Autumn NewLook Wishlist

Like everyone else, I am looking for some new clothes for my autumn wardrobe. I was browsing through the New Look website and decided to share a few of my favorite items with you. As you can see I am loving darker colours now autumn is here. I particularity love the floral dress, I think it would look lovely with thick black tights and a chunky knit cardi. It would also look lovely in spring, making it really versatile.

Please note that this is not a sponsored post, I am just loving New look and wanted to share!

What is your favorite store to shop in for clothes?

Gem x

Benefit World Famous Neutrals - Sexiest Nudes Ever - Review & Swatches

I was lucky enough to receive a £20 Feel Unique voucher a while ago, and when I realized they sell Benefit Cosmetics I knew exactly what I wanted to get

These kits have been out for a while now, I already have the Most Glamorous Nudes Ever and absolutely love it, so wanted to add another to my collection. The Sexiest Nudes caught my eye because the colours are so pretty. 

Purple is not the colour I would usually go for, but I thought I would try something a little out of my comfort zone and I'm glad I did.

The powder shadows have the right amount of pigmentation and the Creasless Cream Shadows really do last all day. I think I may have to purchase the full size Bikini-Tini, its perfect to use on its own or under shadow.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes their neutrals but are looking for an alternative to browns and beige. The kit is perfect for creating glamorous daytime and evening looks.

Gem x

Stargazer Cosmetics

A little while ago I was kindly asked if I would like to try some Stargazer Cosmetics products. Of course I accepted, I had never tried anything from the brand before and was intrigued.

They are on the cheaper end of the makeup scale, and you all know how much I love my budget brands. I was sent a lovely selection of products and I really like them all. My favorite has to be the eyeshadow, its so pretty and  perfect for using as an inner corner highlight.

The lipsticks are a little tougher than some to apply, but they are matte and they have really good lasting power, as does the blush. The eyeshadow pen needs a primer and is best when used under a powder eyeshadow. The nail polish is amazing and will be featured in an upcoming NOTD.

Below are swatches, and you can see the lipstick on my lips.

As you can see, all products have great pigmentation which for me is such an important thing. I would thoroughly recommend checking out Stargazer Cosmetics.

Gem x

Maybelline Baby Lips: Review and Lip Swatches - Pink Punch & Cherry Me

After taking more than a month off due to personal reasons, I'm Back!

 I have lots of lovely makeup and fashion-y things I want to share with you, but I thought for my first post I would share my thoughts on something I have been absolutely loving lately.

These have been hyped up a lot within the blogging world, but from the blogs I follow I have seen mainly negative reviews. I absolutely love these lip balms, they feel really moisturizing and smell amazing.

The colour is buildable: I swipe them on my lips a few times to get the maximum effect but if you wanted less colour just swipe once. Excuse the mug shots, but I wanted to show the product on the lips and how lovely they look!

Side note: I am wearing Rimmel Match Perfection foundation in the pictures, I have rediscovered my love for it. It photographs beautifully and looks great in person - it is such an underrated foundation!

They are very moisturizing and feel lovely on the lips. The moisturizing effect doesn't last an amazing length of time, but if I don't eat or drink it lasts around 3 hours.

For £2.99 these are great, and I thoroughly recommend these two colours. I want to pick up the remaining colours and then maybe try the colourless one. I have tried a lot of lip balms, and I can safely say that these are my favorite!

Have you tried these yet?

Gem x

August Favorites

I know I say this every month, but it just has to be said...where has the last month gone?! I'm a little sad that summer is now over, but on the other hand glad that autumn is on its way as cosy knits and boots are my favorite type of fashion. So what have I been loving this month....

Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Eyeliner: When my felt tip liner ran out, I looked in my stash and found this. I am usually wary of liquid eyeliners: I have sensitive eyes and not the steadiest of hands, but I was pleasantly surprised with this. It is the right amount of black and the brush is so thin it makes precision lining a breeze. It doesn't interfere with my eyes and stays put all day.

Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Papya: The colour is gorgeous, the formula great and it lasts well on my nails. Not much more to say about this, go get it if you haven't already!

Miss Eyelure Pre-Glued Eyelashes (Bought from PoundWorld): When I spotted these in Poundworld I just had to get them. They are lashes that are aimed at the younger girl, but I really liked the look of them and they were £1! I did a google search and they retail for £4 in Superdrug. I would gladly pay £4 for them as being pre-glued they are so easy to apply. I have this little lash applicator i bought for 49p from B&M and together they make putting on false lashes soooo easy. I thoroughly recommend these!

The next two products I have been loving together...
MAC Shy Girl & Revlon Peach Petal Lip Gloss - together they make the perfect peachy nude lip. I love paring this lip look with a smokey eye, gorgeous.

What have you been loving this month?
Gem x

P.S Don't forget to enter my giveaway where you could win a £40 Feel Unique Voucher :)

GIVEAWAY!! Win £40 Worth of Feel Unique Vouchers

Thanks to the guys over at  http://ao.com I have £40 worth of Feel Unique Vouchers to giveaway to one of my lovely readers!

All you have to do is follow the instructions in the RaffleCopter form below. Please note that the giveaway is UK only.

The Giveaway will be open from 2/9/13 - 16/9/13 and the winner will be announced on this blog and contacted via the email address supplied.

Good luck :)



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Autumn Wishlisht | High street Fashion

Clockwise: Bag - River Island / Kimono - River Island / Wrap Top - Matalan / Boots - Newlook / Jumper - Newlook

MUA Palette Collection and Swatches

I love MUA Cosmetics. I think they are a great budget makeup brand and the quality considering the price of the items in the line is great.

Some of my favorite MUA products are their eye shadow palettes. They currently have 12 on their website, and I have three of them (the immaculate palette doesn't seem to be available from their website at the moment). I decided to do a post on my collection, and to show you some swatches.

The quality of the palettes is great. The only issue I have is the matte shadows not being as pigmented as I'd like - but I get around this by scraping the matte shadows before use turning them into a sort of pigment and this seems to work really well.

They do take a little more effort blending than the likes of Urban Decay, but if you have a good brush it isnt too much trouble. Id definitely recommend these palettes to any makeup lover!

My favourite over all is the 

Do you have any MUA palettes? What do you think of them? 

My Top 5 Picks from Chi Chi | Wishlist

Have you ever gone on a night out and find three girls wearing the exact same dress as you? Or even worse, your best friend? Well, that has happened to me a lot over the years, as that original and unique dress you find in NewLook turns out to not be so original and unique after all.

In comes Chi Chi, an online site that sells gorgeous dresses for all occasions. The dresses are so pretty and unique, you can probably guarantee that no one will have the same dress as you!

Here are my top 5 picks from all the gorgeous dresses on their website:

Clockwise from left: | Salvadora | Erica | Jacinta | Isis | Dorita |

Bloggers: If you hurry, you too can write a wishlist for ChiChi and be in with a chance of winning £200 to spend on their site! Visit here: http://etailpr.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/chi-chi-blogger-competition-win-200.html for more info x

NOTD: Matte Black Nails

{please excuse my dry cuticles, I have tried a hand and nail cream and Sally Hansen cuticle remover and nothing seems to be working}

If you have been into Poundland recently, you will know that they have a really good selection of nail art bits in at the moment. I have picked up some lovely nail charms, bows, a polka dot top coat and this matte nail art kit.

The kit comes with a matte black nail polish and a clear gloss so you can create some designs (you guessed it, it costs £1). I went with this simple design sort of like a french manicure and I love it.

I found the polish doesn't last as long as a usual glossy one, but this is probably due to the fact that you cant add a base or top coat to it.

If you're into nail art, I highly recommend you pop into your local Poundland for a look!

Gem x

My Weight Loss Story: Updated August 2013

If you have read my original 'Weight Loss Story', you would know that last year I lost a total of around 2 and a half stone with Slimming World.

I had already lost around 1 stone due to pregnancy. I had a rough time and didn't eat a lot as I had very bad sickness, so after birth I was over a stone lighter but still I was obese.

The last straw for me was seeing a picture of myself on a night out, standing next to my gorgeous, thin friend. I decided to join a weight loss group and had heard only good things about Slimming World so decided to give it a go.

I was full of motivation and I found it relatively easy to shed the first 2 stone. But after that first 2 stone I seemed to hit a wall. Whether it was a mental or physical one I am not too sure, but I yo-yo'd between loosing a pound and gaining a pound for around 6 weeks.

I was very down about this, even my Slimming World leader could see and tried to re-motivate me but it didn't work. I decided to have a break from it, and thought that I could at least maintain my weight at the time.

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to maintain my weight or find the motivation to go back to the group. Eight months later I rejoined Slimming World and was nearly the same weight as I was when I started first time around.

This time I really plan to stick at it, and get to my target weight of 10.7 stone. At 5'5" that is the upper end of the BMI scale for a healthy weight, but I think it is a weight that I would be happy at. I have around 2 stone to loose now and it does scare me, but I know I can do it... I've done it before!

Heres some pictures for you to see.....

I've already lost 8 1/2 lbs so far in 4 weeks, so I'm over the moon about that. Its really kick started it all for me and I am already seeing benefits. My skin is looking SO much better and my double chin is starting to go!

Slimming World isn't really a diet as such, its more of a healthy eating program and if you are looking to join a weight loss group I thoroughly recommend it. I have tried weight watchers and found it much harder to stick to. If you would like any information or if you are on slimming world and want to stay in touch, drop me an email at gemseren@gmail.com


Gem x

July Favorites

Sleek Face Form Palette - I have it in light and absolutely love it. The blush is really pretty, the highlight is highly pigmented and the bronzer is completely matte. Keep your eyes peeled for a full review coming soon!

Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer, Shade 52 - I really like this as a bronzer and it smells gorgeous (not like chocolate really, more like sweets). I was originally going to use this as a contour, but there are glitter particles in it, and I spotted the Sleek palette in Superdrug just after buying this, so it worked out well anyway.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation - Love this foundation, its nearly perfect. The only problem I have is that it is slighly too dewy for my preferences so all I do is add a little bit of Rimmel Stay Matte powder and I am good to go.

Bourjois Colour Boost in Peach on the Beach - See my full review here - Its such a pretty shade!

No 7 Blush in Cool Pink - I have been looking for a cool toned blush for a while now and this one is perfect. It looks gorgeous paired with Mac Creme Cup lipstick.

So there are my favorites! I know its quite Bourjois heavy this month, I haven't been sponsored honest, haha! I took advantage of the 3 for 2 and absolutely loved everything I got!

What have you been loving this month?

Gem xxx

Watermelon Nail Art

These nails are really cute and quite easy to achieve. The pink colour is the new Gel Nail Polish from Collection (2000) and its really pretty on its own, but I decided to jazz it up a bit! The colour is called Watermelon, and so the name was my inspiration for this nail art!

Gem x

Charcoal Challenge

A few weeks ago I was invited by Money Supermarket to take part in a competition called the Charcoal Challenge. A group of bloggers were each given £50 to host the ultimate BBQ. It was my birthday around the time so I decided to throw a lovely BBQ for the family.

For £50 we had an amazing feast, heres a sample of what I spent the £50 on;
Chicken Breast Fillets
Steak
Bread Rolls
Salad
Burgers
Chicken Skewers
Magners Cider
Wine
Potato Salad Ingredients
Pork Steaks

We had a brilliant time and the food was lovely! Thanks to Money Supermarket for asking me to take part.

Gem x

Bourjois Colour Boost in Peach on the Beach - Review

I picked this up last week while I was in Birmingham. I needed a new Healthy Mix foundation and all Bourjois were on 3 for 2. Id wanted to try the chocolate bronzer for ages so I picked that up along with this. The colour is what really drew me to the product - its so bright and summery.

Its a great lip product. Its glossy but not sticky and it delivers the right amount of colour. The product claims to last up to 10 hours; now I'm sure it would last 10 hours if you just sat still and didn't move your mouth for them, but in reality it doesn't last nearly as long.

I can forgive Bourjois for those claims though because it is a great product. I really want to try the other colours, especially the fuchsia one.

Have you tried these yet?

Gem x

Budget Bucket List

When I saw this competition from Money Supermarket, I really wanted to give it a go myself. Bloggers are challenged to write a post on one budget and one extravagant bucket list item. I do have a bucket list of sorts, and there are lots of thing I would like to do in my lifetime, I had a hard choice narrowing them down, but here are my picks:

Budget - Visit a Christmas Market

I love Christmas, it really is my favorite time of year and I have always wanted to visit a German Christmas Market. From the pictures I have seen it just looks amazing, so many things to buy and I bet the christmassy atmosphere is brilliant. A coach trip for 4 days to one of these markets costs around £400 for two people, so its a little on the pricey side. And as this is the budget bucket list I have to do better than that!

In Birmingham there is a huge European Christmas market on every year around the festive period, and it looks just as amazing as the ones in Germany - but at a fraction of the cost of getting there. It would cost around £50 for coach travel for two people, that would save me £350! Thats £350 more to spend once I get there...Only joking - I don't think I could actually spend £350 there, or could I? 

The reason I haven't gone yet is that money is always so tight around Christmas time for me. I have two little boys and any extra cash goes on their presents. I would really have to save hard throughout the year to have the spending money to go, but writing this post has made me realize how much I would like to go so hopefully I can do it next year.

Extravagant - Get Married in front of the castle in Walt Disney World Florida

I have to admit that this has been on my bucket list since I was about 10, way before I met my fiance. I have an absolute love for Disney World in Florida and I couldn't imagine anything more magical than getting married in front of Cinderellas Castle. 

The only way this would ever happen for me is if I was to win the lottery - the marriage ceremony in front of the castle costs around £30,000! 

Id top off the wedding with a stay in one of Disneys most luxurious hotels - the Swan and Dolphin hotel, and spend every other day of the holiday in the parks. 

Realistically, We will never be able to afford this. However I think if me and my Fiance can save hard enough, we could have a lovely wedding and holiday in Florida at a much more reasonable price. I think you can get a non-disney wedding in Florida for around $1000, and it would still be every bit magical. 

If you would like to take part in the competition, more details can be found here -http://www.moneysupermarket.com/life-insurance/competitions/budgetbucketlist/

I tag:

Lucyy Writes http://lucyywrites01.blogspot.co.uk/

Leanne http://asliceofmylifewales.blogspot.co.uk/

Bex http://www.ialwaysbelievedinfutures.com/

No 7 Extravagant Volume Waterproof Mascara

Finally, a mascara that does what it says on the tin. It delivers loads of volume and is completely waterproof. I used this mascara while I was on holiday, and I can vouch for its waterproof claims; it didn't smudge or flake like others I have tried, and I didnt end up with the dreaded panda eyes.

When I first saw the brush, I didnt think I would get on with this mascara as it has really short plastic bristles. But they do a great job.

When I wear mascara, I like the volumised to the max look and this one definitely creates that. The pictures below are with just one coat. You do need to be careful as it can clump if not applied correctly. I do the wiggle technique and also scrape the brush before use. 

Whats your favorite waterproof mascara??

Gem x

June Favorites

NO 7 Extravagant Volume Waterproof Mascara - I love how volumising this mascara is, and it is actually waterproof too. I used this whilst on holiday and it held up in the pool great.

MUA Lipstick in Juicy - A really nice coral shade of lipstick, and its only £1. I love corals for summer and this lip shade goes really nicely with the Bourjois cream blush.

Bourjois Cream Blush 02 - A peachy coral colour, this blush blends amazingly well. Its so pigmented and the perfect size for your makeup bag.

Garnier Summer Body - This is a great gradual tanner. I got the shade meant for deeper skin tones as I wanted a more intense tan and it didnt fail to impress. I was looking really sunkissed but not at all orange. I really recommend this as its only around £5, but often reduced and I managed to get mine for £2.55.

MUA Undress Me Too Palette - I have been loving using the bronze and gold shades in this palette, and took it on holiday too as its so portable.

What have been your favorite products this month? Link me up or let me know in the comments :)

Gem x

3 Bargain Holiday Dresses - Outfit of the Day

I have just come back from the gorgeous island of Menorca. I bought a few lovely bargain dresses before I went, and was going to do a haul but I didn't get round to it. What better way to see them though, than in action on holiday? haha.

This first dress is from Store 21 and cost only £4.99. It is really flattering to my larger figure as it skims over my tummy nicely. I have modified this dress - it came with 3 buttons down the top but they didn't look right at all. Easy to remove and the dress looks 100 times better now in my opinion. I don't think store 21 do online shopping?! I'm not sure but the dress also came in navy and was really pretty too.

This dress/top/coverup is from Matalan and is only £5. Its so pretty and I wore it over my swimming costume as a coverup, but it also looks great as an evening dress. If you are over 5`5" I think it would be too short though, as it is really short on me. Its still showing on line in the holiday shop, but when I click it I get a page unavailable message at the moment!

This is my favorite of the 3 dresses, and again its from Matalan. It cost me only £8, I cant find it online but it is probably still in store. It came in at least 3 other colours too.


Gem xx

Bingo!

Admission: About once a month I go to bingo with my Mum and I really enjoy it. I have actually been really lucky and in total I have won over £3000! Bu that is over about 3 years.I have never played it online before though.

I was asked whether I wanted to give my thoughts on Costabingo.com, and as I had never played online bingo before I thought I would give it a try.

I played their 90 ball bingo, which is what I usually play, and it was fun. There are 5 and 10p per book games with prizes for one line, two lines or full house. The jackpots depend on how many people are playing at the same time as you, and can be over £50. There are also  games with a jackpot of £2500 at 9 or 10 every evening, with fridays being £10000.

I love the design of the site, its really easy to use and if you deposit £10, they will treble it to £30!

go to Costabingo.com to find out more :)

Gem x

Online bingo is fun to play now and again, but please be careful as it can be addictive for some people gambleaware.co.uk