Return to Crystal Palace~

Dress - Motel Rocks

Mesh top - Boohoo

Boots - Topshop

Necklace - The Rogue + The Wolf

Photo credit - Ama Charles-Adarkwa

So... it's been a while, huh? I have to say, despite not having done an OOTD shoot in quite a while, this was probably one of the more successful ones! Thank goodness!

The shoot was done in Crystal Palace Park which I have only been to once before for another photoshoot, only that time I was the photographer. Mad to think that 5 years later I'd be the model! Okay, so I'm not a model, but you know what I mean! Note to any bloggers/photographers/etc., this is a great location for shoots; lots of variety in scenery and fairly little traffic!

As for my outfit, this is one of my favourite dresses cut-wise and material-wise. I have this exact same dress in plain black and honestly, I'm a little sad Motel don't do more dresses like these anymore; sometimes you need to have more cute than sexy in your wardrobe!! However, it is a bit more of a summer dress, despite the colour palette, so I chose to match it with a mesh top to give a more Autumn/Winter feel, alongside my favourite ankle boots.

A shame I didn't amp up the make-up though - you can barely see it! So sad... anyway, finally another OOTD posted, I promise there will be more in the near future, so please don't give up on me!!

Philippa. x

Review? Nyx Cosmetics~

Nyx Cosmetics has recently exploded onto the UK scene after finally launching in-stores in Boots nationwide (despite also having previously been available online) and I have to say that I too am totes in love with this brand!

For me the selling point is this: they are a cruelty free company selling a large selection of conventional and non-conventional shades to suit everyone’s tastes and at an affordable price point. The one thing I will point out, however, is that the international pricing is super inconsistent, which is a little bit annoying (see example below), but that’s just how the cookie crumbles I guess...

Nyx Lip Suedes:

UK = £6.50

US = $7.00 (about £5.40)

Norway = NOK109 (about £10.20)

Silly, right? Anyway, onto the products. I currently only own lip products, but as I mentioned before the thing about Nyx that really caught my eye was the variety of non-conventional colours that they offered.

Nyx Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick (in Stone Fox) - £6.50 (via Boots.com)

I love the texture of this! It’s really creamy and thick and because it’s so pigmented application is super quick and easy for full coverage. It doesn’t dry down fully and maintains tackiness, which means that it is definitely not transfer proof. However, apart from when eating, the colour lasts really well and won’t become patchy even when rubbing your lips together. Overall, love this product, need more colours!

Nyx Lip Lingerie Lipstick (in Embellishment) - £6.50 (via Boots.com)

I first discovered these after watching one of Jessica Haze’s (/mirrorsandhaze) videos and fell in love with the colour ‘Embellishment’ and just had to have it! Unlike the lip suede this does dry completely matte (though still with a very slight tackiness to it) so is almost completely transfer proof. Because of this, however, it is very drying on the lips, but I mean, that’s to be expected with liquid to matte lipsticks, right? My one sadness with this product is that, sigh, my skin tone doesn’t do it justice, as it’s meant to have quite a noticeable lilac undertone which is pretty much non-existent against my skin, but that’s my fault rather than the products, so what can you do. =/

Nyx Matte Lipstick (in Up The Bass) - £6.50 (via Boots.com)

Lastly we have one of their matte lipsticks. This is probably the product I use the most, despite this being my least favourite of the three. I love the colour and the texture of the product, though it is a little on the cheap side in terms of staying power and evenness of application and isn’t really as matte as I had hoped. On top of that, the packaging sucks a fair bit as the bullet doesn’t click in properly and frequently shifts to hitting the lid when in my bag, which is super annoying. Other than that though, for the price and the pigmentation, it’s definitely worth a go.

So that's my review-not-so-review on Nyx Cosmetics - I highly recommend anyone that hasn't tried some of their stuff to go out and do so! I know I will definitely making a few more purchases in the near future (*ehem* despite having no money *ehem*)!! ;D

-Philippa. x

Holiday Beauty Haul!~

Someone once said to me that the whole point of going on holiday was to spend money, and while I still argue that that isn’t really true, I sadly did end up spending all the money during my recent summer holiday trip, sigh.

Okay, so looking at it all, it’s not really all THAT much, but still, quite excessive for someone with no money and especially weird for someone who probably uses beauty products like, once a week… =/

Sephora Collection Eau de Toilette (in Peony, Blueberry and Lagoon) - 4.50€

Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain (in Always Red) - 10.95€

Sephora Collection Hand Cream (in Lagoon) - 4.95€

But how could I help myself? Look at all that Sephora goodness!! Why don’t we have a Sephora yet anywhere in the UK?! Oh, the injustice… but anyway, whilst having the rare pleasure of being in an ACTUAL Sephora store I had to pick up some of their little own brand products and the mini perfumes in particular are just the perfect stocking filler type purchase I just couldn’t resist! 

Tarte Tartelette In Bloom (Tartelette 2) palette - (currently unavailable on QVC, sadly)

Tarte Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint (in Bae) - £20 via QVC

Also in Sephora I picked up these lovelies as, sadly, they aren’t available anywhere in the UK either, so… yeah. Actually, that’s a lie, Tarte products recently became available on QVC, but it’s not really the same as buying the stuff in person, amirate?! And the ‘Tartelette In Bloom’ palette has been on my wishlist ever since it first came out and I saw Bunny (a.k.a. Grav3yardGirl) post a video about it and I am sooooo happy to finally own it, so yayyy! And it smells good too!

Tony Moly Panda’s Dream So Cool Eye Stick - 10.90€ via Sephora.fr

Tony Moly Pure Eco Bamboo Cool Water Soothing Gel - 9.90€ via Sephora.fr

Look at how cute these bits are!! I know that ‘kawaii’ is Japanese and Tony Moly is a Korean brand, but whatever, all their stuff is just so kawaiiii!! Upon visiting their store I made it a point to leave with at least one panda product  (thank you tumblr) and just look at how cute that panda eye stick is?! And it works well too, so worth it! As for the bamboo gel thing, look at that packaging! Not as cute, but still very cool!

(honestly not sure where to find links to this stuff online, sorry!)

Lastly, I got a few interesting things I found in Daiso, which is basically like Poundland but the Japanese version. I’ve noticed there’s been a bit of a craze with charcoal beauty products recently and couldn’t help myself when I saw these as I reaaaally wanted to try it out but couldn’t afford anything back home, so I’m really happy I found these! Goodness knows after the torture my skin has been going through this summer I’m going to need some extra help, and if YouTube is telling the truth then this should do the trick!

So again, not THAT much stuff, but still enough to be considered a haul, right? At least it’s a new post I guess… first post of the year, woop woop! (lol, whoops more like it’s already september!!)

BONUS: I SPENT SO MUCH MONEY AT SEPHORA I GOT ALL THESE FREE SAMPLES! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!!? xD

-Philippa. x