Top 5 | Summer Lipsticks

Although it's not very summery outside, I thought it would be nice to do a Top 5 Summer Lipsticks post! So here are my top 5 lipsticks picks for summertime:

from l-r, clockwise:

Dainty Doll Lipstick in 008 It's My Party: £1.99 - An outrageous neon pinky red, It's My Party is so very summery. This was available on Fragrance Direct, but its now sold out so maybe try eBay? Rimmel Apocalips in Stellar is a good dupe for this colour. 

Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya: £7.99 - One of the limited edition summer colours, Juicy Papaya is the perfect peachy orange without being too in your face. I'm not a lover of peach/coral lipsticks but this one has managed to work it's way into my Top 5 because its so wearable. 

MAC Impassioned: £14.00 - Similar to It's My Party but more pink, Impassioned is one of MAC's most popular lipsticks and I've seen this in plenty of summer lipstick posts on other blogs. I won this in the lovely Katie from My Makeup Obsession's giveaway and I couldn't be happier to have it!

Rimmel Apocalips in Apocaliptic: £5.99 - A true dark fuchsia, Apocaliptic is a colour I'd wear all year round, but mostly in summer. It's just perfect for summer nights out. 

Models Own Matt Brite Lipstick in Flaming Red: £5.00 - This orange red is a really nice twist on the classic red lip for summer. I do prefer blue based reds, but for summer orange is the way to go! 

Swatches from left to right: Dainty Doll It's My Party, MAC Impassioned, Revlon Juicy Papaya, Models Own Flaming Red, Rimmel Apocaliptic. I hope you've enjoyed seeing my top 5 summer lipsticks!

Fiona xox

KARORA | Gradual Bronzing Moisturiser & Self Tan Mist

KARORA Gradual Bronzing Moisturiser SPF15: Glow And Protect RRP £14.99*

KARORA Self Tan Mist Original 100ml: Luxe For Less - Cute & Gorgeous RRP £17.99*

I was sent these gorgeous tanning products from the new botanical bronzing range KARORA to try out, and I certainly wasn't disappointed: "Hailing from the Emerald Isle, beauty brand KARORA offers women a stylish skin caring choice in self tan with a collection of botanical bronzing products that deliver custom colour with intense skin treatments. The multi-tasking formulae contain signature ingredients of grape seed, acai berry, jojoba and argan".

I'm not a regular tanner, but I will break out the bronzing products if I've got an occasion to go to or if I'm heading off on holiday somewhere! So with a wedding and my cousins 18th party within a few weeks of each other, I was delighted when these beautiful purple bottles landed on my doorstep.

The Gradual Bronzing Moisturiser is a great product that can be used to create a natural looking tan or extend an existing tan. Unlike a lot of cheap gradual tanners that take weeks to build up a decent amount of colour, the day after my first application I noticed a definite glow to my skin! It built up to a fantastic natural looking tan. It smells great, it doesn't feel sticky at all and it has SPF 15, which is brilliant! Although at £14.99 its quite pricey, it's a million times better than most high-street gradual tanners so definitely worth it. 

The Self Tan Mist Original is the first spray tan mist I've ever used, and I got on really well with it! It was super easy to use - just spray on and rub in with a tanning mitt. It left me with a light but definitely tanned look, which was perfect for me. KARORA also do a dark version of their Self Tan Mist for those who like a deeper tan. It's by far the easiest tanning product I've ever used and gave great results, I'm impressed.

The whole KARORA range is available from John Bell & Croyden in London and Lloyds Pharmacy's new concept stores in Glasgow - check them out! 

Fiona xox

*these products were provided for the purpose of review

Riri Hearts MAC Summer Collection | RiRi Boy

So after much anticipation and obsessive page refreshing, on Thursday just after 12pm I ordered my second lipstick from the Rihanna and MAC collaboration - RiRi Boy. It arrived yesterday, which was really quick! 

I'll admit now, I'm not a big Rihanna fan. I listen to her music occasionally and I admire her style, but it was more the new retro matte finish that drew me to this collection. I love matte lipsticks, and I love purple! So RiRi Boy was calling my name.

MAC RiRi Boy Lipstick: £14.00

MAC describe this shade as a matte lavender, which is pretty much spot on. It's basically a matte version of Up The Amp from MAC. Up the Amp has been on my wishlist for a long long time, but a matte version? Even better! In comparison to Heroine, another matte purple from MAC, RiRi Boy is a similar shade only much lighter, the 'daytime' version of Heroine! 

As you can see from the swatch, it's just gorgeous. It's a lot pinker than I expected it to be, but I love it because it makes it more wearable for me. 

I seriously cannot wait to wear this. For me, Heroine lipstick has only been worn inside my house, by myself. I'm waiting for a big night out (I don't go clubbing all that often) to feel confident enough to wear it in public. But with RiRi Boy I feel like I could get away with wearing it shopping in Glasgow, or just to the pub!

I really do adore this lipstick and I'm sad that it's limited edition, but at least I can get Up The Amp!

Fiona xox

Good Things | Face The Day Moisturiser & Five Minute Facial

Good Things Face The Day Moisturiser: 49p (normally £7.99) 

Good Things Five Minute Facial Face Mask: 49p (normally £5.99)

Yup, that's right. 49p each for these Good Things goodies. What a bargain! I found them in the bargain bin of my local Superdrug, and it would seem they're no longer stocking the brand, although you can still buy them in Boots and Sainsbury's. 

The Face The Day moisturiser is lovely! Its a little greasy for my oily skin, but I believe Good Things also do a mattifying moisturiser. The one thing I really like about it is that it smells so good! It has goji berry and papaya extracts and doesn't contain any parabens or mineral oil. Overall its a really nice moisturiser and if you have normal skin this would be bang on. 

The Five Minute Facial face mask is really nice. It doesn't target any skin problems in particular, but it says it will make skin 'clearer, brighter and smoother'. It definitely doesn't help too much with my blackheads and pores, but its definitely a nice smoothing and brightening mask. I've been enjoying using it during pampering sessions.

I'd definitely be interested in trying more from Good Things. I don't think I'll get as good a bargain as 49p again, but who knows! 

Fiona xox

Summer Beauty Swap | with Petit Moi - Big World

The lovely Kat from Tales of a Pale Face decided to organise a summer beauty swap last month; all you had to do was sign up and she'd pair you with another blogger! I'd never taken part in a blog swap before and it sounded really exciting, so I said I was in.

I was paired with the wonderful Laura from Petit Moi Big World (she's lovely and so is her blog, check it out!). We got chatting and got down to business straight away, discussing products and our likes/dislikes. We agreed on a budget of £25.00, a decent amount! It didn't take us long to gather everything together and we both received our boxes yesterday. 

I've got to say I really enjoyed shopping for someone else and picking products I hoped Laura would love! Sending off her parcel was exciting and nerve wracking, I was just hoping she'd like what I got her! I think the feeling was mutual, and safe to say I'm thrilled with the lovely things I was given. 

Laura wrapped everything up beautifully and included a little note that I wasn't to read until I'd opened everything! It was all very exciting! 

Laura picked some amazing things for me! We also agreed to send each other some freebies (things we didn't like, wouldn't use or maybe didn't work for us). Laura sent me a Barry M sequin nail paint, a gorgeous pair of lashes that will definitely be getting a lot of wear, and some pots of Vaseline which always come in handy!

Laura bought me a beautiful Fashionista palette that I've put together now, that included some metallic neutrals in Gold Rush and Exclusive Collection, a lovely shimmery champagne in Nude Glimmer and an amazing purple colour called Bewitched. I'm wearing Bewitched today and it's just gorgeous. I also got some "I Love" Strawberries & Milkshake hand cream and lip balm, which smell amazing and so yummy!

I also received the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Metallic Pomegranate, which I already own but really like! Laura is so amazing she wants to swap it for something else I haven't got, isn't she brilliant? So unbelievably kind of her and I just wanted to thank her again! 

Also in my box were some Superdrug face masks, which I've often wandered past in store and thought about picking up! I do love a pamper session with a face mask, so these certainly won't go wrong!

 Finally I received the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Polish in Greenberry, which I've been lusting after for ages, and the Barry M The Magic Lip Paint, which looks green in the tube but turns your lips a lovely pink colour! I'm wearing Greenberry right now, and safe to say it's now my favourite summer nail polish so thank you so so much Laura for picking it for me!

I really enjoyed swapping with Laura, she's so so lovely and I'd love to swap again! It's been a really enjoyable experience, shopping for someone else is incredibly fulfilling. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better swap partner, so thank you Kat for pairing us up! You can see what I got for Laura here. 

Fiona xox