Mascara reviews

I’ve developed a bit of a thing for mascaras lately. We have a love-hate kinda relationship as I struggle to find ‘the one’. So rather than spending lots of money on one I’m not too sure if I’ll use more than once, I opted for a couple of cheaper brands just for now.


Also trying to buy a new mascara without guidance/previously read reviews, is like to trying to decide on which ice-cream to have when all of Baskin Ribbons delicious selection is in front of you – near on impossible! I went for a Collection 2000 number (never tried this brand before) called ‘Skyscraper’, opting for Extra Black. Needless to say I didn’t choose it for the packaging – the white looks a little tacky to me – but instead for the silicone brush which is in a curved shape with longer bristles on one side, shorter on the other. This actually works really well in that you can achieve lush curled lashes and also reach right in the inner corners with the snazzy wand. It’s also really good value at £ 4.99. The downside? It dries in that oh so clumpy way that means trying to reapply throughout the day just isn’t gonna happen. And when you remove it, it is very smeary making a bit of a mess.


I also bought the Rimmel Lash Accelerator in Extreme Black purely because of the grow-lash complex within an everyday mascara (whereas before I only had a grow-serum that you apply at night time). This comes with a traditional bristle brush albeit a neat small one which is great for application and is £8.99. It does well in lengthening my lashes but I don’t find it that ‘extreme’ in colour. Nor have I noticed a difference in my lash length but I have not been using this on a daily basis, one because it doesn’t achieve the look I want for daytime wear, and two I simply bought it for those days when you don’t go out and don’t wear make-up. It’s my indoor mascara if one of those even exists!

Ooh yes before I forget, just in case any of you were thinking, “but hey you just bought a gorgeous Dior mascara that you love?!”, tis true I did but after a month of using it the brush went all gloopy :( Every time I went to apply it the de-clumper squidged all the silicone bristles so they stuck to the wand making it a darn-sight harder to apply! I was so disappointed with it. Have any of you experienced the same problem at all?

I’m off to make my first ever home-made lasagne. On a roll with the freshly baked from scratch dinners at the mo! What are you doing this Sunday?

Ps, I’ve since bought ANOTHER mascara that I absolutely love! So look out for the review coming soon. Can you guess what brand it is?

Gold chain buckle

Every girl needs a pair of staple black pumps and these are mine. After sucking (well wearing) the life out of my beloved Primark lace pumps I had to come to terms with the fact they were a gonna. No longer pretty. No longer practical. And as my mother informed me, were verging on pike-ish. So it was time to renew them.

Being a shoe collection essential, and with every shop throughout the alphabet stocking a different style of the black ballerina, you'd think they'd be an easy purchase. Well you and I were wrong. It took me two months (yes two months!) to find a pair of pumps I loved that were interesting but still remained as simply a plain comfy shoe that can be worn with anything. The toe shapes out these days bemuse me. I didn't want them too rounded, definitely not pointed, nor did I want them patent, glittery, tassled or mary-jane strapped.

And so I opted for these. New Look, wide fit £19.99 with a lovely 20% student discount. Gosh I'll miss you NUS card next year.

Plain but not too plain, detailed but not too detailed (total contradiction but you know what I mean). Just a shame the damn things hurt so much!

Where have you found your perfect go-to pumps?

Autumn days when the grass is jewelled

My new pixie boots to see me through these Autumn days - Primark £15
Autumn has brought with it this week fallen leaves, scarves and boots with thick knit socks – my absolute favourite time of year. I find myself in the minority when it comes to the colder winter months as I prefer these sooo much more than the hot, sticky summer days, in which I am always met with this response: “Really??!! I hate winter!”

Well I bloody love it! Not the rain so much. Or the wind. Or the cold that has kindly been given to me this week. But crunchy leaves at your feet, chilly cheeks defrosting once in the warm, hot chocolates, watching the cold world go by when you’re indoors, snug as a bug in your pj’s and general a/w clothes blow the negatives out of the water big time.

On our way to the cinema last week (to see Footloose – fab film, go see it) we stepped outside and the chilly wind that caused us to all wear our winter coats for the first time this year made me squeee with glee as I just love that seasonal change. Also it’s a sure sign that my birthday is close and then Christmas! But don’t worry I’m not about to hark on about festivities yet, we are after all still in October – marginally.

Anyhoo, with it being 19 days and counting until my birthday, it means a snazzy new camera (which I’ve already got actually but feel I shouldn’t use until the 15th) is just around the corner...which means better pictures for you and more outfit photos! I’ve been bought a Panasonic Lumix FS14 – which tbh means diddly squat to me so do any of you know if this is a high quality image taker thingy majiggy?


In light of the colder weather (and with Guy Fawke’s approaching) I made myself some rather delish stuffed potato skins recently – onion, bacon and cheese for those of you who would like to know – and they were a-maa-zing! Very proud cook present.


I’ve also been sporting the Barry M Mushroom polish which seems to go fabulously with most of my outfits and is a very Autumnal in colour – perfect!

Are you too a winter lover sold at the mere mention of jim-jams, hot drinks and heated blankets?

Colour consultation by Nicola Davis

The starred shades are the ones best suited to me

Good colour...

...bad colour...
Today I did something I’ve never done before. Yes one, used the buses here in Southampton (A+ super friendly drivers and on time!) and two, had a colour consultation. For those of you that haven’t heard of it before, a colour consultation is where a consultant analyses which colours suit you best and enhance your looks by determining your ‘dominant’ (whether you are deep – brown eyes, brown hair – clear – dark hair, blue eyes etc) and using this to develop which shades you should and shouldn’t be wearing.

This wasn’t in the name of me having lost all direction of what lipstick to wear but as part of an interview I conducted for an article. So after a flurry of emails I journeyed on down to Upham where Nicola, a consultant trained by Colour Me Beautiful lives and works. I was taken into her gorgeous studio which is professionally presented in white, pale blues with a number of wicker baskets, where I carried out my interview.

After the formalities the fun part began! Through filling out a questionnaire and with Nicola’s expert knowledge, it was decided that I was a ‘deep’ in terms of hair and eye colour which meant make-up wise browns, deep dark reds (lipstick only) and aubergines were best suited to me. Removing my existing 7.30am-applied make-up (yes really), I was left with a clean base for the lesson/advice to begin.

Nicola applied foundation, concealer, powder, eye-primer, and a cream blush then gave me a choice as to which of the selected shades I would like to try on my eyes. Now as the novice I am when it comes to applying eye make-up – only ever opting for mascara, a brown or black pencil and a touch of eye-shadow that looks more like a powdery mess – I wanted to try something different. So I went for the aubergine pencil and a combination of a light brown and a purple eyeshadows.

We also played around with the drapes Nicola uses to conduct a full colour analysis in terms of clothing as well as cosmetics and it showed how much difference wearing the wrong colour can make – I seriously can not pull off pale pink, pale blue, or mint green - practically any pastel shade for that matter!

So as well as gaining my interview, experiencing the service first-hand and spending the morning with a lovely lady, I also discovered that...actually I’m going to save the details for my article, sorry! But if you are intrigued why not pop along and have a consultation yourself. Nicola offers everything from style consultations to personal shopping - you can find her website here. If you feel unsure, stuck in a rut or are lacking in confidence, this is your solution! There is no sales exec pressurising you to buy the products, Nicola is simply there to steer you in the right direction and give you that boost. She also offers gift vouchers which make for fabulous presents for friends and loved ones, and is soon adding bridal consultations to her extensive list too.

It was a super fun and insightful experience. I mean what girl doesn’t love to be pampered? Thank you Nicola!

Have any of you heard of colour analysis before? Are you keen to try it?

Little blue dress

What’s with the mini-heatwave October? Believe it or not I was able to wear my new capped sleeve skater dress in its full glory yesterday and not have to cover it up with a cardi or trusty barbour – the Topshop delight appreciated this muchly and deserves to be outed rather than hidden beneath my chunky knits.

I bought this dress in Milton Keynes a few weeks ago and love it! Topshop were actually doing twenty percent off for students at the time so I got it for £30.40 instead of £38 = happy, happy me!! I teamed it with this belt (the dress came with a slightly darker braided plait one), beige block tights and my tan wedges. The perfect Autumn outfit.

The whole weekend is supposed to be lovely here in the South but I will be basking in the sunshine through windows and on my lonesome as my four-day weekend is to be spent on my todd doing work work work. How thrilling!


My bestest bud created these curls for me with the Babyliss 2285U Curling Wand - it's totes amaze :)
Apart from those moments when I crave a procrastinating chat and find only text books to talk to (haven’t quite reached that point yet – the treats in the fridge seem to be suppressing it) I do rather enjoy my own company every now and then. Tonight for instance I have a phone date with my mum, yummy stuffed potatoes for dinner and a dose of DCI Banks to watch. The usual Saturday night X Factor viewing won’t be the same without the girls. Although I will be able to watch my bloody fantastic choice in films without subjecting my friends to them: High School Musical, Clueless and Raise Your Voice are all on my fancy-watching-list. Yep the only venture I’ll be making to the outside world is to the laundry room this weekend.


However next weekend it’s my turn to go home (hence the heavy work cramming now) and I’m super excited! Just to have a break from working will be nothing short of heaven – you know this whole uni shiz means you literally never get a break! Sometimes I think nine-to-fiver’s have it easy as a two-day break each week is unheard of come third year...

Do you have any plans for the sunny weather?

Think of me this weekend knee-deep in Roland Barthe’s theories, feature ideas (or lack of) and interview prep.

For towie fans only

Just a super quick post today to show you the pics from a fashion event held in Southampton's West Quay shopping centre last weekend. It was launched by Sam Faiers from The Only Way is Essex so naturally me and my best bud went over to see her!

She opened the event at 11.30am, had an interview on the catwalk and then stayed to watch the show. We left before she did in the end as we felt a) slightly stalkerish and b) a bit silly as most of the audience was little girls! Oh well we love a bit of Essex and didn't want to pass up the opportunity. We were so close (although you wouldn't know from my photo quality).

Sorry to those that aren't a fan - hence me keeping it brief - although I think secretly everyone likes to indulge in a bit of 'towie'! You know I'm ri-ight :)