Review: Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips

Hey everyone! This is another quick review about a product I was very intrigued by when I spotted it on the Space NK website. I have previously admitted that I am an addict for all things lip balms and love the feeling of having soft, smooth lips. I love testing out new lip products and often have at least five different go-to lip balms on the go at once! Therefore I couldn't resist buying and testing out a different lip product: Nipple Balm. You can probably guess why I was intrigued by this - its name.

Now, I have never ever come across a balm for nipples before, but then again I am only a 22 year old woman, I've never been pregnant or breast fed a baby before so maybe it's something you need at that stage in your life and you'll think I'm immature for finding something called Nipple Balm interesting/amusing. Maybe.

Anyway, this is a "100% natural, hypoallergenic multi-purpose balm with no paragons! Ultra hydrating for any dry skin areas including lips, nipples, cuticles, elbows & feet. Long lasting, tasteless and odourless". It is such a thick gel when it comes out of the tube but warm it up between your fingers for a few seconds and it's incredibly easy to apply. It really makes my lips feel moisturised, soft and less chapped than before but it has a weird taste to it! I can't place my finger on what it tastes like but it just makes my mouth taste unpleasant. I really wish it was a little bit scented, I think it would be amazing if it had a fruity scent to it as it's really only the taste/lack of scent that's putting me off!

It does do its job but it is a little expensive (£11.50) to say it is just exactly the same as any regular nipple balm (my mummy friend told me that). I won't be repurchasing as there are so many other lip balms I prefer for around the same price (hello Mac Tendertone)!

Rachael Amy x

OPI in T.K.Maxx

Hellooo! This is a quick post just about a pretty good discovery I made when I was visiting my local T K Maxx shop. You know how OPI is quite hard to get in the UK (i.e. not available in Boots/Superdrug)? And you know how they're priced around £11 for a bottle? Well not only did I find that T K Maxx stock a few shades, but you can buy a set of three (THREE) bottles of different OPI shades for just a measly £14.99. Thats around half price! Amazing!

They did only have one set when I was there, and the set I bought contained the shades: From Me to Q, I Want to Be A-lone Star and Sea You in Hollywood. I thought these shades would be perfect for my transition in to autumn/winter seeing as the majority of my nail polishes are pinks, yellows, turquoises etc. and aren't really suitable for the colder months. From Me to Q can be described as either a dull red or a really deep dusty pink. It makes it much more of a laidback shade than your usual vampy red, and I feel that it's perfectly suitable for work or with a casual outfit. I Want to Be A-lone Star is a gorgeous pearly grey colour (has anyone ever described grey as gorgeous before?) that will also be perfect for autumn - the shimmer also makes it really feminine and pretty so your nails don't just look dull! Sea You in Hollywood is a shimmery turquoise/green/blue and it just reminds me of a mermaids tail. This is my favourite colour, but I don't like wearing shades similar to this on my nails as I don't think they suit my skin colour. I'll have to try this out and see how I like it, if not I'm sure my sister won't say no.

You can always rely on OPI nail polishes to be of a good quality, and these are no exceptions! I've had From Me to Q on my nails for around four days and the only signs of chipping are on the tips of my nails where it's worn away slightly. I do find OPI a little hard to apply though, so much polish comes out on the brush! Maybe I just need to get used to using them though - I do only own five after all.

What beauty bargains have you found?
Rachael Amy x
p.s. that out of focus photo at the top is annoying me, if I wasn't ill I'd re-photograph it! Sorry.

Topshop Lipstick Collection

L-R: Innocent, Infrared, Beguiled, Brighton Rock, Whimsical, Crystal, Legend, Fawn and Wicked.

Hey again everyone! As some of you may know, I have a huge obsession with Topshop's make up range. Their lipsticks are especially amazing: highly pigmented, not drying and very long lasting - also, they only cost £8-10. They are my absolute favourite brand of lipstick and I'm sure in a few months I will own all of the core collection. In these past few months I have grown quite the collection - five from the core collection and four limited edition shades. 

My favourite, and most used, shades from my collection are: Wicked, Innocent, Brighton Rock and Whimsical.

Wicked is the perfect shade for autumn and winter, it's very similar to Beguiled but it's a little lighter and more plum coloured so it doesn't look as dark on your lips. I think Beguiled would be better suited for a night out than Wicked, though. Wicked was a lot smoother and softer on my lips than Beguiled too - but I still love both!

Innocent is a lovely pale pink, almost a nude pink shade that I really love to wear for work. It's not too 'out there' but you can still tell there is a lipstick shade on my lips and just creates a really laidback girly look!

Brighton Rock was my first ever Topshop lipstick and I loved it that much that I bought one for my friend and my sister too! It's a bright pink (but not neon) that adds a little bit of fun to any outfit, I used to love wearing it with my pale blue skinny jeans and a plain white t-shirt - such a simple yet stylish look.

Whimsical is another shade that I love to wear for work, it's a pale orange/coral that looks lovely with a slight tan. I'm wearing it in this blog post and I just love how it looks against my skin. I do find it's a little more drying than some of Topshop's other lipsticks so a lip balm is needed at hand.

Legend is one of the brightest lipsticks that I own and I want to wear it so bad, I just haven't got anywhere to go where I'd feel comfortable with almost neon pink lips. Maybe it will make an appearance on my next night out? I also really want to try the other Louise Gray lipstick, the bright orange Mexican Wave but I'm not sure if it will suit blondes...? I used to love Infrared (a very orangey-red) when I had brown hair but when I lightened my hair I noticed it wasn't suiting my colouring as well.

Crystal is my least favourite of the Topshop lipsticks. It was released with the Sisters of the New Moon collection - which was great! The lipstick, however, is barely visible and I know it's meant to react with your skin to create a unique shade but it just doesn't show up on me at all. A bit of a waste of money, but I will definitely use it up eventually. It is quite moisturising after all.

Which are your favourite Topshop make up items?

Rachael Amy x

Topshop Make Up: Dark Side of Nude Collection Review

 Hey everyone, I apologise yet again for the lack in blogging but this time it's not my fault - BT internet is literally the most rubbish thing, but luckily Sky Broadband is being delivered in November so blogging will resume as normal. I've missed it so much! I have a few posts lined up so hopefully I can bash them all out sometime this week.

This post is about the brand new Topshop make up collection: The Dark Side of Nude. The theme for this collection was 'gothic goes glamorous' and let me tell you, I want every single item from this collection! Think plum lipsticks, dark grey nail polishes and metallic eyeshadows. I honestly think this whole collection would be perfect for every single look you'd need during the autumn/winter months. Even though I want to own every item, I had to have a tiny bit of restraint when ordering from the website and managed to choose only four items (with difficulty).

The four items I ordered are: Eyeshadow Palette in Prism, Nail Polish in Thorn, Lipstick in Wicked and Lipstick in Fawn.

The eyeshadow palette is one of the stand-out products in the collection, the colours are perfect for an autumn/winter smokey eye, they're amazingly pigmented and are so soft - but if you prefer matte eyeshadows stay well away! I absolutely love the shades and created a very simple smokey eye with the grey and bronze (I instagrammed a picture here) with just my finger - very quick yet effective. The price is a little steep for just three relatively small eyeshadows at £16 (the Urban Decay Naked palette is around double and you get SO many more shades) but you really can't go wrong with the quality of these eyeshadows. I actually would really like the purchase the Atmosphere palette.

The nail polish is absolutely amazing - I fell in love with the colour as soon as I laid my eyes on it! It's such a deep red, that in certain lights looks almost black or brown. Think vampires/Twilight (especially that scene where she's drinking blood through a straw) or dark red leaves in autumn! I have a love/hate relationship with Topshop nail polishes, some of them are brilliant quality and require no more than two coats and can last for almost a week - whereas some need around five or six coats and last only a couple of days (although I think these tend to be the paler shades). However, Thorn has been one of the former shades. One coat would have sufficed but I wanted a real deep red, I have worn it for four days and so far so good! £6.50 is a little steep for a small bottle of nail polish in my opinion, Barry M do some amazing shades for around £3 but then again, OPI are £11 so I guess it just depends on which formula you prefer. I also have Granite and Stardust on my wishlist - Stardust would be perfect for Bonfire Night or Christmas parties!

I absolutely could not resist buying both of the lipsticks in this collection - I ADORE Topshop lipsticks. They're my favourite and I'm creating quite the collection! I actually prefer them to MAC lipsticks: cheaper, just as pigmented and I prefer the formula. Wicked is my favourite of the two, it's a very deep berry colour even though it looks hideously purple on the stick, but when swatched it looks the perfect plum-y berry colour and I've been wearing it every day since I bought it. I thought it would be pretty similar to Beguiled by Topshop but it is more on the purple side. Fawn is the perfect nude shade for me, I think it compliments my skin tone perfectly and doesn't make my lips look like they have gone a strange colour. I don't know how else to describe it. This is the first nude shade that I haven't hated! It's a little more peachy toned than any others I've tried. I really don't know what else to say about it other than if you can't find a nude shade to suit you, give this one a go!

I hope you've enjoyed reading this post! I really do recommend Topshop's make up, they've brought out some amazing shades recently and they definitely won't break the bank. Plus, the packaging is always pretty too!

Rachael Amy x

Review: Broadway ImPress Press On Manicure

Hey everyone! It has been a seriously long time since I last posted - I feel like I've just been way too busy but here is a new post for you all! I recently had a little bit of a Boots splurge (what's new?) and they have a 3 for 2 offer on soooo much stuff - including a lot of the nail polish/care products. I picked up a few new nail products which I'll write about at a later date but I just couldn't wait to share this post with you.

This post is about the Broadway ImPress Press on Manicure sets, I got mine in the shade Ecstatic Cling (I think) which is a super bright, neon, shiny pink colour. The ImPress nails are essentially just fake nails, but instead of applying them with nail glue they're self adhesive - just peel off the paper on the back and it reveals a sticky underside which you can then apply straight on to clean nails. It's ridiculously simple.

The packaging states that the nails can last for up to a week, and I agree with this. I applied them on Thursday evening and they were still looking great by Tuesday! I did take them off that evening though purely because I was eager to try some new nail polishes.

What I love about these nails are: they're so easy to apply, require no nail glue that gets under your nails and makes your nails feel clogged up with mingingness, they make general tasks much easier as they're more flexible and feel more natural, they're so shiny and smooth and look in great condition and they come in a huge range of colours and patterns.

What I don't love about these nails: the price - £7.99 from Boots. It is a little steep but considering the quality of these nails I'd say it was worth it if you've got a special event to go to or love the idea of false nails but find the nail glue too hard to work with. You do get 24 nails in 12 sizes so there are plenty of options to make sure you get the perfect size for your nails.

I plan on purchasing a few sets of these nails, they made me feel so glamorous and made my nails look amazing. I couldn't stop looking at my hands!

Rachael Amy x