Makeup Mugshot #10 New Hair!

Today I was treated to an amazing Toni and Guy haircut(*) in their Bath New Bond Street store by Jordan, one of their uber friendly stylists. I thought, new season, new style so I've gone for quite a change.

I have my beloved fringe back, all thick and choppy again, oh how I missed it during the summer. We also decided to take about 3 inches off the length which has given a lot more volume back.
On to the makeup!
At the moment I tend to use the same Bourjois foundation (123 perfect in light vanilla) each day. I also used MAC Fleet Fast blusher and Lush Feeling Younger skin tint to brighten the look up.
On my eyes I used Bobbi Brown Mahogany eyeshadow to fill my brows, MAC Painterly paint pot as a base colour, Maybeline Colour Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze all around the eye, lined the water line with Bobbi Brown Charcoal kohl eyeliner to define and finished with Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara.
On my lips I used MAC Red Racer lipstick after having a good old scrub with Lush Bubblegum lip scrub.

What do you think of my new hair? I've so missed the fringe!
Annie x

October Shopping Spree

I've had a super busy day off yesterday. In the morning we visited the Bath Cats and Dogs Home because we're looking into adopting a new kitty to keep Lolly company. We fell head over heels in love with a cat called Busy who would fit right in here; she's super friendly, the same age as Lolly and about the same size, so a perfect pair to sit in front of the fire together this winter :)
We then spent the afternoon mooching around the shops and I bought a looot of exciting new things :)

 For months now I've been in need of a pair of trainers, but now its getting cold and wet I thought it really was time to invest. I found these cream high tops in River Island and they are just so comfy its unreal. They cost me £30 but they're leather and for the amount of wear they'll get I thought that was a pretty good price.

 Also in River Island I picked up these cream and black sparkly, fluffy, totally amazing over the knee socks in the sale for £2 down from £8. I live in thick wooly socks all winter so these are perfect. The photo isn't very clear from this angle but the tiny earrings, which also cost £2 are little golden hedgehogs which are seriously cute. My final River Island purchase was a black jersey maxi skirt with a slit front that I've been wanting for ages. I was really lucky and found that it had actually been put in the sale so I only paid £12.

Next up was Boots because I needed to collect a prescription and some Berocca to get me through the cold season (I'm one of those people who get every cold that's going). There was a competition running on the Max Factor counter where you applied one of their lip colours and kiss a piece of paper and the best pout wins a goody bag. The colour that was picked out for me was Bewitching Coral and I loved it so much that I ended up buying one for £7.99. I also wanted to grab a blue mascara so I went for the Collection EXTREME lengthening mascara, £2.99 and because makeup is currently 3 for 2 I also grabbed this cute Work the Colour trio by Collection for £3.19 in Champagne Fizz.

In New Look I bought aa selection of things. Most were plain black for work so I haven't photographed them but this dress was just too cute to not show you. I love the lacy detail and the black and white birdies. It makes me happy to look at and was reduced to £9 in the sale.

Confession time: I am a hat person. I cannot get enough of them at the moment, and I am totally having a love affair with this slouchy beanie that was also in the New Look sale. It only cost me £3 and its hardly left my head yet since buying it. Its super cosy and I like the oversized boyfriend style of it.

Finally, we headed to Urban Outfitters to have a root around in their sale section which is always packed with great things. I found this mens size Large black and white tee shirt and just had to buy. I love the drama of the makeup and mask in the photo, totally my style and I think the top will look really good paired with a short black skirt and a leather jacket for a rockesque style look.

So that is my mega haul. Believe me, I won't be buying again for a while. I also had a delivery come through from the Mac by Request collection and a couple of packages waiting at the sorting office so for the restof the month I'm being good!

What do you think of my new bits and pieces? Have you had a look around the sales yet? There are some really great things out there for good prices at the moment so I'd recommend it :)
Annie x

Makeup Mugshot ...Ooooh, Shiny

So, autumn is definitely here. The weather has been rubbish for days and my hat and scarf have been traveling everywhere with me so to brighten things up a bit and cheer myself up I went for bright, sparkly colours today :)

On my face I kept things pretty simple and just used Ginvera BB cream, accessorize blusher and Lush Feeling Younger skin tint as a highlighter along my cheek bones and under my brows.
On my eyes I started with a base of MAC Painterly Paint Pot to prime all over the lid, I then used a 17 plum purple shadow from the lashes up to the crease. Next I lined along the lashes with Lush Fantasy gold eyeliner. On the bottom lash line I used Catrice Made to Stay cream shadow in Lord of the Blings and I blackened the water line using my Bobbi Brown kohl liner. To finish off I applied a thick coat of my trusty  Max Factor False Lash Effect.
On my lips I used Lush lipstick in Believe and topped it off with a coat of clear Barry M gloss.

Of course, as Lolly the Grumpy Kitty likes to always be the centre of attention, she wouldn't let me snap my mugshot without trampling all over the keyboard. But she looks uber pretty too, even without makeup :)

What do you think of my gloomy day makeup? What sort of look do you wear when you want to add a bit of colour and cheer to a gloomy day? Doesn't Lolly look gorgeous with her ickle whiskers? =^.^=
Annie x

MAC by Request

After a long wait, the MAC by Request collection has touched down in the UK and we can once again get out hands on some of the most popular discontinued products for a limited time.
Re-released are a collection of three lipsticks; Moxie, Candy Yum Yum and Rocker, three Lipglasses; Bait, Flash of Flesh and Cult of Cherry, and three eyeshadows; Guacamole, Jete and Moth Brown.

Each of these colours is totally gorgeous, and well worth a look. I've ordered Moxie and Candy Yum Yum to add to my lipstick collection because they're both amazing bright pink colours which I would wear constantly. Of course, I'll also pop up reviews when I get them.
You can take a look at the collection *here* and its well worth noting that the range is an online exclusive so don't wait to see it in stores because you won't be lucky.

Are you excited about the new range? Which colours will you be buying?
Annie x

The Time is Upon Us!

So, the sun has dawned on an exciting day. Lush Christmas has landed! Today marks the launch of the much awaited (and totally amazing by the way) Lush Christmas goodies, and you know what? I am totally going to show you them!

 Can you imagine the glee I felt last night clutching this box? Digging inside was like christmas in itself!

Inside, nestled among many MANY packing peanuts was one of almost all the products being released today (6th October 2012) just waiting to be tried out and shown to all of my fellow Lush fans. So what do we have?

First up, bombs!

This year, there are lots of bath bombs being released. There is So White, a classic which returns every year, Cinders, another that is making its comeback, and Father Christmas which is a new product for this year. If you enjoyed Satsumo Santa from last years range then you'll love Father Christmas this year :)
Next we have bubbles!

Everyone's favourite, Candy Mountain is back once again, this time with green and pink swirls and it is joined by a revamped Christmas Eve. This year, Christmas Eve is designed to look like the moon sitting against the night sky and my late night photography really doesn't do it justice. However, this years newbie is Santa's Sack (yep, we all made lots of jokes during the training) which is bright red, bulging with bubbles and also contains two re-usable bubble stone presents meaning that it will actually be good for up to 5 baths!
On to bubble stones!

This year, alongside the much loved, Snow Fairy scented Magic Wand, we also have two brand new bubble stones; Bubblebeard and Rocket. I love the design of the bubble stones, all you do is swish it around in the bath as you run the water and watch the bubbles appear. They are also amazingly reusable so you get around 8 baths worth from each. Rocket is a great addition as it is the present for boys that is equivalent to the Magic Wand so it fills a gap that was very clearly there last year. And on top of that, we also have Bubblebeard, my personal favourite, which is just a fab novelty gift for EVERYONE. Who doesn't like mustaches right?
Lets not forget bath melts!

How cute is this little guy?! This bath melt is called The Melting Snowman and he is packed with amazing ingredients including cocoa butter and shea butter which are great for soothing dry, winter beaten skin, water softening bicarb of soda and a fragrance made up of cinnamon, cloves, benzoin, almond and orange.
On to the shower!

She's back. How could she not be? Snow Fairy has, of course, returned, this year with pretty new packaging. With her, she has brought Twilight which is designed to look like the night sky full of twinkling stars and shares the lavender rich fragrance of the popular Twilight bath bomb. The third shower gel in the collection is my total favourite from the whole christmas range, and that is Ponche, a gel that is full of citrusy, Mexican Christmassy, tequila enriched amazingness! Each bottle actually contains tequila and boy, you can smell the kick but what makes it smell really yummy is the spicy warmth of cinnamon, plum and orange.
Now, a scrub!

For anyone who loves Sugar Scrub, or Rub Rub Rub, we have Sandy Santa which is another Mexican inspired product. The scrub is made using a combination of sand and sugar which gives a lovely, abrasive scrub. The smell is a nice zesty orange with a slight floral tone to really uplift.
Smoothing off!

This years massage bar is truly beautiful isn't it? Inspired by Dali's melting clocks, Midnight Massage is a sensual, slightly sexy bar designed to help you melt time away and unwind at the end of a frantic day. The scent is full of dark, deep fruitiness from figs, carob and quince and is lifted by a touch of jasmine to give it a lighter edge. And to get the soft golden sheen, it has been covered with a light dusting of Lustre powder.
And now, cleansers!

Buche De Noel has got to be one of the best selling christmas products at Lush year after year, and its back again! Full of cocoa butter and almond oil as well as using ground almond shells to provide a light scrub, this cleanser is designed to help restore winter damaged skin. Let the Good Times Roll is a new product for this year and boy is it a good one, I got it last night and I've used it three times already! It is designed to brighten the skin, leave it super soft and feel nice and revitalised. The roll of cleanser actually arrives to the shop topped with popcorn and one of the key ingredients is popped corn oil along with maize and cinnamon which helps stimulate blood flow.
Finally, lets see the soaps!

If you're a soap lover, this is your year! We have 6 soaps being released for christmas, including returning favourites Snowcake, Northern Lights, Angels Delight and Snow Globe which need no introduction, as well as two new comers, including my favourite, Mr Punch which is packed with warm, fruity scents all set together to look like a bowl of punch that has been left to freeze in the snow. The other is North Pole which comes in two colours; pink and white and arrives to the store as a long pole, ready to be sliced in to rounds freshly for customers. North Pole is a fresh, minty soap that reminds me of Candy Cane from last winter.

Whoa, theres your lot. This isn't actually the whole collection either! There is also a Popcorn Lip Scrub, Cracker Snap re-usable bath bomb, Party Popper bath bomb and of course, the amazing Golden Wonder bath bomb as well as around 15 gift sets that are made up using combinations of all these goodies and some from the regular Lush range.
I am so excited about this years Christmas range, I love all the bright colours, warming smells and wacky designs; they are all so definitely Lush products and just looking at them is fun.
What will you be trying out first? Is there anything that jumps out at you? Which are you happiest to see returning this year? I cant wait to have a bath using Ponche, Sandy Santa, Mr Punch and Cinders. Mmmm.
Annie x

*I received these products as a member of staff for training and so that I can talk confidently and knowledgeably about them to customers, I was not asked to post this, I just thought it would be exciting for all my Lush loving readers to see all the products on offer this christmas*

Sssh, Can You Keep a Secret?

Boy have a I got an exciting post lined up for you on Saturday morning! Any Lush fans should make sure to come back and take a look because...christmas is coming, and let me tell you, it is oh so impressive this year. I have a big brown box with my name written on it full of the most exciting goodies I've seen in a long time, just waiting to be seen and loved by everyone!
Tonight was my christmas training session and we had serious amounts of fun playing with all the new bits and pieces and learning as much as possible so that we can tell everyone why they are so Lush.
Oh, and there was cake... and pyjamas... and onesies :D
But for now I'll just say that everyones favourite pink and sparkly fairy has returned with a pretty new bottle and has brought some amazing new products with her.
Saturday morning, be there or be square!
Annie x

The Dandy Necklace Part 2

I simply had to follow up my last post where I wrote about my Makeup Whore necklace from Geek Boutique with a quick post showing you the second necklace I ordered.
This one is smaller and a cute shade of baby pink, and unlike the other, VERY work appropriate :)

Again, please excuse the mugshot, its 10.30 pm so the makeup has worn off and the bra has been shed haha.
This necklace costs £6 from Geek Boutique and you can find it *here*

Aren't both necklaces just too fabby? I love them!
Annie xx