Mini Mac Collection

I thought i'd make a make-up collection post as my friends are always envious of my make-up. The brand that appears the most frequently in my make-up bag at the moment is Mac and although I don't own an extensive amount of Mac make-up as it is pricey and I tend to dabble in Benefit, Soap and Glory, Revlon and Rimmel make-up too, I thought I would share my favourites with you. 

 Excuse the crap lighting in the photos as it was dark when I took them but above is my little collection. To the left is my Pro Longwear foundation in NC15, and moving counter clockwise from there we have: Pro Longwear blush in Stay Pretty, Cremestick liner in Summer Fruit, Velvet Teddy, Rebel, Creme Cup and Plumful lipsticks, Fluidline Gel Eyeliner and a Paint Pot in shade Painterly. These products all range from about 12 pounds to about 23 pounds. These are all products that I find it necessary to spend decent money on as they are key products in achieving what I think is a flawless make-up look (I will post about my every day make-up routine soon). For products like mattifying powder, eyeshadows and lip balms I buy high street brands because I feel that they work just as well as more high end products do. 

Mac is most well known for the amazing range of lipsticks it sells and I was never a big lipstick wearer until I discovered Mac. I feel that any lipstick that isn't Mac does not sit well on my lips, goes gloopy, needs reapplying after 10 minutes or dries my lips out! There are plenty of Mac lipstick dupes but they are dupes in terms of colour and not formula so I feel that it is well worth paying the 14 pounds and getting a quality lipstick that I know I will get a lot of wear out of. 
On the left in the photo above is my personal favourite, Velvet Teddy. It is a matte formula (I personally apply a tiny bit of Nivea lip balm first so that it does not dry my lips out) and it is just such a pretty nude. It is a pinky beige colour which would look beautiful on all skin tones and it also smells delicious and sweet. I need to reapply it after about three hours. This lipstick is the perfect everyday nude! 
On the right is the much hyped about Rebel. Rebel is a satin finish so quite moisturising and non-drying but not wet looking. It's a tricky colour to explain, it is bold and kind of plummy, a purple colour with pinkish red undertones. It isn't as dark on the lips as it appears in the packaging and can be built to your personal taste depending on how bold you want to go. It's a nice alternative to the classic red lip which I don't feel suits me too well on days when I don't feel like having a Ronald McDonald grin and I am trying to be dramatic and moody looking. I like it a lot on myself because my skin is so pale and I think it is very striking and vampy but not too 'out there' to wear to work. Or maybe I just like looking like a vampire when I'm at work, who knows.
You can check out all of the lipstick Mac have to offer here: http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/168/310/Products/Lips/Lipstick/Lipstick/index.tmpl

Do you have a favourite Mac product? Which make-up brand appears most in your make-up bag? Thanks for reading! 
Laura xox

Futuristic finds in Monki and Primarni

I made the most of the bank holiday weekend by spending it in London on a shopping trip with friends. On Friday we went to Westfield, a huge indoor shopping centre with three levels of shops and on Saturday we hit Oxford Circus which turned out to be not the brightest idea as bank holidays always mean thousands of eager shoppers! 

I won't show you everything that I bought but I would like to share my two favourite finds from the shopping trip, an amazing pair of sunglasses from Monki and a pair of jelly-style flip flops from Primark. 

I went to Monki on Carnaby Street. It's such a quirky shop that I only discovered in recent months. I adore the deco inside and the fashion is so on trend and it is surprisingly affordable for the quality! I have an extensive collection of sunglasses already but I don't have any round framed pairs so I picked up this pair for 8 pounds-such a steal. I love the balance between the silver and the black, they are so futuristic looking and remind me of something that Willy Wonka would look. Clearly there is nothing I want more in life than to look like a cheap, female Willy Wonka so picking these up was a no-brainer. This particular pair of sunglasses are not available on the website but you can browse similar pairs here: http://www.monki.com/Shop/Sunglasses

I went to the Marble Arch Primark which is just ridiculously big. I'm not a huge Primark fan if i'm being honest because the quality is often kind of shoddy and it's so difficult to pick up something in my size without having to search through mountains of clothes that have been put on the wrong hangers. So much drama-i'd rather spend the extra money on Topshop clothing but I guess that's a bit stupid of me as I am living on a budget as most 2 year olds are! I've been pleasantly surprised by the range of Summer clothes they stock at the moment-less tacky, flourescent colours than normal. Actually, come to think of it I have picked up a fair few crop tops in Primark lately. And some fantastic palazzo pants. Who am I kidding, I guess lately i've been a fan. Back to my amazing purchase! Jelly shoes are very 'in' at the moment and I actually do adore them but every Tom, Dick and Harry is now wearing them with frilly socks which is a bit of a bummer as I over-wear frilly socks all of the time too. Le sigh. I decided to stray away from the typical jelly shoe and find something a little different. These absolute BEAUTIES are 5 pounds and are available in white and in nude too. Admittedly they're not very comfortable and will be impossible to drive in as the jelly material makes them very slippy. For 5 pounds though I don't think I can complain, I mean just look how cute! As they are black I will be able to team them with anything really but I plan on wearing them with leggings or a maxi skirt. 

What bargains have you picked up this Spring/Summer? Thanks for reading! 

Laura xox