The F Word – Lilly Pebbles Review

I’m starting off the new year by writing my first blog post on the last book I read in 2018. Upon finishing this novel, I felt like I really enjoyed it but thinking back I think I just enjoyed the simplicity of this easygoing book.

The F Word by Lilly Pebbles is a very wholesome book describing the many types of friendships she’s had throughout her life highlighting the good and bad parts of friendships.

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t followed Lilly or aware she was a blogger before reading this book. My favourite blogger, Hannah Gale posted a photo of it on Instagram and I bought it because I liked the look of it.

I was hugely pleasantly relieved when I read the back to see it was about friendship, because I hadn’t read anything like this before. It is such an interesting topic that could have had a book with such amazing depth covering it.

When I first started the book and Pebbles was discussing her long standing friendships with the girls she was friends with when she was 4, I didn’t think I could read on. I had to take a break from the book and think, “is this for me?” purely because it just made me sad thinking of all the friendships I had when I was younger that have fizzled out.

Friendships fizzle out all the time, and thinking back to when I originally read those pages, I was most likely just having a super emotional time. I can now say after completing the book it made me think back to all of my friendships, new and old, with fond, warm memories which is always a nice feeling.

The book offers a lot of advice about how to handle situations within friendships. The photo above which gives advice on how to handle friendships whilst either being single or in a relationship. This could potentially be useful to younger readers who maybe need advice on situations like this, but not adults as we have all likely navigated our way through situations like this before.

Overall, I’m not gonna say this book is a must-read because your life could probably continue to function if you didn’t, however, it was fun and nice to read. This is a book I would read on a Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea purely because it’s nice and not serious. It’s not hugely serious and doesn’t take a lot of effort to get on board with which I think is something the author was perhaps going for.

There has been a lot of mixed reviews on this book, some loving it whilst other disappointed fans of Lilly Pebbles were not impressed. I had no expectations coming into this which is perhaps why I’m left with a more positive impression of this. Despite my enjoyment, I would like to add this book is definitely for a primarily younger audience of teenagers and young adults who would probably appreciate the content more. It’s slightly insulting to assume women in their late 20s and thirties don’t know how to act around their single and non-single friends.

I can understand why fans would be genuinely disappointed by this book, as it has such an exciting premise (to me, anyway) because I really didn’t feel any wiser or better after reading it.

I don’t really like leaving negative reviews on things, but honesty is always the most important thing.

Have you read this book? What was your thoughts?

Siobhan x

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Collaboration with Case App

This is a super exciting post to write because this is the first time I have EVER collaborated with a brand for content.

As you can tell by the title I have been working with Case App for this collab where I received a personalised iPhone case and a personalised laptop skin.

I was so pleased when Caseapp reached out to me to create and review a custom phone case and laptop skin. I recently got a Mac so this was perfect timing.

The process for this is really simple and customisation is easy. Once you are on the Caseapp website, you just select whether you want to design a laptop skin or phone case then select the model of the item then use the drag and drop tool.

Phone cases start at £19 for a glossy case or £22 for a matte case, laptop skins are also £22. For me I thought this was a little bit pricey but when the products arrived I was SO impressed by the quality. I opted for the matte phone case and it is a really tough hard plastic. You can tell the Case is sturdy and well made but also has a really nice feel to it too. I am also really impressed with the quality of the laptop sticker too. It was a thicker type of sticker which is goods it made it easier to put on.

Here are the patterns I picked for my case and skin. I have to say the phone case is my favourite of the two, I love it so much and am so impressed by it.

I absolutely love this sticker as well. The colours from the photo came out so well and have resulted in such a nice summery pattern.

If you are interested in ordering your own phone case or laptop skin, go to caseapp.co.uk and use the code FOREVERSIOBHAN20 for a nice 20% discount.

Siobhan x

*disclaimer: these products were sent to me for the purpose of reviewing but all opinions are honest and my own.

Rimmel London Influenster Vox Box

Hi everyone, first beauty related post in a long time.

So this was something really exciting for me when I got sent my first Influenster vox box last month.

This was a total surprise for me when it arrived as I never saw the email I got telling me the box was being sent out. I picked it up from the post office and was so confused as I couldn’t remember buying anything. However when I got home and opened it, it was the best surprise.

In this box I got 5 full sized products which I thought was just amazing! Three lipsticks, a foundation and concealer.

The concealer ended up being the most used product out of them all as I just ran out of mine before this box came. The concealer didn’t really work with my skin if I’m honest. I didn’t find it very full coverage and it had a yellow/orange tint to it which didn’t match my skin well. It was fine under foundation but I wouldn’t rush out to buy it because of the yellow tones and formula to it.

The foundation matched my skin perfectly. It was a nice medium coverage foundation that blends well and sits on the skin nicely. It doesn’t feel heavy at all and looks nice and fresh all day which is a huge bonus.

Matte lipsticks are my all time favourite make up product so I was immediately drawn to these. I experimented with these products straight away and immediately realised what colours worked and what didn’t.

In the first photo I am using the pink shade ‘be my baby’, I found this shade the most wearable and best suited to my completion. It is fairly similar to my pink every day lipstick I wear from Too Faced which is a nice bonus. It’s good to know there is a drug store dupe for if I am ever running out and don’t have time / can’t afford the Too Faced one.

In the second photo I am wearing the shade ‘plunge’, this is a darker brown that I really like as well. I wouldn’t wear this every day as it is edgier than my normal lip stick choice. I feel like I need to wear eye make up so it doesn’t look out of place on my face if that makes sense? This is perfect for a night out or if I’m feeling bold with my make up.

The third shade ‘stripped’ did not agree with me at all. When swatching it on my skin the lipstick looked very peachy and nice to wear everyday but when applied to my lips it just looked like a weird shade of concealer. It didn’t have the same nice formula as the other two lipsticks either which is weird. It was disappointing that this didn’t turn out like I thought it would but the other four products worked well.

I am also wearing the Rimmel Match Perfect foundation in the photos below so you can see what the product looks like on my skin too.

These products were sent to my complimentary for the purpose of testing from Influenster. It feels amazing to be one of the people selected for this as I feel like hard work is paying off.

I am spending so much time on the Influenster app because it’s fun to me to read about the upcoming new beauty products and read other peoples reviews.

There has been a lot of pictures of my face for this post which I don’t normally do. However, I thought since this box was sent out to me for testing it was best if I actually take photos so you can all see for yourselves what the products are like.

I hope you enjoyed this post, if anyone else got this box let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the products!

Siobhan x

My Favourite £6 Sunglasses

Sunglasses are an essential for summer fashion whether you need them because of the weather or to complete an outfit by sitting on top of your head.

The recent sunshine we have been having has inspired me to write this post about my new sunglasses.

I always buy cheap sunglasses for my holidays and summers because I really detest spending a lot of money on a pair.

The summer saviours I got for this summer are from Nasty Gal. They were originally supposed to be waiting until my holidays to be worn but unexpected sunshine has brought them out earlier than expected.

I am obsessed with all things pink in my wardrobe – every outfit has some shade of pink involved so these sunglasses were the perfect addition for the summer.

I adore the pink frame and the blue tinted lense on these. Perfect for going with an already bright summer outfit or brightening up a darker toned outfit too.

I’m keeping this post fairly short as there is only so much you can say about sun glasses.

I hope you guys enjoyed this short but sweet post on these sunglasses! This is my first fashion related post which I have really enjoyed writing.

I want to focus my blog on more fashion related things in the future.

If you are interested in purchasing these bad boys, you can do that here. Nasty Gal also have 50% off sale on right now if that isn’t tempting enough either.

Siobhan x

The Body Shop Spring/Summer Feel Good Box First Impressions

Hi there everyone, hope you’re all well. 

I have recently purchased The Body Shop Spring/Summer 2017 Feel Good box. This is a box of carefully selected mini products from The Body Shop designed to enhance your summer glow. 

Inside this box there is the British Rose scented instant glow body butter, himilayan charcoal face mask, oils of life sleeping cream, drops of youth facial concentrate and the sweetenia perfume. Most of the products in this box are sample sized except the lipstick. 

I was so excited about this box and all the products I couldn’t wait to write about it. Since there is so many mini products this is perfect as a gift or for someone who is knew to buying from The Body Shop. Let’s get into a bit more detail about these products. 

British Rose Instant Glow Body Butter 

I have had so many body butters from The Body Shop over the years and loved every one. I was excited to try this one and love the idea of smelling like a rose all the time. This moisturiser is super effective practically sinking into the skin straight away with no residual stickiness on the skin. 

Himilayan Charcoal Facemask

I already own the full sized version of this product and have already discussed this on here but in case anyone missed it. This is one of the best face masks I’ve used. My skin is so noticeably soft after use and my pores are reduced. This has a very cooling and detoxing effect on my skin. 

Drops of Youth Facial Concentrate 

This is the second product I own from the Drops of Youth range and I couldn’t wait to try this. This is designed to soothe skin and leave it looking fresher and healthier. I don’t particularly need to be investing in anti aging products just yet but the appearance of my skin does look softer after using this. 

Oils of Life Night Cream 

I have never had a night cream before so I was excited to try the sample of this. This is designed to sink in and nourish skin whilst you sleep and leave yourself looking more revitalised. This feels a little bit tingly when applying to my skin at first but I think that just means you really feel it working. The cream is super light and non greasy so is the perfect moisturiser for before bed. 

Matte Lipstick 

I haven’t tried this shade of the lipstick yet but I have another one from this range. If I’m honest I’m not sure if this colour will suit me so I’ve just tried to put off using it. However the matte lipsticks are the most perfect consistency ever – matte but hydrating instead of drying. 

Sweetenia Perfume 

I have never used a fragrance product from The Body Shop before so I wasn’t sure what to expect to be honest. This is the floral scent of crisp Mahogany flower combined with a breeze of orange flower and bigarade leaf for ultimate freshness. I find this perfume very strong scented and to be long lasting. 

So that’s all the products in this box. I find this to be of extremely good value considering it is only £12. This is a great way to be testing some of the more premium products from The Body Shop.

Hope you all enjoyed this post, 

Siobhan

Anastasia Beverly Hills Aurora Glowkit Review

Hi there everyone, hope you are all well today.

This is a very exciting post for me to write because I have been dying for an ABH glowkit since I first saw them. The one I had major heart eyes for and was pining after was not the Aurora glowkit, but the Moonchild glowkit. The Aurora Glowkit is kind of like the sister to the Moonchild Glowkit.  However, when this was released on Cult Beauty I couldn’t help myself and just knew I had to buy it. Since I am so pale I tend to stick to icy highlighters as that is what compliments my skin and make up best.

Let’s talk about the packaging – the glowkit is made out of thick and hard cardboard but has a slim and sturdy feel to it making it seem quite durable. The palette has a protective outer sleeve that slides off, the outer sleeve and palette have the same pattern. The colour scheme is gorgeous with the light purple/blue fading into a nice peach.

The palette has a magnetic close to it like many others which allows it to stay closed. One downside is that there is no mirror on the inside of the palette. This doesn’t bother me that much as I always do my make up in front of a larger mirror anyway. Even if I was travelling without a mirror I would be using other products like eyeshadow palettes which will have a mirror, so that is not a deal breaker only something a little disappointing.  There is also a holographic element to the packaging which gives it an even more luxurious feel to it.

The glowkit consists of 6 icy, metallic highlighters designed to give a metallic finish and “intense luminosity”. I’m not gonna lie, some of these shades look very intimidating. When I purchased this I didn’t really think through whether or not I was going to use most of the shades or not, I was just like OMG GLOWKIT MUST BUY. That might not have been the most sensible idea but upon trying and testing the colours I have fallen in love.

Eclipse – pink champagne with peach reflect

Luna – pearl shade with icy orchid reflect

Spectra – sparkling lilic with an iridescent blue-green reflect

Helia – yellow gold with turquoise reflect

Orion – pale blue with golden reflect

Lyra – rose gold champagne with orchid reflect

 

The shades look far more intimidating in the palette than they do when they are swatched. Spectra and Orion might still be a little bit out there for me personally but I’m sure it would be easy enough to incorporate them into an eyeshadow look if nothing else.

The texture is SO creamy and soft, it is so easy to apply and blend. This palette is so highly pigmented, I feel like I hardly use any product and I look like a glowing princess. There is a glitter throughout highlighters and that is something that I absolutely love, but I know not everyone is a huge fan of that. The glitter through it is so subtle so don’t let this put you off, it’s not chunky and when blended well the glitter catches the light and looks beautiful.

My favourite shades in this palette are Luna and Eclipse, I love icy highlighters as they suit me best and these two are no exception. There is something about Helia that I adore as well, it looks quite green in the palette but as you can see in the swatches it applies without a hint of green.

Here’s my make up from a yesterday where I was playing about with this palette, I used a mix of Luna and Eclipse to highlight all around my face. You can see in the photo just how glowy the highlighter is and how nice the glitter catches the light.

This has become my new favourite highlighting product right now and I am utterly obsessed. The quality and colours are amazing and ABH have outdone themselves with another hit glowkit. Although, as much as I love this I think if I had a glowkit before this I would not have felt the urge to purchase this one as much. I still recommend this product to anyone who loves highlighters, but if you have another 2,3 glowkits this one isn’t necessarily a must have for you.

Have any of you tried this glowkit, or any other ABH glowkits? I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Hope you all enjoyed reading this post,

Siobhan x

Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Palette Review

Hiiii everyone, hope you are all well. This post is about my newest Too Faced palette which my lovely boyfriend kindly bought for me a few weeks ago. I think this palette is so cute as it is heart shaped, when he offered to buy me make up I couldn’t not pick this one.

The  palette is encased in a baby pink, thin metal compact patterned with hearts. Too Faced went all out with hearts in this palette as the shadows on the inside fit the same heart shaped pattern as the lid. This uber pink palette is a total dream for girly girls and make up lovers alike, I was sold on this palette already by packaging. Inside the palette there is a decent sized mirror too which is good. Upon opening the palette you are met with the delectable smell of chocolate as the shadow formula is infused with anti-oxidant rich cocoa powder.

I absolutely loved my original Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette so was delighted to get this one. This palette is dominated by nude, neutral shades with an overall pink theme. There are a few pops of colour bright shades in this palette too. I really like the pink tone to this palette. The shadowsdo seem a bit out of place at first as they are so bright and pink however they are so easy to incorporate into looks. Let’s look at some swatches and go into better detail about each individual eyeshadow shade.

 

Almond Truffle – muted, muave toned taupe with cool undertones and a matte finish. This shade is ideal for a transition shade in the crease. This is smooth to apply and easy to blend.

Satin Sheets – pale, creamy pink with a strong golden shimmer and a frosted finish. This shade isn’t original to the Bon Bons palette and has popped up in Too Faced palettes before. It’s perfect for an inner corner and brow bone highlight.

Sprinkles – light-medium pink with yellow undertones and a soft golden shimmer finish. It’s a much darker pink than Satin Sheets with a less metallic and shimmery finish. The texture was a little on the powdery side but still had good colour pay-off.

Molasses Chip – rich copper/bronze shade with a metallic bronze sheen. This shade is very pigmented and a buttery texture when applied. This is one of the most wearable and best performing shades in the palette.

Malted – deep chocolate brown with warm, yellow undertones and a satin matte finish. This shade has good colour pay off and a smooth, buttery texture.

Cashew Chew – a muted, light pinky beige with warm undertones. This is one of my favourite shades in the palette, it’s good as a base shadow.

Cotton Candy – lightly brighted, light-medium pink with cool blue and silver undertones throughout. It has good pigmentation and a soft, blendable texture which didn’t kick up too much powder.

Cafe Au Lait – bright, light brown with a silver to golden shimmer. It applies smooth, the texture is buttery and creamy with little to no colour kick up.

Bordeaux – deep, dark reddish-brown with warm undertones and a matte finish. This shade has a silky smooth texture. This shade is ideal for deepening up colours in a look or to put lightly into the crease.

Mocha – medium brown with warm orange undertones and a matte finish. This is already one of my most used shades in this palette and one of my favourites. This shade has excellent colour pay-off.

Blackcurrant – dark, plum-purple shade with a golden shimmer throughout and a frosted finish. This shade is a lot lighter on skin than in the pan however when applied on top of other shadows it shows up really well.

Dark Truffle – deep, dark brown with warm undertones and a golden shimmer throughout. This shade is highly pigmented with an intense colour pay-off.

Pecan Praline – light brown taupe with subtle warm undertones and a matte finish. Similar shade to Cashew Chew but this is more cool toned. This is a good base shade or also good used when blending out a shadow.

Totally Fetch – a bright, deep fuchsia pink with cool undertones and a shimmery finish. This is the most out there colour in the palette and it’s fitting that the brightest pink would have to be named with a Mean Girls reference.

Earl Grey – deep teal shade with a silver shimmer. I’m not a huge fan on blue eyeshadow so this isn’t a shade I would wear, but it could create a good teal smokey eye. This shade is a little dusty.

Divinity – very light beige with slight warm undertones and a matte finish. One of the most pigmented shades in the palette. This is another good base shadow.

Overall, Too Faced created another very high quality eye shadow palette and I am very happy to add this one to my collection. The colour scheme of this palette is a bit iffy for me. I have mentioned I do enjoy the pink theme but it’s just not for me, so there is at least three maybe four shades I won’t wear which is a shame. However, if you enjoy incorporating bright pinks into your looks then this is a great palette for you. If you’re like me and not 100% there on the bright pinks, then it’s great that there is still so many looks to create using this without them.

The main question is whether this palette is worth buying, the answer is yes. The Too Faced palettes combine two of many peoples favourite things, chocolate and make up. What’s better? My favourite shades are Molasses Chip, Cashew Chew, Cafe Au Lait and Blackcurrant.

I hope you all enjoyed reading my review on this palette, I would love to hear feedback in the comments. If you’ve tried this palette or interested in buying it, I would love to hear your thoughts on it!

Siobhan x

 

Urban Decay Ultimate Basics Palette Review

Hey everyone, today’s post is going to be on reviewing the UD Ultimate Basics palette as the title suggests. I am currently forcing myself to write this as I am so exhausted from working the entire weekend, but I need to be productive. When I first started buying pricey, good quality make up Urban Decay was always my go-to brand. It was always exciting getting to spend my wages from my part-time job on a naked palette, so naturally I was very excited to get this one.

Let’s talk about the packaging first. I LOVE this compact, it is a rose gold compact with a bursting design centring around Urban Decay’s logo. The compact is actually super light  but also durable too which is handy if you are carrying it around or travelling with it. Inside the palette there is a large mirror, a brush and 12 eyeshadows. I have to be honest and say I am not a huge fan of the brush in this palette, I don’t find it the easiest to work with so I just stick to my Morphe brushes.

I find with some shades in all the Naked palettes that the shades are either really pigmented with high colour pay-off orrrr the opposite where the shades are chalky and much less pigmented. This palette was pretty in between where some shades are beautiful and pigmented and others, not so much. However, I still love Urban Decay and love neutral and matte eyeshadows so from the get go I knew I would be purchasing this product.

It is a very rare thing to be able to look at a palette and know that I would use every single colour in there but I 100% will here. It has the perfect range of shades to create basic, nude every day looks but has shades for going out, heavier and smokey looks too. Instinct and Lethal are my two absolute faves from this palette, they match so well with my Too Faced lipstick and I am so into that look right now. The layout of this palette is much better than the other Naked palettes. I totally prefer the 2 x 6 layout compared to the long line of shadows and the smaller mirror. Back to the fact that I would use every shade in this palette, I love that UD filled this palette with completely usable colours. Nothing annoys me more than when you buy a neutral palette and there is just one over the top, bright colour that doesn’t fit into the colour scheme at all.

Here are some photos of the swatches I did. I can FINALLY say I am getting better at that as they actually resemble a straight-ish line on my arm instead of slowly sliding round the front of it like they used too. Let’s discuss the colours in a wee bit of depth now.

Blow – a peachy light beige with warm undertones and a pearly shimmer. Perfect for a wee bit of highlighting round the eye. This is the only non-matte eyeshadow in the whole palette. This shade has good pigmentation with a soft and blendable texture.

Nudie – a light-medium peachy-beiege with warm undertones and a matte finish. The texture is a bit softer and thinner so doesn’t apply so well with the first layer. I normally use this shade as a base shadow.

Commando –  a muted, medium-dark brown with subtle warm undertones and a matte finish. It felt very soft and smooth which helped it blend out nicely on the skin.

Tempted – a medium-dark taupe brown with a hint of rosiness and warmer undertones paired with a matte finish. This shadow can be pulled off in a warm or cool look depending on what shadows you pair it with.

Instinct – a muted, dusty, rosy muave with neutral to cool undertones with a matte finish. My favourite shade in the palette can be a lil bit sheerer than the other shades but when applying  a few layers to your eyes it is fine. This lasts all day and has survived on my eyelids through many 9 hour waitressing shifts.

Lethal – a deep plum with a matte finish. The consistency of this shade is quite thin but it still applies nicely on the eye and blends out evenly. It doesn’t look as plummy on the eyelids as it does in the pan which is a shame, but I still love this paired with instinct.

Pre-game – this is a sort of buttery, yellow shade with warm undertones and a matte finish. It has good colour pay-off and blends well. However, I hate this shade. It is definitely my least favourite shade in the whole palette.

Extra Bitter – a medium-dark, earthy copper brown with red undertones and a matte finish. This shade is SO pigmented and is one of the best performing eyeshadows in the palette. The texture was so smooth and so blendable.

Faith – a soft medium brown with yellow undertones and a matte finish. This has a soft, smooth and silky consistency which makes it easy to work with on your skin as it provides rich coverage and blends well.

Lockout – a dark brown with subtle warm undertones and a matte finish. It is a wee bit darker than Faith with less yellow undertones. Personally, I think this and Faith are far too similar to be in the same palette nevermind the shade next to the other one. However, the texture was soft and easily blendable. This is one of the easier shades in the palette to work with.

Magnet – a muted, dark grey with hints of purple undertones and a matte finish. The formula for this is rather thin but easily blendable. I thought this shade applied quite chalky as well and wasn’t the best to work with.

Blackjack – a deep black with a matte finish. The texture was so soft with a little excess being picked up in the pan but it is a fairly blendable eyeshadow. However it isn’t the best black eyeshadow and is used best to apply in sheerer layers to avoid unevenness or just to add a smoky touch to your eye make-up.

My overall comments on this are that at first glance I love this palette and I think the range of shades are amazing as they are so usable. The first row is definitely my favourite as I use them every day but the second row is full of heavier colours I would lean more towards using for a night-out or a day I had something special planned.  The shadows look a lot lighter in the pan than when they are actually applied – all shades apply slightly darker than what they appear. Most of the shadows in this palette are a little but thin but still apply smoothly but don’t have the creamy or buttery texture I really like eyeshadows to have. Mostly I am so impressed with this palette, and despite the small criticisms I have made I am still going to use this every day.

Have any of you tried this palette? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Hope you all enjoyed reading this,

Siobhan x