Lazy Monday post

I know I know! You are all probably wondering were I have been and even if you haven’t Im going to tell you anyway. Now to some of you this will be a bit of a cop out of a blog post but It’s necessary!(plus I'm really tired) It is exam season in England and I was lucky enough to have my last one this morning. And you guessed it, I’m celebrating the end of exams in style. I got home straight into my pajamas, stuck on season 10 of friends, got the chocolate out and logged onto tumblr and do you know what I might go the full hog and treat myself to a nap as soon as I’ve finished writing this.

My jazzy Pj bottoms

 I thought about my blog a lot over the weekend and I really am enjoying writing it and I would like to also thank you all for taking the time to read it. I’ve made the decision to take weekends of from working on my blog or anything social networking related but I will be about during the week so watch out for me.  I hope everyone had a good weekend and enjoyed fathers day. I was surprised when I asked me dad what he wanted as a present he replied with the new Rudimental and Minstery of sound Deep house cd. It was a proud moment for me to know my dad is still rocking! I’m keeping it short and sweet today and will be back tomorrow with one of my normal over exaggerated posts.

 Thank you for reading

Loren

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The day in the life of a shopaholic

I've been at it again! This morning I rolled out of bed (what a pretty thought) and before I could even figure out the date or time my mind had decided shopping was all today was going to be about. I've tried in the past to keep myself away from the shops but I cant and the fact I work in a department store part time only helps feed my addiction. Every time I go to work I'm creating a mental shopping list and convincing my self that the florescent orange dress complete with weird black netting and cut out sides is exactly what I need (Just to put your mind at ease I made up the dress). Sale season has begun in my shop and as the beautiful red and white signs are put up its like I become a kid in a candy shop. Nothing can make my heart beat faster then discounted clothes. Ok I'm really not helping myself here, I promise I am somewhat mentally stable. I have noticed I start eyeing up what customers are bringing to the changing room in hope I see something I like and can just take it off them (just kidding I would never do that). 

Anyway back to the story. I ran a comb through my hair slapped on my makeup and hopped on the bus. The journey into the city gives me a good 15 minutes to enter my own little world and dream about all the amazing bargains waiting for me. I was in luck today, almost as if the shopping gods had shone there light down and made me their chosen one. I can never normally find shoes in the sale that I like because the ones that are left are either awkward sizes or something you would see your Nan wearing. I walked past the Office concession not paying much attention when out of the corner of my eye I could see the first bargain of the day waiting for me. Reduced from £45 to £23 I couldn’t leave without these beautiful tan loafers. I was so happy I felt like jumping up in the air and clicking my heels together. I felt myself shout with excitement “YES! I WILL TAKE THEM” which I could tell scared the sales assistant but also warned the other shoppers I mean serious business.

 Satisfied with my first purchase I carried on knowing there was more to be had, and that’s when I saw the dune concession. It was a sea of red and white sale stickers. I skipped my way over and what do I see… size 5 sandals reduced from £29 down to £14. Now I would like us all to just take a minute to appreciate the beauty of sales. I picked them up and tried to play it cool which is very hard when on the inside you’re dying of happiness.

As I continued to rummage through the sale racks I saw this light shine down on a bag. However this was not just your bog standard bag, this was your ultimate fashion accessory. a best friend of a bag willing to carry everything you need whilst making you look great. I had been eyeing it up in John Lewis for a while and couldn’t believe it was down from £70 to £44, and this ladies and gentlemen is the moment when I realised I really was the chosen one.

Thank you for reading

Loren

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My nail polish addiction

I think its time that I come clean and tell you that I’m an addict. Now before you all start suggesting help lines and AA groups, I would just like to make it clear I’m addicted to shopping and nothing else. I just love being in and around shops come on guys its not that lame? is it?  Ok maybe it’s a little sad but I enjoy it. Another thing I need to tell you about Is I’m a bit of a collector, not in the sense that I qualify to be on channel 4’s “Obsessive Compulsive Hoarders” but I do go through phases when one thing takes over my mind and its all I seem to think about. Just under a year ago I became obsessed with nail polish, I’m not exaggerating when I say nails and nail art was all my internet history included and that’s when my collection begun. Now I realise this blog post is starting to sound a bit like therapy for me but lets just roll with it.  It was like nail polish became the pokemon and I had to catch ‘em all (a little 90’s reference for you all) Anyway one year later I have over 50 nail polishes as well as dotting tools and nail art brushes and don’t forget the special bag in which I can hide away my collection and pretend to the rest of the world that I'm normal. I guess I’ve lead you all on long enough now and its time to get down to the nitty gritty of reviewing.

 My favourite brand happens to be one of the more expensive.  O.P.I cover every single colour you could think of.  I understand £11.50 is a lot for a nail varnish however on www.fragrancedirect.co.ukyou can pick up the polishes for £3.99. O.P.I is definitely worth checking out as its one of the best chip resistant and pigmented polishes I have found. 

 

I’m a bit of a Rimmel London junkie and happen to be a big fan of their nail polishes. You can opt for the 60 seconds varnish , I love lasting finish or you can dip into their salon pro range which is a few pennies more. Now I admit some colours are not as great as others and I have found a few stain my nails where as others need a couple of layers(the pastel colours).  However retailing between £3-5 I think they are great and would recommend them to you all. Again a lot of the Rimmel collection you can pick up for £1.99 on fragrance direct.

Thank you for reading

Loren

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The foundations of beauty

Hello beautiful people! I think i've caught the blogging bug because i'm back again with a foundations review. Now I may be new to the beauty world but I quickly realised there is a lot of choice on the market and finding the right foundation to suit you leads to a lot of trial and error. I have a love hate relationship with foundation. When you get it wrong it can go oh so very wrong but when you find that one perfect match for you the results can lead to flawless and healthy looking skin. Now im not going to spend much time dwelling on the the products I didn't like *cough* Rimmel,Bourjois and Maybeline *cough*... who said that?  I'm a girl who loves the natural look and I found the three foundations mentioned above would be perfect if I was going for a night out at the Sugar Hut in Essex, which surprise surprise i'm not. They have been pushed to the back of my draw and thats exactly were they will be going back to once I've finished this post.

No7 Beautifully Matte

Now with all the negativity out of the way it's time to start on the positives. No7 is my go to brand I would say price wise its middle of the road. The ladys on the counter at my local boots are absolutely lovely and will answer any of your questions. They can also do a skin match for you so you know your not going to buy something that makes you look like an ompa lumpa or go the other way and end up making you look like a china doll . I went through two bottles of the Instant Radiance foundation before I discovered it made my T-Zone very oily. If like me you have oily or combination skin I would not recommend the instant radiance unless you are desperate to create  the very fresh, dewy look. When I went back the third time I asked for a foundation which was not oil based and they recommended their "Beautifully Matte" range.I honestly haven't looked back since. It gives a medium coverage which is buildable yet still looks like your skin which I love. You can set it with powder and it wont look cakey as well as staying in place all day and being a perfect colour match I really can't find a reason why I wouldn't recommend this product to you. 

Clinique Superbalanced 

The second foundation i'm recommending was a bit of an impulse buy. I had gone to Bicester Village with my dad and dragged him around the Cosmetic Company Outlet shop for a good hour and by the time I had stumbled onto the Clinique section I could see he was trying to plan his escape. Even though I could tell he wanted to get away from the crazy women fighting for their bargains I couldn't seem to pull myself away from this particular product. I applied the tester to my face and asked my dads opinion, his response being "yeh sure, buy it" Not so convinced but feeling sorry for the only man in the shop I went ahead and payed. I wasn't expecting much when I got home and thought I can pass it of as a thoughtful gift for my mum if I didn't like it and she would be none the wiser. However there will be none of that as it has turned out to be a little gem. It's a perfect match and brilliant for combination skin girls. Clinique claim it "Provides moisture and absorbs oil where needed."  and I can vouch for that! Being on the pricier side I tend to save this foundation for days when I want to look extra fabulous. I love this product and could not recommend it enough.

Thank you for reading

Loren

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My shoe love story

 I've been spending and have some treats to share with you all. My biggest bargain of the day was a pair of shoes, I know what you're thinking....boring! But you are wrong these are not just any shoes these are beautiful magical shoes that add six inches to my height and don't make me want to chop me feet off at the end of the night. Take a look at these bad boys.

 Now I know they are not going to be everyone's cuppa tea but they are mine. I was so happy when I saw these shoes sitting on the shelf in a size 5 shouting "Loren try me on, please Loren take us home" I forgot everyone and everything around me and ran towards them and when I saw the price I knew it was meant to be. I have recently been eyeing up a very similar pair in Topshop that were £70 but could never pluck up the courage to buy them. So when I saw the £20 tag plus the 10% discount I felt like I had just found the last golden ticket to Willy Wonkas chocolate factory. Me and my shoes are very happy together even though I have no where to wear them I'm happy just looking at them and prancing around the house in them for now. Gladiator sandals and wedges are very on trend for the summer season and this combines them both into one super shoe. The cut out wedge gives them a bit of an edge (haha that rhymed) and the tan colour means they will be easy to pair with anything. I admit they are not exactly the same as the Topshop ones and nowhere near the same quality but if you are on a budget my Matalan version are a great cheap alternative.

Topshop Linger gladiator platforms

Topshop Linger gladiator platforms

Thank you for reading

Loren

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Beautifully BeneFit

Hey guys! I'm back again and this time I have a Benefit Cosmetics haul for you. I've only recently entered into the beauty world but boy have I invested a lot of money in it already. I'm a sucker for anything pink and vintage so as you can all imagine I fell victim to cutesy benefit packaging.  I will just do a quick overview of some of my favorite and least favorite products.

I was lucky enough to be given the smokin' eyes pallet, and I absolutely love it. It has everything you need for creating the perfect look on a night out as well as a step by step guide to help you achieve the best results. It includes three eyeshadows one of which is a highlighter as well as brow wax and eyebright. along with this there is a mini eyeliner, blending brush (which is surprisingly good) and tweezers. It's very compact and would be perfect to travel with.  This sexy eye and eyebrow makeover kit is on the pricier side retailing at £28.50 but its a worthwhile investment.

I adore Benefits BADgal lash mascara. I tend to go for mascaras that come with plastic wands however pushed myself to try something different. The wand is BIG but its also BRILLIANT with two coats I can achieve long and full looking lashes. I'm a girl who likes the natural look and this is brilliant for bringing a bit of drama to my eyes. It passes all the basic mascara tests, It doesn't clump, it lengthens and volumes, lasts all day and it's easy to remove. I will most definitely be repurchasing this when pay day comes around.

Although everything may look pretty at the counter it doesn't mean the product inside is. I was very disappointed with the You Rebel Lite Tinted Moisturizer. Benefit claim  "Our defiantly different tinted moisturizers give your complexion coverage, moisture and SPF 15 protection all in one." I would just like to call BS on all of that. As for coverage there really was none. Other than it making my skin look orange in areas it did nothing. I can't comment on the SPF protection as there is never any sun in England. I tried so hard to make this product work but I just couldn't. I would not recommend this product there are far better tinted moustirzers on the market at half the price.  The £24.50 I spent on this 
means you don't have to. 

Thank you for reading

Loren 

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The only way is retro

With summer soon approaching well, not in the UK but for those of you overseas you have the joys of long hot days and nice golden tans to look forward to. Although I have no plans this summer that involve relaxing by a pool or tanning it up on the beach I still couldn't help myself browsing online at the swimwear selection for next season. I have to say i am very jealous of all the jet setters who have an excuse to indulge in the world of swimwear.
I was very happy to see things had taken a retro turn. Welcoming back the 50's with its classic feminine style.  I'm absolutely loving these high waisted bikini bottoms. If you lack body confidence or just want something thats going to look stylish on the beach this is perfect. Its going to pull in your stomach and accentuate those curves, as well as being bang on trend. Definitely a summer must have and I only wish I had an excuse to buy a bikini for myself.

Thank you for reading.

Loren

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