Lipcote | Trial and Review!

Recently while I was pondering in Superdrug I came across a certain product "Lipcote" which I had heard of many times before but not really thought too much of. For those of you who don't know Lipcote is a lipstick sealer that you apply over the top of your lipstick to prevent smudging and fading. It didn't take a lot of thought before I picked it up in the store as it was only £3.69 I didn't have much to lose!

The packaging the product comes in is fairly simplistic. Over all cream in colour with a pastel green pattern running all over it. The front sports the product name 'lipcote', a few brand sayings, a british stamp and two sets of lips, there's also a small cutout in the front so you can see part of the product bottle. The back has the same pattern with all the ingrediants, information, and instructions on how to use the product.

The scent of  the product is not the nicest. On the back of the packaging it says 'New Vanilla Fragrance' which being honest it didn't smell at all vanilla-ry, it just smelt very alcoholic and unpleasant - but still bearable.

Upon applying it over my lips I felt a very tingly/ stinging sensation on my lips but as it dried this feeling went away. It wasn't the best feeling for me but it wasn't horrible either. - If this feeling persists after a few minutes I'd suggest you take it off immeditely and don't continue using it as you may be allergic.

I decided to apply it over a very fierce red lipstick (Rimmel Mayfair Red Lady) so I could capture how well it stays throughout the day.

After 6 hours

At around 6PM I did a check up on the look of the lipstick. By this time I had had many cups of tea, juice, and water and had also eaten warm wheetabix and lots of sweeties and chocolate (ooops! teehee). Over all it looked pretty good! The only imperfections being on the top lip near the corners of my mouth. Here is a picture I took at this time.

After 12+ hours

I checked over my lipstick again at PAST 01:30 because I was a bad Rachael and went to Whetherspoons. Though, this did make the trial better as I wasn't being careful. I had a lot of drinking including very strong alcoholic shots that I would've expected to ruin my lipstick but it still stayed looking acceptable. I had also eaten a huge cheeseburger and chips which would normally result in me having lipstick smudges all over my face but I didn't! SUCCESS!

In conclusion I think this product is absolutely brilliant! I was actually very surprised with how well the lipstick stayed thorughout the course of the approximate 14 hours. For the price this is an absolute must for any lipstick wearer!

I'm just happy I don't have to worry about burger lipstick smudge anymore <3
(Please say it's not just me...)

Iron Fist Haul!

A couple of weeks ago I was browsing on the web and it came to my attention that Iron Fist were having a sale. Now, if you knew me you'd know of my love for shoes and specifically my love for Iron Fists designs so naturally I went onto their website to have a gander and these items are what I ended up purchasing!

As soon as this huge box arrived I knew it had to be my Iron Fist order! Opening it was just SO exciting!

Firstly I got the "Kiss of Death Top" in black in an XS.
Can't find the RRP price but I got it for £6.75!
I found this design to be oddly sweet, whilst maintaining badass-ery. The image printed on the front is a heart shape with two skeletons kissing inside of it. For some reason I imagine it to be a wedding day photo as the male skeleton is wearing a top hat which is probably why I think it's cute! 

The cut of the top is quite interesting, there is almost no back to this top with there just being a small joining near the bottom which slightly resembles a bow shape. Though the cut looks good I do have an issue as the top isn't tight fitting it can easily fall off both of my shoulders revealing my breasticles! But I found it easy enough to safety pin it to my bra straps to keep it from falling down.

I then got the "Black Sheep Peep Toe Flat" in Nude in a 6UK.

RRP £39.99 - I got them for £10

I think these aren't the most practical shoes to be buying right now as it is coming into Autumn, but I seem to wear dolly shoes a lot and I could always wear them with tights to try and keep my tootsies warm. I find the detailing on Iron Fist products to be brilliant and really well thought out. These are, as they say - a nude peep toe shoe covered with a sheep and flower print and they also have a black embossed bow towards the front of the shoe. Even the inner lining is a lovely coral and white polka dot/skull print and the sole is embossed with lots of skulls and the Iron Fist logo.

I also purchased the "Scary Prarie Heel" in Turquoise in a 5UK.
(I find 6's in heels to usually be too big)
RRP £59.99 - I got them for £15

I think these shoes are just gorgeous. They're mainly turquoise with small white polka dot print all over them, but then they have red roses printed on as well with some of them having little skulls in the centre. Turquoise is one of my favourite colours and the style of these shoes seem strangely retro, I can imagine pairing them beautifully with a white swing dress and some red/turquoise accessories!

Another Pair I purchased was the"Maneater Wedge" in Nude. 5UK.
RRP £94.99 - I got them for £23.75

I was debating for quite awhile whether to get these in Black or Nude and ended up going for nude as I realised I have absolutely no nude heels, I have plenty of black and other patterns and colours but oddly - no nude. When I opened up these I was so pleased! These are super pretty and the detailing is so perfect. They are lace up wedges and are obviously nude and embossed allover with sugar skulls, they have three rows of gold studs on (up the back, and on each side), and even have another sugar skull printed on the sole of the shoe too.

Finally I got the "Scary Prarie Bootie" in Yellow. 5UK

RRP £109.99 - I got them for £27.50

I was very indecisive on whether I should get these because I do really like them, though, I don't wear yellow much and don't know how I could style them. These platform booties are lace up are the exact same pattern as the turquoise "Scary Prarie Heel" I purchased but just a different colour scheme, these are yellow with white polka dots and instead of red roses they have purpley-pink roses, again they have the occasional skull print on the inside of the rose, the sole of the shoe is black and covered with little white hearts.

Sorry I couldn't comment on comfort or show you how they look on; I've had a cast on my foot due to a 1st metatarsal fracture but I will show you as soon as I can!
I think the sale is still on so if you love anything like I do I suggest you get yo bootay over there quick!

Pretty as a Princess in Curvy Kate

I have been eyeing up Curvy Kates 'Princess Bra' for quite a few months now. Every time I saw it I'd click onto it and admire how beautiful it looked on the models, thinking it wouldn't sit well on me I kept putting off purchasing it... Until now!

I ordered it in the Teal/Blush colour in a 28G. The teal colour is absolutely gorgeous and the detailing on the bra is so pretty! The sheer cups, the textured polkadots, the lacey rose detailing on the top of the cups and straps, and the the pink ribbon brings it all together! Arghhh it's just so cute!

I assumed it'd be fairly pointy or droopy (which is how I usually think of unpadded bras!), but it seems to give me quite a nice rounded shape which I wasn't expecting. I do have a bit of empty space on the outside of the cups (as I do with most bras) because the wiring is too wide for my breasts, but that isn't a huge problem.
I find that Curvy Kate bands are very stretchy, and this bra isn't an exception. It feels fairly firm at the moment, though I know that will soon change -  especially considering I should really have 26" bands (which CK don't offer but their designs are lovely!).
Laid flat the band measures around 22 1/2" and the stretched measurement I took was 29" which isn't the best for a new 28" band, though I could always tamper with the band to make it firmer and last longer for me!

I don't think you're ready for this Gelly - Barry M Nail Paint

For quite a while now I've been neglecting my nails. When I started at college in 2011 I slowly started to stop painting my nails because whenever I did (as I was dancing and handwriting so much) they were chipped and looked awful the next day. As I finished college a few months ago I began to notice that my nails have improved (they are longer and stronger with no horrible snapped off bits) and thought now I have such nice canvases it would be a shame to leave them looking so dull.

I went into my shoe box full of nail varnish to discover there weren't really any colours I wanted to wear. Some of the polishes I'm almost certain I've have since I was 10 (such as the 'Wicked Witch peelable glow in the dark nail paint' I hold in the picture below), so I went onto Amazon (as it was around 3AM) and had a little browse.

I came across quite a few different brands such as China Glaze, and OPI, but I didn't want to spend too much considering there's no guarantee I'll keep up with it. So I decided I'd go with a few of the Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paints by Barry M as they were a very reasonable price and I'd seen a few of my friends posting about it on Instagram. The retail price for this product is £3.99 (although I paid a little under that as I got them off Amazon).

I went with 'Prickly Pear' (Left), 'Pomegranate' (Middle), and 'Watermelon' (Right).
I wanted to choose some pretty colours as before I would only really wear Red, Black, Pale Pink, or a metallic Turquoise; though sometimes I'd 'spice' it up with some black crackle effect over the top.

I decided I'd first try out 'Prickly Pear' as I'm still LOVING pale and pastelly colours, and I have to say I am impressed! I applied this colour on Saturday and it is now Tuesday night, I can see no chipping or areas of wear whatsoever - the only imperfections are due to me being unsure of the best application method (tried doing very thin coats at first but then realised it was looking a little streaky and uneven so continued with thicker layers). As for the colour I absolutely love it! It's the perfect pale purple shade and it really does have a 'Hi - Shine' to it which looks gorgeous! (and dare I say more expensive?!) I also couldn't help but notice the texture and feel of the nail paint; it seems very solid but doesn't seem to harden the nail in any way, and it also has a lovely smooth finish to it.

 

Over all I am very pleased with my purchase and can't wait to try out the other two colours! I would recommend this product to anyone looking for a brilliant nail polish at a reasonable price! I expect to be picking up a few of the other shades in the near future (as well as throwing out most of my existing nail varnish collection!)

Removing/ lightening hair dye with vitamin C!

A few weeks ago I decided to dye my hair 'my little pony'-esque (pastel pink with a few streaks of other pastel colours in it) as a spur of the moment thing. I haven't had my hair any shade of pink in about two years and I was surprised as I really loved it! The pink was much paler than any shade I'd had before - so obviously it faded out very quickly.

Considering how happy I was with the initial dye I was quick to touch up my hair when it had started to fade out. While I was mixing the dye I accidentally put too much pink in with the conditioner but thought to myself, ah well! It won't come out too bad! - How wrong I was.

The colour my hair came out was an extremely bright pink, similar to what I had had years ago. I thought perhaps I don't like it because I haven't had dark hair (in comparison to my skin tone) in quite a while, so I thought I might just let it fade out... But after waking up to it the next morning I decided I just did not like it.

I grabbed my handy products and started to mix up my home made hair stripper. To make this you will need: Shampoo, a mixing bowl, any kind of vitamin C tablets/ powder, water (optional), and washing up liquid (optional).

How I made my mixture: I put four of the vitamin C tablets in my mixing bowl and broke them up a tiny bit, I then added the tiniest amount of water and left them to dissolve (Mine were the dissolvable kind, if you have the regular tablets just put them in a bag and smash them up with a hammer or try using a pestle and mortar). I then came back to it when they were dissolved and started to mix in shampoo until I had enough to cover my whole head.

                  

I applied the mixture to my hair, leaving it on for between 30-45 minutes. The pigment did seem to bleed out from my hair quite quickly while the mixture was on. After rinsing it off I could see a difference in the colour of my hair already. I decided to repeat the process twice because the initial colour was quite dark so I thought I had best get rid of as much of the pigment as possible to get it down to a more pastel tone. After rinsing the final time here were my results: 

 

I am very happy with how much pigment the vitamin C mixture pulled out of my hair. The colour is still darker than the last dye but is still a beautiful pale pink colour! 

(If you use this method make sure you deep condition your hair afterwards as this can be very drying to your hair!)