Wishlist Wednesday - ALL ABOUT THE PRINT

1. Cigs and Lipstick Tshirt Dress £20 Missguided
2. Banana Leaf Print Open Mesh Insert Swimsuit £32 Asos
3. Mixed Faux Fur Clutch £35 River Island
4. Orange Tile Frill Bardot Neck Top £14.99 New Look
5. TORNADO Pointed Slip-On Skater Shoes £20 Topshop
6. White Stripe Print Sleeveless Dress £24.99 New Look
7. Striped Split Midi Skirt £36 Topshop
8. Festival Playsuit with Bell Sleeve £35 Asos
9. Paisley Print Flared Trousers £22 Missguided 
10. Purple Tribal Print Embellished Long Kimono £55 River Island

Whats your favouite?

Jessica h x

This week I'm loving: Orange!

After the first glimpses of sun this week, it has got me highly excited for summer and I am looking towards all things we can enjoy under those golden rays. The furry winter legs are smooth, the fake tan bottle has been dusted off and those bright nail varnishes are seeing daylight again.

It is pure co-incidence that this week's products I am loving are all orange.. I promise! I couldn't wait until the end of the month to rave about these three products, which are all new to my beauty collection.

Avon Glow Nailwear Pro+ 'Flaming Orange'
This shimmering sunset orange is perfect for the summer. It looks great with a tan, it's lovely and bright! I really like Avon nail polish, as it always applies well and dries fairly quickly. On first application, it was quite thin, so I took it back off and applied an orange base coat by Nails Inc. I then applied one layer of this over the top and it complimented it perfectly. You could go straight in with this alone, but I think you would need to build it over two or three layers. Two days later and no chips have appeared yet, but lets see what happens by the end of the week!

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer 'Ivory'
I bought this as Fleur De Force had recommend it as an under eye concealer. I usually use the famous 'Collection' concealer, but I wanted one that was great to brighten under the eye. I bought the lightest shade and it does exactly as I had hoped. It brightens and lightens under the eye, and even better it is really affordable. I would highly recommend it, and I haven't owned it for too long!

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge
This sponge is one of those products you just keep looking at in Boots and then walking away. This time I decided to bite the bullet and buy it. I am really glad I did, as the effect you get from applying your foundation with it, is amazing. I much prefer the way the sponge applies foundation to my usual buffing brush, damp the sponge before application and it works wonders. However, there is a major downside to this sponge- washing requires effort, and I mean serious effort. As a self confessed germ-a-phobe I feel I need to wash it after every use, so this is a downside for me. After washing it with soapy water, none of the foundation stains on the sponge had budged. On top of that, it requires rinse, upon soak, upon rinse to get all the soap out of it. It took FOREVER. After several washes it didn't bounce back to it's usual shape, so I had to wrap it in a towel and stamp on it to get all the water out! Sure enough after that all the water seemed to have come out of it and it bounced back to shape. Has anyone else had this problem? I even watched youtube videos on how to wash, and everyone else's stains seem to lift off. If anyone has some tips then please throw them my way!

jessica d x

Current Favourites

So after a short Easter break we are back in the blog-o-sphere with some things we've been loving over the last couple of months. Our last favourites post was back at the start of Feb (take a look here) so we've each chosen 3 faves we've been enjoying since then...

jess d favourites

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Since the days of desperately scooping the last remaining bits from a bottle with more curves than Kim K, this product has nestled snugly in my make-up bag for a fair few years. It's one of those products that you betray in attempt to find something even better, but you just keep on coming back to. 

Now in a nice big squeeze tube, it's fair to say that the packaging is far more convenient to use.

Requiring only the smallest amount, this product lasts for a very long time. My mini travel tube lasted about a year, so who know how long this giant tube will live on for! This primer potion allows my eyeshadow to stay on perfectly all day. I wouldn't apply eyeshadow without this, so it remains firmly in my make-up bag.

L'oreal Super Liner Ultra Precision

I have never quite got the hang of doing a winged liner. I just can't get along with the brushes provided in the packaging. However, I have been practising regularly and I have found something great in the L'oreal Super Liner. The applicator is shaped in a thin, precise sponge. I apply first using my slanted eyeliner brush, retiving product from the sponge. Once the line is in, I fill it in using the sponge applicator on the product. It lasts all day and doesn't smudge or budge.

MAC 'Plumful' Lipstick

Plumful is probably one of my all time favourite MAC lipsticks. A deep pink-plum colour I think it would complement any skintone. 

jess h favourites

Nivea Daily Essentials Express Hydration Primer

I've been a fan of Nivea skincare for quite a while, I find the products are usually quite gentle on my sensitive skin, and often seem to calm down any problems I've been having. I bought this on a whim on  when I was buying some other skincare in Boots (another 3 for 2...) as my skin is always a little dehydrated, and it has really worked wonders! I use it after my usual moisturising routine before I apply my make-up and I can instantly see that my skin reacts well to it. It feels fresher and plumper as soon as its applied, and is a great base for my make-up. I've been using it for over a month now and it's most definitely improved the condition of my skin. Considering it is such an affordable product, I am seriously impressed!

Barry M Speedy Quick Dry Nail Polish

As a long time lover of good old Barry M nail polish, one of my biggest pet peeves is that all of the luscious pastel colours need about 5,000 coats and take hours to dry properly. I'm not a particularly patient person when it comes to waiting for my nails to dry, so when I saw the new range of gorgeous pastels in a new "quick dry" formula I thought my prayers had been answered! I opted for the colours "Pole Position" (a fresh pale green) and "Eat My Dust" (a dusky baby blue). On my first try of these I was seriously unimpressed, they didn't seem to dry very quickly at all. However, in comparison to other Barry M pastels, the colours were very strong, only taking 2 coats to paint (could have got away with one in a rush). So I persevered, and the second time I was far more impressed. (I will blame my cold hands on the first attempt...) It isn't the quickest drying nail polish I've ever tried, but must faster than others from this brand, and the colours really are lovely.

Disney!

My third and final favourite is currently ALL THINGS DISNEY! In 3 weeks time (and counting) I'm setting off to Orland for a two week holiday visiting Disney World and Universal Studios. To say I'm excited is a huge understatement! Only having booked it early this year it has come around seriously fast and I'm so glad. I'm fast becoming a Disney fanatic in preparation, watching back classic movies I loved as a child and day dreaming about all the things I can't wait to see. (Currently trying to convince my boyfriend that the 40 minute wait to meet Mickey and Minnie is totally worth it...) I will be doing a few holiday related posts, from packing, to outfits and reviews once I'm home. Keep your eyes peeled for a few snaps popping up on our Instagram feed too!

Have you been enjoying any of the things we have recently? What are your current favourites?

jessica d & jessica h

Soap & Glory Make-up Review

Spoiler - it's a mixed bag!

A couple of weeks ago, I headed to Boots to replace my mascara. I had tried the Soap & Glory Thick & Fast mascara in a gift box I had for Christmas and loved it.  When it dried up (the downside to thicker mascaras, I've found this with more expensive alternatives too) I was happy to repurchase. I was  delighted to find that all Soap & Glory make-up was on a 3 for 2 offer, so I took full advantage and tried out some other talked about products....

Thick & Fast mascara

As I mentioned, this was a repurchase, and I haven't be disappointed. It's very similar to the Benefit mascaras, I'm a big fan of a thick brush and thick consistency, as I like a lot of volume to my lashes, but anything too lengthening makes my eyes look too dark and over done. It's a really great mascara, at a really reasonable price (£10) The packaging of all three items I bought is really great, much more than I would expect from this brand, and this mascara is better than the freebie I had in the first place. I'm really pleased I chose to buy this again, and I don't see any reason right now why I wouldn't buy it again. For such a thick mascara it doesn't clump, and it dries quickly enough not to smudge. I would recommend!

Sexy Mother Pucker Lipstick - Man Trap

I'm really impressed with this lipstick! For a start, the colour, 'Man Trap' is gorgeous. Red lipstick is a long time favourite of mine, and I very rarely stray from my trusty Mac Red, this however is more subtle. I've found its a great way of wearing a brighter colour for a more day-to-day look. I work in a fairly casual office, so heavy make up tends to look a little out of place, so it's great to find something I feel comfortable wearing but that still feels stylish. Its a really moisturising consistency, very "cremesheen" but it lasts really well. (I'm wearing this in the outfit photos on my "Denim Love" post.) £9 is a little more to pay for a drug store lipstick but this is definitely worth the few extra pounds. I will make sure I take a look at the other colours (although I don't think there are many) next time I'm looking for a new lipstick.

Anarchy brow tint & pencil

I was really keen to try this product as I'd heard a lot about it on other blogs. I have naturally very dark, thick eyebrows but they're a little untidy, so I find filling in helps to neaten them up. As they are so dark I usually need to use a pencil to match the shade but there' always a fine line between neat and too much! I thought this product could be the answer. One end is felt tip like, to draw individual hairs in, and the other end a soft pencil. I bought the colour 'Brownie Points' (they also do a blonde), however, I wouldn't say it was brown! It's very light, so looks totally out of place on me. Not only that but I feel like the felt tip was "running out", even though the box had been taped so I knew it hadn't been tested, you just don't get much product from it at all. On top of this, the pencil end is actually really hard. I had to press pretty hard on my skin to get any mark, and it was still not particularly great. I was really disappointed by this as I think it's a great idea for a product, to a achieve a bit more of a natural brow look, but it wasn't for me. I'd be interested to see if it works better for someone with lighter hair though?...





Have you tried any of the Soap & Glory make-up products? Which are your favourites and are there more I should try?

Jessica h x

Trench Style

 Trench: H&M

Jeans: New Look

T-shirt: Topman
Shoes: Primark

I bought this trench coat...or mac around a year ago in H&M, it isn't stocked anymore but there are lots of similar ones out there such as these from Misguided and ASOS.

I have worn it once in the year I have had it, as I was unsure what to pair it with, and didn't have the confidence to pull it off!

 Since then, they seem to be everywhere and I have seen lots of these type of trench coats styled up, so I  have many more ideas for some outfits. I am feeling more confident to wear it.

The material is very thin so it is great for the spring time when it (hopefully) gets a bit warmer. It looks great with heels as I am not the tallest person, so pairing it with heels means I don't feel too drowned out in it. I am looking forward to pairing it with more outfits, so it will finally get it's wear!

By the way, I love these peep toe boots that the ASOS model has styled with her trench, need!

jessica d x

L'oreal Color Riche Matte 228 'VIP'

This lipstick is my new favourite, it's the perfect coral-red matte colour that I have been looking for.

At £6.99 each, I think the L'oreal lipsticks are brilliant. Some people have commented on the smell of these lipsticks, as they have a very sweet smell. For me, it's not a scent I love- but it's not too offensive and the product itself is worth getting past the sherbet smell!

The texture on application is really creamy, an opaque effect with a strong, bold colour. I would like to find a lipliner that matched this lipstick, as it's so bold it can be tricky to apply perfectly. I prefer to have a lip liner with a lipstick as it just feels neater.

One thing I noticed was the amount transferring onto your teeth was really small. I find with some other lipsticks, that five minutes after application it's all over your teeth!

I applied this product at around 7am for work, and it stained my lips leaving the bright bold matte colour on all day. Admittedly, it did wear and by around 2pm it needed re-application as close up you could see it had worn away and left a stain. However this was after eating breakfast and lunch, so it was pretty impressive. 

Most of my long-lasting lipsticks are by MAC, so I am really pleased to have found a more affordable range of lipsticks that I love. 

I purchased this lipstick in Boots, I can't seem to find it anywhere online at all. However, it was part of their new range so it may not be online yet- it is definitely available in store!

I also purchased some other shades, so I am looking forward to reviewing those next!

jessica d x

Denim Love

As a true child of the 90's, I've always loved a full-on denim look (and posing apparently!) so the high street offering of every style and colour right now has got me pretty excited. I've never been one to shy away from a double denim look (or triple...) and whilst it might not be an every day look, but it's one I'd really love to wear a little more often. 

These courts are new from Dorothy Perkins and I adore them. They're pretty comfortable and I love the style of them. The denim just gives a bit of edge to a pretty formal pair of heels. You can find them here, currently just £18.90.

I've styled up a couple of outfits below to share my denim lovin'.

I'm a big fan of over-ripped boyfriend jeans with high heels, I love the laid back look, especially with a baggy shirt too. I really wish I was brave enough to pull off this look for an evening out, so watch this space! Mixing different tones stops the look from being too "put together. Minimal accessories also helps, which is pretty much against every other rule I have! Let me know in the comments what you think, I'd love to have a good occasion to wear something like this.

Shirt- Next (similar here)

Ripped Jeans- Asos (similar here)

As you might have seen me mention in my previous "Things I'm loving right now" post, I adore the 70's trend, and I've been on the hunt for the perfect pair of flares. I'm pretty sure I've found them! These  are from H&M and they're just what I looking for- super high waisted and perfect mid blue denim. You can probably find them in your local store, I can't see them on the website yet! (Some other great alternatives are Asos and Next.) Mixing denim of the same colour is a bit risky, a bit too B*Witched, but I quite like it in this outfit, it adds the vintage look, especially teamed with a vintage denim jacket, a good one can be found in pretty much any charity shop- or if vintage isn't your thing, the high street has some cheap alternatives too. Also, teaming up denim with Breton stripes always looks cool as!

Unfortunately, this isn't the end of my denim wishlist. I'd love a denim shift dress for the Spring Summer season- I love this Topshop one (£38);

I'm also lusting after this Asos jumpsuit (£50);

And finally, there is a coat shaped hole in my over flowing wardrobe right now, I'm really feeling the need to fill it with a denim duster coat, like this one from Monki (£60);

Let me know if you liked this post, I'd love to do some more outfit posts now that it's not too chilly outside and I'm feeling more inspired! Which is your favourite look, and how do you wear your denim?

jessica h x