" I would agree with the majority of the statement and I have seen a slight difference in the darkness under my eyes since using the product. 

Overall, I am very impressed with all of the products in this set. I'm glad I bought the products in their smaller size as I may have been put off by the clarifying lotion initially but since the bottle is so small I knew I'd use it until it was empty. When I run out of these small sizes I'll be buying the full sized products to take back to university with me in a few weeks!  

xo xo

Nars Volumising Mascara Review

Nars Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara - £18.50 on Asos

“Larger than life volumizing mascara by NARS  . Featuring a richly pigmented formula, containing vitamin E and macadamia nut oil, the square brush and “honeycomb” bristles allow for even distribution, coating each lash individually. Smudge and flake-free, the mascara is also quick drying”

With many mascaras I tend to do about 3 or 4 quick layers in a normal day-time look and then enhance with eyeliner. With this one I use about 2 coats in the day ( 3 if I’m going out with more make-up on ) and I don’t feel like I need to accentuate my eyes with any more products. It’s pretty much waterproof which is great if it rains, but it does make it harder to get off.. usually I would use a make-up wipe or baby wipe and then wash with a cleanser but the mascara really stayed put through that. I’d recommend an oil based remover (Bobbi Brown do a brilliant one for £15, as do Clinique but a cheaper option by Johnsons is available as well) to get it off entirely.

It lasts all day and I don’t feel like my eyelashes are weighed down or “spidery” as such. It’s jet black and the slightly thicker brush (think bigger than Maybelline Falsies brush but smaller than Benefit’s Bad Gal brush) is definitely where the volume comes from. Regarding the “honeycomb bristles” I’ll have to take Nars’ words for it as my brush is already covered in the mascara but after how pleased I am with it already I don’t doubt that this is true.

It has a long handle which is great for precision on lower lashes and the formula of the mascara itself means there aren’t any clumps or lumps that dry and stick the lashes together.

The blurb also claims that it is smudge free and dries quickly, which I wholeheartedly agree with. I wore it while watching the final Harry Potter film and shed a tear or two which I quickly wiped away and still avoided smudging!

I’m genuinely so so impressed by this product and I think every girl should have a pot of this!

♡♡♡♡♡ 5/5!

xo xo 

Who Am I?

Hello Blogspot! 

I'm Isabelle. I'm twenty years young and I'm currently in my second year of studying English in the South of England. I've recently moved to blogspot from tumblr as I wanted to move away from the generic reblogging of photos which had some how turned into a popularity contest. My blog is still active on there but I will slowly be moving my reviews and other posts to this blog. 

I live with 3 of my best friends in a little house where we mainly watch Sex & The City, Made In Chelsea, TOWIE, Criminal Minds and read countless book relating to our course. 

My favourite things are music, fashion, beauty, spending too much money on whimsical purchases, family, boyfriend, hello kitty, best friends, good literature, blogs, happiness, love, holidays, Teddy & plenty of other things that I'm sure I'll blog about!

I'm trying to find a good balance between writing about my personal life and things that I've bought or products I want to share with you.

I hope you find something you like on here and of course, any feedback is much appreciated so feel free to leave it in the comments section or email me at helloissyxo@gmail.com

Big love, Issy xo xo