Festive Lip Picks

If you can't wear a statement lip at Christmas when can you? Switching up my lip colour is one of my favourite things to change when it comes to my makeup. Th problem is that there are too many different shades to choose from! So, I've whittled it down to these five to show you my Festive Lip Picks!

First up we have bloggers favourite, MAC's Russian Red. A beautiful matte, blue-toned red that will make you stand out from the Christmas crowd. I love to wear this with just a slick of black eyeliner and some mascara, for an effortlessly glam look!

Next is NYX Gloss in Real Nude. This is my lip colour of choice, for when I have a smokey eye. This is a stunning pink toned nude gloss that makes lip full and healthy. 

Gosh Light and Shine Lipgloss in 01 is by far the prettiest gloss I have ever seen. It's a clear gloss that full of iridescent glitters which sparkle in the light. I love this layered over other lipsticks but it equally as pretty on its own. My swatch below just doesn't do it justice.

Next up is another blogger fave in the form of Rimmel Kate Moss 107. This deep raspberry shade is a suit all, purse friendly, and all round pretty lip product. This is one of those that looks as though you've spent hours on your makeup, even if it has been a 5 minute rush job.

Finally, I've chosen another MAC shade, this time being Rebel. I love the purpley tone to this, and think that it makes such a statement against the rest of your makeup. It looks lovely with a bright eye and falsies. 

So there we have my Festive Lip Picks. I know that when I go home to my parents in a few days for Christmas, these will be coming with me in my makeup bag. 

I would love to know what your favourite lip shades are over winter?

Christmas Makeup #1 : Festive Emerald

There's nothing better than getting ready for Christmas. I love getting my new party dress on and doing my hair and makeup. I thought that I would show you some of my favourite makeup looks for this time of year, starting with my most loved!

I can't remember why I applied this look last year because wearing colour is something I normally steer away from, unless it's on the lips. So, to wear colour on my eyes was a huge step out of my comfort zone but I'm actually really enjoying it. This is the look that I'll be wearing all Christmas time, and below I'll write a list of products that I've used...

The products that I used were:

Erborian BB Creme au Ginseng 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

Maybelline Fit Me Powder

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Urban Decay Foxy all over the lid and Chopper Eyeshadow lightly in the crease (N2 Palette)

MUA Forest Green Eyeliner Pencil

MUA Chaos Eyeshadow (Smoked Palette)

MAC Opulash Optimum Black Mascara

MAC Matte Bronze Powder

Sleek Suede Blush

MAC Soft and Gentle MSF

NYX Real Nude Lipgloss

Wow, that's a a lot of products! I think that although this look is simple, it's really eye catching because of the pop of colour on the lower lashline. I also love how festive the shade of green is, and it will easily suit all skin tones. 

I just know that I will be wearing this look all over the festive period, and might even try it with a red lip. 

What is your favourite festive look?

BLOG SALE!

I've been wanting to do a blog sale for a really long time, but never actually got round to it. After having a search through my collection, I thought that now was a great time and I would prefer these go to a new home, rather than just sit in my drawers.

If you see something that you want, either leave a comment below with your PayPal email and I'll send you an invoice, or send me an email to retrolove17@hotmail.co.uk :)

Guidelines:

1: UK Buyers only.

2: All items are sold on a first come first served basis.

3: All items will be posted second class at a cost of £2.50 with 50p per additional item.

4: Items will be posted within 5 working days of payment being received, and proof of postage will be obtained.

5: Items will only be held for 24 hours, after that it goes back on sale.

6: PayPal only. When paying with PayPal, please make sure you mark the payment as gift so that PayPal fee's are avoided :)

7: Please research before you buy, as swatches are readily available on the internet for all to see. I cannot be held responsible if something does not live up to you expectations.

8: Also, please be aware that the last posting day for Christmas is the 18th December, so whilst I will try to get it to you as quick as possible, I can't guarantee that it will get to you before Christmas.

Finally, feel free to ask any questions about any of the products that you see. I am more than happy to provide extra information for you.

Happy Shopping :)

MAC Mineralize Duo Eyeshadow in Family Silver, used twice still domed £5.00

MAC Eyeshadow in Coquette, used twice £5.00

Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Electrum. Swatched Once £4.00 SOLD

Illamasqua Eyeshadow in Never. Swatched Once £4.00

OCC Lip Tar in Pennyroyal. Used 3-4 times. £5.00

Look Beauty Lip Slick in Powder Puff. Used once £2.00

MAC Skinsheen Bronzer Stick in Gilty Bronze. Swatched once and caught really slightly as I was taking the photo but no damage done to product. £7.00

Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Create. Swatched once £7.00

Percy and Reed Finishing Polish 100ml. Brand New. £3.00

REN Rose Otto Body Wash. 50ml Travel Size. Brand New £3.00

St.Tropez Instant Glow Face Lotion. 50ml. Used Once £4.00 SOLD

Lush Solid Perfume in Tuca Tuca. Used 3 times £2.00

Lush Shoot For The Stars Bath Ballistic

I love when it gets round to the colder months because I know that lush will be releasing the Christmas bath products. Every year they do better than the last, and this year is no exception! As soon as I saw the products that they would be releasing, I knew that Shoot For The Stars would be mine. Just look how pretty it is!

The first thing that drew me in was the really pretty design. The bright blue, yellow and pink don't really scream Christmas but I quite like that. It is quite a large bath ballistic, which next to most of Lush's products is the usual size, but put it next to Cinders and it looks bloody huge! However, the size of this means that it lasts for pretty much the whole bath time, and those who like to cut theirs up, you will get a good few baths out of this.

When this beauty is dropped into the bath, it turns the water into a lovely, deep purple shade, which has little flashes of pink and yellow. It's quite foamy, which is very similar to their original bath ballistics, like Dragons Egg or Fizzbanger. As it fizzes away, it reminds me of Twilight with the colour that it gives and the glitter that fills the bath. The final appearance of it looks deep like the sky on a brisk winters night. Deep purple and full of twinkly stars. The scent is extremely different though. Lush lovers might have noticed that this bath ballistic has the same scent as Honey I Washed The Kid, which is a old favourite of mine. The scent was really lovely and filled the whole apartment for hours. There is also Bergamont Oil in this, which makes the water so soft and luxurious. My skin also felt much smoother and required less body butter after my bath. Bonus!

I loved this bath ballistic and will definitely be going out to stock up on them. If you love a relaxing bath with a beautiful scent, and for your bath to look as beautiful as the night sky, then go out and buy this now! I promise you that you will not regret it! 

You can purchase this online here from Lush's website or from your nearest Lush Store.

Festive Nails : My Favourite Looks

Finally! A new post! Hurrah! Now that December has reared its beautiful head, it's the perfect time to get all festive, not that we needed much of an excuse anyway.

Today's post is quite a rare one from me, as I don't often post about nails and other related stuff, and I'm not really sure why, but I did enjoy doing this particular one. So, I was thinking the other day about the Christmas Posts that I wanted to do, and straight away I realised that I love doing my nails around Christmas so obviously it was a good idea to blog about how I do my nails over the festive period. Without further ado, here are my must-have nails this Christmas...

I've shown my three favourite ways to do my nails, but have shown a few different variations with the shades that I favor over the festive period.

1: Chunky Glitter.

I love a chunky glitter polish as they look so spectacular either layered over a block colour or built up on their own. Barry M Glitter Paint in Amethyst, Pink Sapphire, and Ruby are my glitters of choice, along with Models Own Nail Polish Duo in SnowMix. I choose to wear Amethyst alone and layer Pink Sapphire and Ruby over a white polish, for a simple but pretty effect. When I wear Snowmix, I paint two coats of the white polish followed by one coat of the multicoloured glitter, then with another thin layer of white on top. I love the sandwich effect that this gives, and its really simple nail art.

2: Block Shades.

If I want statement nails, with very little effort I will use one block shades that I know will usually stand out and pair with any outfit. Again, I have some stunning shades from Barry M Nail Paints in Copper and Silvery Lilac. Both of them are such unique colours that they do all the talking, and don't require any other polish to jazz them up. The next one is a very pretty shade from Topshop, in Petrol. This is really lovely deep silver with a green duo-chrome to it, very similar to effect of petrol on water.The final block colour is from Essie in the shade Pearly White, which is a really girly white shade with a pearl tone it, much like the name suggests. It's and effortlessly glam shade, which really sets of a Christmas dress.

3: Fine Glitter.

We're going a little glitter cray today! All of these next polishes have the same topcoat over them which is from Attitude. The glitter in this polish is so fine that my camera barely picked it up. but it is simply a very fine glitter suspended in a clear base. The glitter is iridescent so it shines many different colours in many different lights. The shades that i have layered it over in order are Nails Inc St James Gel Effect Polish, Essie Nail Polish in Luxedo, China Glaze Nail polish in Liquid Leather, and Barry M Nail Paint in Racing Green. These four shades are my absolute faves at this time of year. but I love them even more with a little touch of sparkle.

So there we have it! My fave festive nails. i would love to know what you think of my favourite nail designs for christmas and share yours too :)

Blogging Break Update

Hello Sweeties, 

So you can probably tell that posts have been few and far between here on this little blog. Truth is, I've been feeling a little less than motivated these past few weeks. I've been battling with a raging cold for a while now and it's left me less than feeling great. I didn't really intend to take a break from blogging but it has sort of just happened after being unwell, so I thought that I would just post a quick update. 

This year I'm hoping to do plenty of Christmas Makeup Looks and other festive posts starting from next week. So I promise that regular posting will resume very soon. Just as soon as my cold clears up. Now someone pass me the tissues...

Makeup Products for Beginners

I'm sure that most of us beauty bloggers cane remember the day that we first decided that we were in love with makeup and starting stalking the shelves of boots, looking for something that would become our BFF's. I reckon I was in my first year of high school when I really knew that I had a thing for makeup, and I remember that my first eyeshadow was a frosty lilac shade that was really poor quality, but boy did I love it! 

Thanks to growing older and becoming wiser (I think), my makeup choices have changed, so I thought that I would put together a few items that I think are great for those who are just getting into makeup. So here they are...

Base Products:

I would recommend something really light so that you can get used to application and picking the right shade. Something like a tinted moisturiser would be perfect, but the item that  have picked is MUA Undress Your Skin - here £5.00 is perfect. This has a very light dewy finish, that allows your skin to to show through, rather than being full coverage. 

Powder isn't a necessity but I thought that I would include it anyway. The one that I picked is Maybelline Fit Me - here £5.99 as it is one that I continually go back to. I find that a lot of high street powders can ave quite an orange tone to them but this one comes in plenty of different shades so there will be one for everyone. I only wish that this came out years ago, because I was definitely one of those girls who wore powder that made me look tangoed!

For blush, you can't go wrong with Sleek Blushes -  here £4.49 which are buttery soft and always look soft and natural. They have a lovely shade range too all bases are covered.

Eye Products:

If you are just starting out with makeup, I think neutral is the way to go. Using a palette is perfect as it allows you to play around with shades so you will know what works for you. MUA Heaven and Earth Palette - here £4.00  is perfect for creating a range of eye looks, and it includes 12 neutral shades that will be perfect for school or work.

There are thousands of eyeliners on the market, some are good and some not so good. The best ones that I've found are from Rimmel, and they are the Scandaleyes Kohl Liners - here £3.99 . These are great fro beginners as they come in a range of shades, are extremely creamy making them easy to work with, and they are a bargain!

The mascara that I picked was Maybelline Great Lash Mascara - here £4.99 as this was the very first mascara that I used. It gives a natural look to lashes and coats them really nicely.

Lip Products:

My advice to someone who is just getting into makeup would be to start of with tinted balms before going for lipsticks. This way you will know what colours work best for you, and you lips will be in tip top condition too. For a bargain price and really yummy scent I would recommend NYC Applelicious tinted balm - here £2.49. Not only do these make your lips look lovely and healthy, but they are also incredibly cute.

If you wanted something that's longer lasting and has a bigger shade range then you should have a look at the Revlon Lip Butters, here £7.99. These are really stunning and nourishing on the lips, and with lots of different shades to choose from.

So, that is my recommendations for those who are just getting into makeup, or are perhaps thinking about making their first beauty purchases. There is such a great choice out there, it really does make it easier for those who are a little unsure about what to purchase. I know that I wish that I had some recommended products before I was let loose in the makeup aisle, because lets face it, orange bronzer and blue mascara is not a good look.

If you have any other starter tips I'd love to hear them too :)