Here Comes The Summer

Over the past few days there has been a lot of dusting off of sunnies and risky sandal flaunting - all for the eagerly anticipated arrival of summer! This 'limbo' season also means we can sense a make up switch up in the near future; and today I bring to you a few tips to brighten up that face for the warmer months.

Bronzer, bronzer, bronzer - now is your true time to shine. We all like to add a little colour and definition to our frightfully pale faces when the old British weather just doesn't quite cut it. This Bourjois powder is an old fail safe, not too muddy in colour and no overpowering shimmer. This bronzer is so subtle I just take a larger powder brush and swoop it roughly around the contours of my face - basically everywhere...

Freshen up your eye look by swapping browns and taupes for rose and copper hues. The Naked 3 palette from Urban Decay is a perfect summer staple to achieve stunning eyes that look amazing in the sunshine. Also, experiment a little.... reach for an alternative eyeliner colour to spice up a simple every day look. Even a subtle navy or olive green makes a lot of difference when framing the eyes. I find the retractable liners so easy to use and no sharpening necessary wahoo!

Now to the lips... A coral/orange lip is 100% my 'go-to' when the sun puts his hat on, whether it be a solid matte lip or a sheer gloss you can't go wrong with orange (pause for thought; isn't it a tragedy that nothing rhymes with orange?) and it without a doubt looks fantastic sipping on an ice cold cocktail!

So, basically the warmer weather is just an excuse to buy more make up and not feel as guilty;

anyone else switching it up for summer?

Products Pictured (clockwise):

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

Rimmel Apocolips Lip Lacquer in 'luna'

17 Lasting Fix Lipstick in 'hot chilli'

Miss Sporty Mini-Me Eye Liner in '040 Eucalyptus'

Avon Glimmerstick Eye Liner in 'starry night'

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder in 'light/medium 51'

Best of Broadway

I love my UD Naked palettes don't get me wrong, I swear by them, but sometimes it just isn't practical to cart round a full 12 pan palette. I had been tempted by this NYC quad ever since lily pebbles picked it up and pointed out it was a near dupe for Chanel's Charming Ombre from their Christmas collection last year and at a mere £2.99 I couldn't resist for long. It was put it to the test this weekend when I had the almost impossible task of transforming my make up from 'work day' to 'weekend' on a busy, ever so shaky, northern rail train.

Armed with my bargain ebay brush I got to work... Let me say, the colours are perfect, all being slightly shimmery we have; a dark taupe brown, an offering of both chocolate and caramel and a peachy champagne colour. The whole shebang for a defined smokey eye!

Disappointingly the colour pay off wasn't great and the fall out was - I managed to get it everywhere (not an ideal situation in public) but once tided up I was left with a subtle bronzed look that didn't shout 'I cost less than the Starbucks peppermint mocha I'm sipping on'.

With that all well and good it was then time to tackle the eyeliner en route...

NYC Quattro Eye Shadow 'Best of Broadway' 815 - £2.99

Yes, It's the Naked 3 Palette...

It's here, in my hands... The 3rd offering from Urban Decay. Did I need this? No of course not, but just look at it, how could you deny yourself such beauty? I currently own the Naked 2 and the Naked Basic palettes - the basic probably being my most used palette of all time. So there was no doubt is was going to fall head over heels come release day.

This edition is full of rose gold pinks and browns and looks amazingly beautiful in the pan. I can predict this will be worn on my lids almost daily when summer finally arrives. No. 3 includes 3 matte shades and 9 shimmer - spanning from a creamy champagne to muted pinks and even a rose glitter infused black.

The thing I love about the Naked palettes is that there is always such an array of shades that you can create an easy day look as well as a intense night time look. I am so excited to try these out, particularly 'trick' and 'mugshot' they make me do a little ahhhhh every time I look at them. And my gosh 'blackheart' will create the most intense smokey eye known to mankind - can someone please invite me to a posh party now?

So there we have it, Urban Decay pull another beautiful palette out of the bag and it has well and truly gone down a storm. I know so many of you are already enjoying this dreamy offering, and for the rest - I bet it's on your wishlist!

Grab it! GLAMOUR Steals

Heads up old chums, this months GLAMOUR magazine is giving away a range of Model Co. products worth up to £16! GLAMOUR's offerings include two lipgloss shades; Berry Pink and Striptease, plus an eyeliner, mascara and illusion lip liner.

This little gem of a magazine provides you with fab reading plus a beauty product for just two squid! Naturally I scoured the shops to hunt down the mascara and the peachy lipgloss. Guys, they are selling out fast so i suggest you are quick on your heels!

First impressions on the Model Co products:

-The lipgloss is a tad sticky but smells super yummy, plus glossy smackers are the lip of spring '14.

-Their mascara gives a very natural fluttery effect, no clumps at all!

The mag also includes a 25% off voucher for H&M ladieswear - now c'mon, I dare you to say you're not tempted.

Maybelline 'The Falsies' Mascara Review

I'm very particular about my eyelashes, my 'OCD' almost always gets the better of me when applying mascara. So when it came to needing a new tube of the stuff I decided to pick up this Maybelline mascara. Having heard a lot of great things I eagerly rushed home and whacked it on...(as you do) to find I absolutely hated it! I was so disappointed with this product as I had super high hopes that I was on track for a holy grail mascara to which I would never look back.

Firstly it's not build-able, and this is a major thumbs down for me. I need to be able to work with my lashes until they succumb to my obsessive compulsive needs. I feel the mascara doesn't give much lift and dries super quick to a crusty (bleh) texture. Another thing was that I actually didn't realise that the wand was curved, this would have definitely made me think twice about buying it - do your research Alison!

I also got a lot of smudging underneath my eye with this product, ain't nobody got time for that!
I mean it's good, but not much more - I probably won't repurchase but I'm not aiming it at the bin just yet.

Perhaps The Rocket would have been a better choice!?

Travel Beauty

Just after Christmas I had a mini break to Amsterdam, I spent 4 nights there taking in culture and getting lost down endless canal lined streets. As we only had hand luggage on board the plane, I was limited in my beauty stash. I had to whittle it down to a few essentials, which was hard to say the least, but here I will show you what products made the final cut.

Make up

Clinique Anti-blemish Solutions liquid foundation |17 Phwoarr Paint | Maybelline Color Tattoo in 'on and on bronze' | Dainty Doll cream blush in '| Maybelline Brow Drama | Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Mascara | Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette | Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in 'vanilla' | Blistex Raspberry Lemonade Blast lip balm | Soap & Glory Gloss Stick in 'Nudist' | 17 Supreme Shine Lipstick in 'deep secret'

Tools

Real Techniques Buffing Brush (cream blusher) | Real Techniques Expert Face Brush (foundation) | Topshop angled brush | flat topped stippling brush (concealer) | tapered blending brush (eyes)

Skincare and then some

Sure roll on deodorant | Batiste Dry Shampoo mini in 'original' | Umberto and Giannini Glam Hair 'Backcomb In A Bottle' | The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Moisture Lotion SPF15 | Origins A Perfect World Antioxidant Cleanser (mini) | Origins Modern Friction Nature's gentle dermabrasion (mini)

The tip is to pack multi-purpose products. The Naked Basics Palette is an eye shadow palette, yet the shade 'faint' is a perfect match to my eyebrows and with the angled brush I can fill them in quite naturally. The same brush can also be used with the shade 'crave' along the lash line as an alternative to black eyeliner. Using your ring finger, 'venus' can be applied very lightly to the top of your cheek and brow bones as a highlighter.

My lip products of choice were the S&G gloss stick in 'nudist' (review here) and the 17 Supreme Shine lipstick. My reasons? One word... moisture. Going to a cold country calls for all the nourishment you can get on the lips. Of course I had my trusty Blistex lip balm in my pocket at all times but for when you want a bit of colour, tinted lip balms/glosses are the way to go and this nude shade is great for everyday wear.

The Nars concealer was thrown into my travel stash as I knew I would be spending long days out without returning to the hotel before the evenings. This concealer is great at refreshing your make up look by applying to the areas where you're looking a little dull... chuck on some red lippy and hey presto!

I am going to Glastonbury again this year where I will almost certainly need to downsize my make up to travel friendly portions.

Soap & Glory Gloss Sticks

For me, Christmas 2013 was the year of Soap & Glory. I unwrapped ample S&G goodies and of course 'ahhhhh-ed' at the smell of every single product. Soap & Glory are one of my favourite brands, with their luxurious offerings of bath and body, and a side of humorous wit.

These Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Sticks are described as super-light, ultra-hydrating lip crayon's and I couldn't have worded it better myself. These crayons are glossy but not at all sticky, no unfortunate hair-in-mouth disasters here! There is absolutely no hint of any tingling sensation (I'm looking at you Lip Plumping Gloss) and lashings of moisturising goodness.

This nifty gift set presents 3 colours. Covering all bases we have a nude, berry and bright shade...

'Nudist' as you may expect is a nude pink shade, perfect for every day wear. Can't go wrong.

'Fushia-Ristic' is the brightest of the bunch, but I feel it has the least colour pay off. The bright orange/pink colour adds major shine to your lips but not much else.

'Plum Jam' is a deep red and my favourite of the three. The easiest product to achieve a carefree bold lip EVER, ya'know for those days where you want to flaunt a red lip but don't have the time or energy for anything fancy.

If you are looking for highly pigmented lip laquers, these aren't the thing for you. But if you want a hint of sophisticated colour in the form of a nourishing gloss then look no further chums! Unfortunately I think this particular set was a Christmas limited edition however you can certainly still buy them separately online - with more shades too!

Battle of the Christmas Nails

Christmas Day involves many decisions including the likes of, how many puddings is too many puddings? Is it acceptable to sport a cracker hat over a Santa number and maybe more importantly, what festive polish should I don?

Here's the shades that made the final cut...

as in top picture 

Maybelline color show brocades in 'knitted gold'

Essie 'mind your mittens'

Collection 60 second hot looks in 'big hair'

nails inc. in 'luminous metallic red'

Kate spade for nails inc. in 'uptown glamour'

The picture doesn't do knitted gold justice but it is the most amazing glitter ensemble of gold and dusky pink flecks, ultimately transforming any polish colour into a dazzling look. I'm currently torn between the simple metallic red or layering glitter over gold for maximum festive overload! (if you can't do it at Christmas, when can ya eh?)

Decisions, decisions...

Clothes Show Live 2013 - Purchases

So last weekend I went along to Clothes Show Live 2013 at the Birmingham NEC with my best friend and fellow blogger. With it being my first time, it was a whole new experience! I took a few snaps so will do a whole blog post on the entire day, but for now here's what I picked up...

Classic Kate Spade iPhone 4 case

Two AHH-mazing candles from Bomb Cosmetics - if you've not tried this brand, you haven't lived!

3 stunning shades of Models Own plus the Clothes Show Live glitter edition

The sweetest ring from Emma Warren

Anyone else pop along this year?

The Instagram Report #01

blog central // glamour's freebie // fairy lights // cutest notepad // poundland buys // stockings // sleek matte me // autumn make up // bonfire night // christmas organisation // new bag // winter pastels

instagram: alisonruthxo

Winter Pastels

Who says you can't enjoy a good pastel mani in the colder months. I must admit I have raved about a seasonal deep red or classic nude for Autumn but it's also nice to have some alternatives up your sleeve (or on the end of one har-har)!

Today I present to you six shades I feel are the don whatever the weather...

Essie 'Fondola Gondola' - A dusky pink

Models Own 'Utopia' - A very pale lilac nude

Topshop 'Rainy Day' - A blue/grey

Barry M 'Blue Moon' - A simple baby blue

Barry M 'Lychee' - The perfect creamy nude

Rimmel 'Sage Green' - A pale khaki 

Anyone else dare to flaunt pastels this time of year?

ps. sorry for the awful lighting, its dark a lot these days...

Bad Orchid

The world has gone matte crazy, buffing away that shine is definitely the big thing of AW'13 (not to mention the leather mania we are currently experiencing).

When it comes to this polish, I have been spying it up for months, holding back because do I really need another burgundy/purple polish?

Topshop Nails in 'Bad Orchid'  £6

...Most probably not but when I noticed Topshop were now leaning towards the pastel mattes, leaving only one (lonely!) bottle of this colour on the shelves, I just knew I needed to take it home - if not for my sake, for the lonesome bad orchid's!

Of course it's the perfect Autumn/Christmas colour, you can't go wrong with purple in autumn - as you can tell from this post. Two coats are needed for a good solid opaque nail, but Topshop have come up trumps again with their polish quality. I can see myself adding some gold glitter for a be-dazzling effect... but that's for another day.

Naked Autumn

Recently I have been really drawn to these Urban Decay Naked Polishes (so hey, why not blog it). I was bought these as a gift for my 21st birthday alongside the Naked Basics Palette back in Feburary, and dare I say they were a little neglected over the summer months.

They are very much an Autumnal range and I can't get enough of them this 'fall'. This post will not feature the complete collection as I donated two colours to my mother in an attempt to widen her nail polish collection past baby pink...

Urban Decay Naked Nails - £21

(from left to right)

Naked - Classic nude shade. Smog - Metalic rust.

Hustle - Metalic purple. Creep - Black shade with sliver glitter, slightly textured.

The formula is great, the above swatch is after two coats. But I would even suggest three for nail perfectionists out there. The range of colours is fab too, I could even share them with my mum (solid evidence)! For me, the main thumbs up go to their size - the miniature bottles are great to chuck in the bottom of your bag and lacquer up on the go!

Gee thanks again Urban Decay!

What Brush Goes Where?

Now the function of a make up tool is simply a matter of opinion (in my opinion har-har), and most products out there are multi-purpose regardless of their name!
Here's a sneak peak into my current make up toolkit, a low down on my brushes' business...

Real Technique Expert Face Brush - This brush, with its tightly packed bristles and slightly domed top, is my perfect gizmo for applying liquid foundation. It blends seamlessly, with minimal effort - there's no need to spend hours working your foundation into your skin with this baby.

Topshop Kabuki Brush - Okay, so this is quite a large brush, but I love how easily I can give my paley pale face a wash of colour using a natural looking bronzer. A quick swoop in the hollows of my checks and around my temples and you would think I'd traveled the world! 

Sigma Duo Fibre Powder/Blush F15 - I rarely use powder, but when I do I use this brush. I powder mainly my T-zone and chin, this brush distributes and sets the powder so lightly you can hardly tell its there.

Real Techniques Contour Brush - This little friend helps me tackle the nightmare that is my dreary morning eyes (anyone else?). With a creamy concealer, this brush can work wonders on dark circles, perfectly fitting around my eye socket for max coverage.

Topshop Angled Brush - I'm not a big lover of liquid/gel eyeliner (mainly because I'm impossibly rubbish at applying it) so I usually use black eye shadow just on the upper outer part of my lid, as close to my lash line as humanly possible. This angled brush from good'ol Topshop is perfect for the job and also comes in handy with my eyebrows too...

Real Techniques Buffing Brush - Of course this brush is going to make an appearance, how can a girl live without it!? Well... I seem to have moved on from the 'buffing in my foundation' craze and now only use this brush for applying cream blush - which it does so brilliantly. A light stipple on the cheeks and your good to go.

Real Techniques Blush Brush - Just as it says on the tin, I use this brush to apply blusher on the apples of my cheeks. An all round good'un I'd say, real techniques never disappoint.

So there you have it - my toolkit. I wonder, do you use any of these brushes for a completely different function?

Autumn Go-To's

Autumn is well and truly upon us, and what is more exciting than switching up your make up collection to match? Today I bring to you my autumn go-to's, my 'always on top of my make up pile' staples that I will be using constantly during the colder months.

Autumn is all about deep tones and simple looks, and what I am about to show you is all completely affordable (all under a tenner, score)!

Two lippies I reach for non stop... (left) Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in the shade 'Notting Hill Nude' (720). At £6.49 this nude is simple and wearable both day and night. (right) 17 Supreme Shine Lipstick in the shade 'Deep Secret' at £4.99 is a very fun christmassy colour (anyone else thinking works christmas do?). Both great lip products, brilliantly moisturising and easy to apply, even for the lippy rookie over here.

Next up, the most gorgeous plum blush by Maybelline from their Expect Wear line, in the shade 'Flash Plum' - obviously! And for £5.99, deep cheeks can be worn by eveyone.

This product is a lazy girls dream, from their Scandaleyes collection, this Shadow Paint (£4.99) by Rimmel in the shade 'Rich Russet' is the perfect dark bronze for a simple wash of autumn-y colour. Plus the Liquid texture is great during the harsh winter that dries out our skin boo-hoo.

Give it a go, Warm up with Winter!

Sleek Matte Me

Once upon a time, I almost fell into the devilish trap that goes by the name of Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick swooooooon.

In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't as shortly following, these little gems hit the high street.

Sleep Matte Me Lip Stain in 'Rioja Red' - £4.99

Sleeks lip stains are the perfect dupe, for a smidgen of the hourglass price! At £4.99 I am inclined to class this purchase as a 'steal'. The pigmentation is to die for, and as for the colour - 'Rioja Red' is a classic red needed in everyone's make up collection. 

Matte Me dries super quick and super matte with only one coat needed. The formula is a little drying so I tend to balm it up before a-go-go. It comes in 6 colours, including 'fandango Purple' a gorgeous berry fushia that I may NEED in my life.