Valentine's Day FOTD - Urban Decay On the Run

Happy Valentine's Day my loves, I hope you've had a wonderful day, whatever it is that you have been up to - the boy and I have had a chilled out day and are celebrating our first Valentines as an engaged couple with a pizza and movie night.

I thought I would make a little effort today and try out one of the presents my boy brought back from America a couple of weeks ago - the Urban Decay On the Run palette was one of the things on my wish list while he was there but I didn't think he would actually pick it up for me.

The collection is designed for throwing into your bag when travelling as it contains all the essentials you would need, a blush and bronzer, highlighter, 6 neutral shadows, a lip-gloss, liner and mascara. You could create easy everyday looks with this without them being too much for day to day.

I like the concept and parts of the collection are great but it’s not a 100% win. The shadows and the liner are the best part, I love Urban Decay shadows, mainly the Naked trio but the liners are something I've wanted to try for a while - this one is in Stag, a neutral brown that glides on and stays put with a sharpener in the lid.

The bronzer is nice; the blush a little harsh on my pale winter skin, a little really does go a long way. The mascara is ok, the brush is not the best but the product does do on dark and give definition to the lashes. The lip-gloss is hideous, really sticky with very little colour, this could easily go in the bin and I wouldn't miss it.

A really mix of a collection really, one that I will use, the shadows are an easy go to for busy days or when I'm between my house and my parents, but I wouldn't buy it for anyone else, save your money or buy the two Naked Basic's palettes!

As for the last picture, taking FOTD's with Ted is really hard, so many pictures ruined today, or maybe enhanced with his presence!

Have you tried the On the Run palette? What did you think? How are you spending your Valentine's Day?

Sarah Xx

New In - Topshop

Spring seems to have arrived this weekend just gone, I actually managed to go out without needing a full winter coat, just watch, now I've said that winter will return! With the new season comes lots of  new clothing drops from various brands. Today's focus is on Topshop, I have two gift cards burning holes in my pocket so I keep looking for things I need for the new season.

I seem to have a thing for dresses at the moment, frustratingly I don't wear them outside of work but I'm trying to get out of my jeans a bit more. The Tall Striped Dress is really cute, the layer over the top makes it more winter appropriate with tights but will allow it to be moved into Spring with no tights later on in the year.The Striped Skater Dress is a bit of colour for the dull dark mornings, another dress for tights and chunky boots. The Oversized Leather Vest is a serious investment at £75, but with black skinny jeans it would look great with a pop of colour  with a bright accessory.

More stripes in the shape of a Striped Slouchy Sweat, I love the relaxed fit, perfect for snuggly evenings in. One item I wish was in tall or regular size, this really cute Checked Print Coat, why is the best stuff always in the wrong collection but this would be great over the top of a simple grey or black outfit. Finally, an early Cut-Out shoe, perfect as the weather warms up for a night out or in the summer for work.

I'm trying really hard to find something that I want to spend my vouchers on, not spending them on things that I already have a lot of striped clothing but I do adore them and can't see my love for stripes waining any time soon. 

What bits would you pick from this weeks selection? 

Sarah xx

NOTD - OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Mini Collection

Monday again, so another nail of the day, or rather at the moment it’s just a set of nail polish without the swatch, check out my Instagram for what the colours look like. 

 

With the release of Fifty Shades of Grey on Friday I really wanted to check out the collection from OPI, not so much fifty shades but 5 shades and a red. The collection is made up from cream, foil and glitter polishes, 

 

The darkest polish is Dark Side of the Mood, a dark bluey grey colour, almost black but still a grey - this needed full 3 coats to get it opaque but I don't mind for the colour. Next up is Embrace the Grey, a creamy mid-tone grey, opaque in two coats and a lovely shade that matches a snowy sky. The lightest grey is Cement the Deal, a light grey colour, another creamy polish, opaque in two coats. The foil of the collection is My Silk Tie, a silvery grey that applies smoothly but shows up streak marks, something I can overlook but others might not. The glitter is Shine for Me, a mixture of silver and blue glitters that is quite densely packed and only needs one coat but a 2nd just finishes it off!

 

The odd one out of the collection is Romantically Involved, a dark burnt red the perfect red lipstick shade, I wish this was a lipstick as it would be perfect. It applied in two coats and was dark straight away.

 

Out of the collection, my favourites are Dark Side of the Mood and Embrace the Day; I love darker polishes throughout the year. 

 

The collection is a lovely little set; it would make a really cute gift for someone this valentine - check it out at Feel Unique for £19.95.

 

What do you think of the collection? Are you excited for the film? 

 

Sarah xx

 

My Make Up Bag #4

Hellooo lovely people, I hope you've had a wonderful week - I can't believe we're already back to another Monday already, it’s been a mad busy weekend but it's nice to spend some time being busy.

Make up this week is a lot of high street make up, it’s nice to use a lot of my old favourites.

Base this week is a combination of two Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr Foundations in Soft Beige & Ivory. These two mixed together are the perfect tone for me at the moment, not too dark but not to ghostly for my current skin tone. Concealer is Wake Me Up from Rimmel, love this stuff! Cheeks are a combination of Rimmel Stay Blushed (sensing a bit of brand love!) and Collection Bronze Glow, I think this was from a Glossybox so I've not tried it but a quick swatch says it’s just enough to warm up my face a bit.

My love for Anastasia Dip Brow is still going strong, I think I need to review it soon really but I haven't stopped using it. Shadow this week is MUA's Heaven & Earth Palette; I forgot how good the shadows are in this. Liner is a black gel from No 7, this was my first foray into gel liner many years ago and it’s about time it got some love again. Lashes this week come in the shape of Benefit's They're Real mascara, after my love for Roller Mascara last week it's nice to be using my other favourite mascara.

Those are my picks this week, what bits would you pick out of my selection? What are you using this week? 

Sarah xx

February To-Do list

Link 

I massively failed at my January to-do list, I failed to sit down and actually read a book, Ted did not visit anywhere new and I just gave up on wearing lipstick once I my cold set in. So I'm determined to actually pull myself together and do stuff this month! Here's what is on my list:

- Take Ted somewhere new

- Wear lipstick at some point this month (check this out on Instagram)

- Wear a new outfit to the gym

- Try a new class at the gym

- Bake something new this month

- See a film

- Clear out old clothes for the charity shop

- Take an OOTD at some point

Thats all I can think of at the moment - what would you put on your list?

Sarah xx

NOTD - Models Own Red 'n' Black

Dark nails - Pretty much reflects the dark weather recently and well I adore dark nail polish. I've had a search through my nail polish stash and realised that I hadn't used this in a while. 

Red 'n' Black was one of the first polishes I bought from Models Own, I was drawn to it because in some lights it is black and sometimes it is red, like a very dark red wine colour. It applies fully dark in two coats; you can make it more or less black depending on how many coats you use. 

Formula is what you would expect from Models Own, perfect and smooth, dries really quickly and there is no streaking or creasing. This lasted me nearly 5 full days until I chipped it washing up, very good.

I love this colour for winter, perfect whilst the weather is cold and dark - what do you think? 

Sarah xx

My Make Up Bag #3

I've had a stinking cold for most of this week so the thought of putting make up on hasn't been high on my list - now that’s going away I feel more like making an effort then I have done last week.

This week I've picked out lots of bits as well as a newbie. For base I've gone for a combination of Benefit's Porefessional and Big Easy in Light. To hide my poor, red nose I'm still loving Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer. A quick rummage in my stash and I've found my favourite cream blush, Topshop's Cream Blush in Head over Heels, I'd forgotten about this and teamed with Hoola to add a bit of warmth and colour back into my skin.

Brows have been re-shaped thanks to a weekend trip to the threading ladies in town; does anyone else feel human when their brows are back in shape? To keep them looking good, I'm using Anastasia Dip Brow in Soft Brown as it is my current favourite! Liner is Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl in Coco Bean. Lashes are thanks to Benefit Roller Lash mascara - I've tried this over the weekend thanks to the sample from Elle and I am currently impressed.

The week looks like the quiet before the storm of parents evening and class assemblies so I'm looking forward to getting to wear nice make up. 

What have you picked this week? 

Sarah xx