• #ALipADay // #19 - Collection Cream Puff Fairy Cake •

Coral lipstick in Autumn is perfectly acceptable... 

right?

The Collection cream puffs are gooooorgeous and I've been raving about them for so long! I own two of them and I've already worn Cotton Candy earlier on in the month. The Collection Cream Puff in Fairy Cake is more of a coral than Cotton Candy and I'd say it has quite a strong orange hue to it. It instantly brightens up my face and I love wearing it with minimal make up. It dries down to a matte formula which makes it super long lasting, and I really enjoy the fact that it doesn't wear off in funny places - ie. leaves a strong colour around your lip line and no colour in the centre of the lips! I like that it's a liquid, creamy lipstick which you apply with a doe foot applicator (if you've read some of the previous #ALipADay posts, you'll know I'm a sucker for liquid lipsticks!) as it makes it so easy, and I definitely recommend checking this out when you're next out beauty shopping!

Daniela xo

• #ALipADay // #6 - Collection Cream Puff Cotton Candy •

These aren't your normal matte lipsticks - they're creamy, 
non-drying and don't accentuate the lines in your lips.

And another bonus - they're £2.99. Absolute bargain. This Collection Cream Puff in Cotton Candy is truly amazing and I'm not sure how I can actually express my love for it in a blog post. The lipstick goes on really smoothly and the applicator is a lovely doe foot applicator. It feels so light on the lips whilst giving a really pigmented colour, which is a gorgeous neutral everyday pink, and you can rub your lips together without them feeling dry. It's so long wearing and doesn't fade after a while, and the lipstick also doesn't cling to any dry patches on the lips. I really recommend this product as I honestly reach for it so much, especially on days when I'm going for natural make up.

Daniela xo

• A Boots beauty haul •

I picked up some bits and bobs that I needed for summer... 

(I say the word 'needed' loosely). 

First, let's talk lipsticks. More specifically, let's talk Revlon. Technically, I wasn't meant to fall in love with the Revlon Matte Balms as I had swatched them when they first came out and wasn't all that impressed. But the other day, when I wandered on in to Boots, I checked them out again to see if my opinion had changed. It miraculously had. Maybe it's because we're in summer now and I can see myself dipping into the brights a little more, but they just really appealed to me. I picked up the colours 'Unapologetic', a near-fluorescent bright pink and 'Audacious', a stunning hot bright orange. They're so pigmented, smell minty and are super creamy, so exactly what I look for in lip products, and I'm really looking forward to wearing these.

Next up are the Collection Cream Puffs in 'Fairy Cake', a coral-y pink and 'Cotton Candy' a really pretty muted pink. They're matte and ridiculously creamy (can you spot a theme here?) and their pigmentation is just amazing. One swipe and my lips are done, there's no need to go over the area with layers, the colour is what it is. I spotted Sabrina from LoveLaughAndMakeup rocking Fairy Cake in a tutorial and I was so surprised to find they were only £2.99 each. I've been wearing Cotton Candy non-stop and I can see these being perfect with a light base and winged liner. Oh and the scent? Sweet and gorgeous - good enough to eat (wouldn't recommend this though...)

As mentioned in my June lusting/July wish list post, I was so impressed with the L'oreal L'Extroadinaire Liquid Lipstick in 201 'Rose Symphony' and was excited to pick up another shade, so I did just that. I chose the colour 601 'Nude Ballet' as Rose Melody wasn't in stock and I've been lusting over it for a while - it's still on the list! Nude Ballet is the perfect nude though, especially for my pale colouring with olive undertones. The formula is gorgeously creamy and again, very pigmented, especially for a gloss.

Top row: Revlon 'Unapologetic' and Revlon 'Audacious'

Bottom row: Collection 'Fairy Cake', Collection 'Cotton Candy', L'Oreal 'Nude Ballet'

L'oreal has been killing it recently and they just keep coming out with amazing products across the board; I feel like their range is similar in quality to high-end make up - they own the likes of Lancome and YSL, so that could be why. Alongside the gloss, I picked up the Lumi Magique Primer which was also on my lust list. It's a really lovely iridescent primer that gives a dew look when foundation is applied over the top, which I'm really loving at the moment. It catches the light beautifully and I've been wearing it with my Revlon Colour Stay to give it more of a blowy look. Lastly, I bought the Nude Magique Eau De Teint Foundation in 'Warm Ivory' which I won't talk too much about as I'm planning a full review for it. As a little spoiler though, it's bloody fantastic. I'll go into it more in the review, with a demo to show you how it looks in terms of coverage, finish, texture, longevity and colour. Watch this space!

Have you picked anything up recently?

Have you tried any of the products I purchased?

Daniela xo

• Collection Work the Colour nail polishes // review •

I'm a nail polish hoarder - I know, it's a problem, and at my last count I was up to 197. But everyone needs 20 shades of green, don't they? No? Just me then.

When I was lucky enough to receive the whole of the nail polish collection (!!!) from Collection, I was so excited. 24 shades of what can only be described as pure gorgeousness made me a very excited girl indeed. The Work the Colour nail polishes are simply stunning - with their long wearing, chip resistant formula that doesn't streak and is extremely pigmented, there is literally nothing to complain about. When I looked up the price I just couldn't believe they were only £1.99! The colour selection is fantastic and there are a mix of shimmery and block colours which makes them perfect for someone like me who enjoys a good accent nail every now and again.

The Pastels. 

L-R; 8 Babydoll Pink, 22 Lilac Daze, 23 Baby Blue, 3 Bear Nude.

The Pinks.

L-R; 1 In the Pink, 15 Tropical Pink, 9 Pink Cadillac, 5 Neon Pink, 20 Raspberry Pink.

The Golds.

L-R; 18 Going for Gold, 13 Scorched Copper, 16 Fools Gold, 11 Golddust.

The Brights.

L-R; 21 Sonic Blue, 17 Orange Zest, 12 Purplicous, 7 After Dinner Mint, 4 Blurple, 2 Lady in Red.

The Blues.

L-R; 14 Deep Blue Sea, 6 Blue Belle, 19 Titanium Grey, 10 Peacock Green, 24 Fairy Dust.

So as you can see, there really is a colour for everyone. I'm just super impressed with the quality and shade range of these nail polishes and if Collection bring any more out, I'll definitely be purchasing them (hoarder by name, hoarder my nature...)

Have you tried any of these nail polishes? What's your favourite brand for nail polishes?

Daniela

• April lusting // May wish list •

I've been experimenting with lots of different types of make up this month and it's made me realise that I need to step out of my comfort zone with eyeshadows, liquid liner and BB creams (that are more like foundations that BB creams...but more on that later). My go-to look around this time of year is a light coverage with a sweep of shimmer on the eyes and a nude lipstick, so this wish list pretty much sums me up! If you missed last month's lustings, you can read that post here.

1. Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette
Currently £37 from feelunique.com, click here to be directed to the site.
Who doesn't want this palette? I won't go on about this too much as it's already been raved and reviewed about, but I just think the colours are stunning. Originally I thought that the rose gold shades wouldn't suit me but I've since swatched them and they look really lovely with my pale skin tone. I was lucky enough to win the MAC Warm Neutrals Palette (review on this here) and it made me more adventurous with my eyeshadow looks so I feel like I have to pick this up - when you keep thinking about something you just have to get it? You know?!

2. Crown Brush Pro Blending Crease Brush - C441

Currently £3.99 from Crown Brush UK, click here to be directed to the site.

I've never tried anything from Crown Brush before but I've heard so many amazing things about the quality and value for money of their brushes. I do love a good crease brush and I have far too many but I think I'll use this one as the clean brush that doesn't add any colour, but just blends the eyeshadows out that little bit more. Ooh I could use this with the Naked 3 Palette! *brb while I go and order these items...*

3. MAC Cremesheen Lipstick - Creme Cup

Currently £15 from MAC Cosmetics UK, click here to be directed to the site.

So I'm jumping on the bandwagon here but for good reason - all you need to do is type 'MAC Creme Cup' into Google and you'll see why. It's a stunning pinky nude which is exactly what I'm looking for at the moment, and the cremesheen formulas are probably my favourite lipstick finishes. Lately I've been all about MAC lipsticks as I've rediscovered old loves and gained new shades so I've been having fun with playing with new colours. I really recommend these lipsticks and I think that every girl should own at least one in her collection - they're wonderful.

4. Collection Fast Stroke Liquid Eye Liner

Currently £2.99 from Collection, click here to be directed to the site.

I really never thought I'd be an eyeliner fan and have always much preferred a softer, smudgy look but lately I've found myself experimenting with a crisp, clean, winged-out line. I'm loving a cat eye with a soft champagne shimmer all over the lid - it's really simple, yet feline-like and subtly sexy, if you catch my drift. I've swatched this liner in store so many times but I've always opted for a gel liner or a felt-tip pen liner. Next time I'm in Boots, I'm nabbing this, as I really love how thin and tiny the applicator is, making it so easy to work with. I haven't found anything like this in other liquid liners but I've heard the L'oreal Superliner liquid liner is similar.

5. Benefit Big Easy Multi Balancing Complexion Perfector

Currently £27.50 from Boots, click here to be directed to the site.

This product is a funny one as it's not quite a BB cream but not quite a foundation, it's almost an inbetweeny product. I picked up a tester of this a few weeks ago and will admit I was cynical, as I haven't been crazy over some of the other benefit bases. I unexpectedly fell in love with this product, though - it makes mornings so easy. I can skip moisturiser (which probably isn't advised, but I have no time in the morning for faffing) and the coverage is pretty impressive. I used the shade light/medium and it left a semi-matte finish on my skin, didn't slip off my face and didn't go patchy. I do definitely recommend this and will be getting my hands on it ASAP - I think I need to calm down when it comes to bases though as I picked up 3 new ones in this haul and I have an Estee Lauder Double Wear on the way. Oops!

6. Breville Blend-Active Personal Blender

Currently £27.96 from Amazon, click here to be directed to the site.

At first glance this item doesn't seem beauty related, however in a roundabout way it kind of is. We all need our skin to behave and this sorts it from the inside out. I've been obsessed with smoothies lately (and have put one or two recipes up on my instagram - ddiraimo92) so a new blender is on the cards. This Breville blender is pretty special; you get two gym-style bottles with the blender and you screw off the bottom of them and attach the blade. You then attach this to the blender and blend your goodies, screw the cap on the bottle, ready to take away and drink. I'm not sure that makes much sense as I read over it, but there are so many tutorials of how to use it online on YouTube. I'm a bit of a technology geek so I love things like this, and anything that makes being healthy 'easy' is a winner in my eyes. Also - minimal washing up required! You don't have a separate blender to wash up as well as the glass/bottle. Genius.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Whenever it gets near to the end of the month I always get excited about writing my lusting/wish list post - it makes me really aware of all of the goodies I may treat myself to!

What have you been lusting over this month?

Daniela