Beauty Sale Finds

I'm not really a sales kinda girl.

I actually hate the sales. They are busy, loud, crowded, hectic and stressful and having a 6 month baby bump makes it all the more necessary to stay away.

So this year, I decided I would check out what some of my favourite beauty and fashion spots had online. First stop - beauty. I decided to be reserved and only checked Selfridges and Space NK (aka the mothership). I thought I would share with you briefly what I picked up and then over another couple of posts, I will share them with you in more detail.

So my first venture online was to Space NK. I have always wanted the gorgeous Laura Mercier bath and body sets but I never really felt like spending upwards of £40 on indulgent bath treats for myself! So when I spotted the Honey Musk duo set - with bubble bath, body creme and honey spatula - at HALF PRICE for only £15...well, it went straight in my virtual shopping basket.

Next, I spotted something from Lipstick Queen. I have never bought anything from Lipstick Queen, but I have heard some amazing things. I saw the Liquid Asset set of 3 lip glosses, featuring a stunning nude, a bright popping pink and a vampy red. Whereas I am more of a lipstick girl, I thought my collection could do with some high quality lip glosses. Again, this set was £30 and was reduced to half price. So in the basket it went! Now considering this is still available on the John Lewis website for full price, this to me was a real bargain.

Next was the Selfridges beauty sale. There was so much in this sale that I actually got a bit bored going through the dozens and dozens of pages. I filled a basket quickly and in the end, I had to do some serious editing. Which...was a real challenge!

I ended up purchasing the Laura Mercier eyelash curlers, a MAC black liquid eyeliner and...my favourite new palette, Urban Decay's Naked on the Run - a limited edition palette from the Naked range, featuring 6 new eyeshadows, a bronzer, high lighter, blush, eyeliner, mascara AND a lipgloss, all in the famous naked colour ranges. This is definitely getting it's own post as I really am in love with it. It was originally £37 and I think I got it for £30 in the sale, which isn't that much of a saving, but as I had my eye on it before the sale, I knew I had to just get it!

The Selfridges beauty sale didn't have as many bargains as the Space NK sale, it had more like a few pounds off each product as opposed to a decent percentage off, but if you have the time to scroll through the many...many pages, you will be sure to find some good deals.

So as I said, more details coming soon, but in the mean time, did you find any amazing bargains in the sales?

Belle x

Disney Villains Perfume Bottles

It's been a while since I posted a fashion or beauty related news story, but I recently came across one, which just couldn't be ignored really!

My step-sister-in-law (#toomanyhyphens), who loves Disney films as much as I do, excitedly showed me a link, filled with amazing images. A Japanese designer who goes by the name Ruby Sparks, has basically created the most amazing illustrations of 19 stunning perfume bottles, each taking on a persona of a Disney villain! Genius!

Now, Disney villains have always been a big hit in the fashion and beauty world (some of MAC's best collections have been villain themed) and with the new movie Maleficent about to be released, it's no wonder that these sassy bad guys are so en vogue at the moment.

The artist explains; “There’s something special about each and every Disney villain. When I look at them, they have a sort of mysterious sexiness you’d never get from the princesses.”

Ruby goes on to say that she her inspiration for the set came from musing about the different kinds of perfume women have to choose from. “Perfumes aren’t always soft and floral. Some of them have a tempting character, something that feels almost a little dangerous, even. I thought it’d be wonderful to combine perfumes like that with the motif of Disney villains.”

Hopefully some perfume company will realise how amazing these designs are and commission Ruby Sparks to create the bottles for real. I already have my eyes on at least 6 of them!  

Here are the bottles and I have popped the names of the villains underneath...but come on...you Disney fans should know who they are inspired by without looking! 

Enjoy x

The Evil Queen from Snow White

Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty

Ursula from The Little Mermaid

Ratcliffe from Pocahontas

Captain Hook from Peter Pan

Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Wicked Stepmother from Cinderella

Cruella de Ville from 101 Dalmations

Hades from Hercules

Jafar from Aladdin

The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland

Gaston from Beauty and the Beast

Foulfellow and Gideon from Pinocchio

Mother Gotheil from Tangled

Doctor Facilier from The Princess and the Frog

Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove

Madame Medusa from The Rescuer's

Prince John from Robin Hood

Scar from The Lion King

My Favourite Lipstick

I am a bit of a lipstick obsessive.

Well, actually strike that...I am a bit of a make-up obsessive (or lotions and potions as my hubby affectionately calls them).

With that being said, over the years I have bought a lot...and I mean A LOT of lipsticks. And not just lipsticks; lip balms, lip glosses, lip lacquers, lip stains. I mean, when I last emptied out my current bag of choice, I had 12...I repeat 12 lipsticks flying around loose in my bag. That does not include the ones in my make-up bag or lip balms and glosses.

So yes, I like lipsticks.

It's taken me a good long while to find a favourite among favourites. One, which really stands out from the rest and one, which if it was discontinued, I would die a little bit inside. After my love affair with Kate Moss's Number 3 from Rimmel, Notting Hill Nude from Rimmel and Syrup and Up the Amp from MAC, I have finally found THE one.

Drum roll please...Pink Truffle from Revlon. It is a Revlon Lip Butter shade and the consistency of these lip butters is so soft and creamy, it feels like a moisturising salve but the pigment is that of a lipstick. And the shade. Well, the bullet is a sort of pinkish nude, with a glossy finish, but when I apply it onto my lips, all hint of pink disappears and I am left with a beautiful, subtle mocha tinged nude.

It is so wearable and lasts ages. It goes with whatever make-up or outfit I choose and looks gorgeous day or night. It suits my skin tone and hair colour so well, and for me is my Holy Grail of lipsticks.

So there you go! Have you tried Pink Truffle or any of the Lip Butters? What's your ultimate lipstick?

Enjoy x 

Birthday Bonanza Weekend!

Sorry I have been absent for a few days, but it's been my birthday! Yep I've turned a number that freaks me out to say out loud, but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon enough.

I have spent 3 days celebrating with friends, family and my hubby and baby and have had the best time. So, I thought I would do a little photo heavy blog of what I have spent the last three days doing...as well as a little peek at my amazing birthday presents.

My birthday originally started last weekend when I went to Bloomsbury Lanes with friends for bowling, pizza and karaoke, but I sadly have no photos!! I blame the shots of sambuca thrust upon me!!

So on Friday I dropped Elijah off at my in-laws and hopped on the tube to meet Darren. We booked a room at the Tower Grange Hotel in Tower Hill, a fabulous 5 star hotel in the city. They upgraded us to a mini suite on the 12th floor, so we had stunning views of the city. The hotel also kindly surprised me with a birthday cake and "happy birthday" written in chocolate on the plate. I decided I wanted to stay in the room, get room service and drink a lot of champagne as opposed to going out for dinner. Literally perfect. I had a bath with Ren goodies, drank too much champers, had an amazing burger and watched Family Guy.

After a yummy breakfast, we left the hotel and walked to Borough Market, passing Tower Bridge and the Tower of London on the way. We walked along the Thames and got to the market as it was heaving. We spent about an hour checking out all the amazing food stalls, sampling way too much cheese and other yummy morsels, drinking fresh wheatgrass juice and buying huge chewy bread sticks with olives and cheese. Drool!!

We then left the market and headed into the West End, where we popped into some shops (MAC) mooched around Carnaby Street and the Liberty beauty hall, before making our way to the Sanderson Hotel, where we had booked the Mad Hatter's Tea. O...M...G, what an amazing experience. Tea was held in the gorgeous courtyard and we were led to our table by a rather fabulous waiter in a tux. When we sat down, we were presented with the menu, which was hidden in a vintage children's book, and the sugar caddy, which was a music box with a dancing ballerina inside. Such a whimsical touch.

We were then offered "smell me" bottles, which contained different tea flavours - strawberries and cream, rhubarb and custard, mint choc chip and apple pie! I opted for apple pie and Darren got mint choc chip. The tea came in stunning tea pots, decorated with the King and Queen of Hearts with matching tea cups and saucers. Then came the food. WOW! a four tiered cake stand starting from the top: a black and white tea cup filled with pea shoots and meraigne carrots, next, a selection of "magic" strawberries and cream mushrooms, then a beautiful mini Victoria sponge cake, a dark chocolate tea cup filled with white chocolate and green tea mousse and popping candy and a rainbow coloured white chocolate case filled with a passion fruit cheesecake and a melting mango "yolk" hidden inside. The final tier held sweet and savoury scones - a raisin and orange zest scone and a goats cheese and spinach scone - a quiche, "drink me" potion and a selection of yummy sandwiches.

The final course came from the jelly service - a gorgeous silver trolley adorned with a selection of delicious jellies, which you helped yourself to. At the end of the meal, we were stuffed! I was then surprised with ANOTHER birthday cake, and a chorus of happy birthday. Awww...such a sweet touch.

I honestly can't recommend the Mad Hatter's Tea highly enough. For a special treat, it's just amazing. The atmosphere, the surroundings, the food. You really do spend a couple of hours down the rabbit hole.

Finally we headed to Covent Garden to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. What a fab production! We had second row seats in the stalls, and as a huge fan of the book and original movie, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was great. Hilarious original songs, amazing sets, a brilliant Willy Wonka and Oompa Lumpas and a great cast. It was such a fun production, you should definitely book yourself a ticket!

After the show, we headed to Five Guys to grab a quick burger before heading home.

Phew! Onto Sunday!

We picked up Elijah and went to my parents house, who had decorated the house with birthday banners and balloons. We had a huge family (I have quite a big immediate family) tea with birthday cake, pink champagne, babies, presents, scones and sandwiches and more. Followed by a chilled night on the couch watching Django Unchained.

Onto my actual birthday, which was Monday. After being awoken by Elijah bright and early, I opened presents from my parents and then Darren and Elijah. After receiving my first ever "happy birthday mummy" card, Darren presented me with Elijah's present, a gorgeous rose gold heart keyring from Mulberry...what a good boy! And my wonderful hubby got me a one of a kind (he had it made) rose gold bracelet with 5 square cut diamonds. It is just stunning. I don't wear bracelets, so I really wanted a special one, and I am never taking this off. It means so much to me.

After breakfast we loaded the car and went to Oxford for the day. I haven't been before and it was such a fun day out. We parked the car and just walked around the whole city, stopping at some shops and Jamie's Italian for a spot of lunch. We walked around the colleges and the gardens as well as the castle and other sights of the city. It's only an hour away for us and it was such a great day trip and was amazing spending the whole day with my boys.

When we got home, we put the little one to bed and ended my birthday weekend with a chinese takeaway and Glee!

Wow! I can't get over what a fabulous birthday I had. I was given the most wonderful gifts and was spoiled rotten by everyone. I ate waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much and Weight Watchers well and truly went out the window for 3 days, but it was so worth it.

Sorry about the longest blog post in the world, but I wanted to share my special day with you! I hope you enjoyed x