Elle

Summer is finally here in the UK, we've had some beautiful, sunny days. One of my favourite things to do in the summer is to play with bright and beautiful lip colours and so I thought I would compile a short list some of my favourite, affordable lipsticks to brighten your days over the coming months. PS - my camera wasn't showing the colour of the swatches very well so I had to use my iPad to take picture swatches so the quality isn't great. PPS - the pictures were taken after 12 hrs of make up wearing so it's not looking great but my eye make up is a combination of Trick, Liar and Factory from the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette combined with the Too Faced Better than Sex mascara. I could've picked so many but I tried to pick a small representation so it's not too overwhelming: From left: NYX Cosmic Metals Speed of Light, Colorpop Poppin', Revlon Lip Butter 'Tutti Frutti', Avon 'Rapid Rose', NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream 'Sydney'  ...

Since this product came out a while ago, I have been intrigued to try it as as far as I know, it is the only thing on the market doing this job. I am a big fan of the Soap and Glory 'Easy Glistening' Dry Oil but mainly for the shimmer. However, often body butter can be too time consuming and as it takes so long to absorb it cannot be applied before clothing. Plus at under £2.50, the Vaseline spray seemed a win-win choice for a quick fix.  I am really impressed with this product, my skin feels moisturised but not sticky and I could've put my clothes on within 30 seconds of spraying on. The aloe vera is also lovely as it is very subtle and the soothing effect is lovely-today has been quite hot and this was really refreshing.  Although I wouldn't trade in my body butter as it is only a light moisturiser, I can definitely see this becoming a frequent item on my shopping list; the size will also be great for travelling!  Have a lovely day, Elle xxx

This post is on yet another somewhat mundane issue - hairspray. There are so many brands to chose from and so many prices too! After going on holiday and forgetting hairspray (I have a fringe so use it daily to stop it looking funny) I picked up some VO5 Ultimate Hold as my usual Bed Head Masterpiece is quite pricey. So I thought I would put them to the test in a battle of skinted vs. minted. Bed Head Masterpiece Massive Shine Hairspray (340ml) and the Mini version  (79ml) VO5 Ultimate Hold Hairspray (400ml) Value for money: The Bed Head Masterpiece is considerably more at RRP £14.95 and has 60 ml less product than the Ultimate Hold (£3.29). However, one can of Masterpiece has now lasted me four months as you hardly have to use any. Also, it is much cheaper online at around £7.00. When I use the VO5 hairspray, I find I have to use a lot more for the same hold which makes the hair look like straw. However, you could buy many more cans of the VO5 for the price....