New Year Resolutions

I make New Year’s resolutions every year, along with billions of others.

I think they give you an opportunity to reflect and improve on your life, a fresh start. A new year is always exciting as after Christmas there is a bit of a ‘slump’ because the main event is over. However to lift up our dampened spirits are the New Year parties, fireworks etc… It comes at exactly the right time.

Sadly my new year will be quite dull as I have tons of work to power through before returning to normal life. But that doesn’t stop me from making my resolutions:

1)      Become healthier. Yes this is pretty much the generic New Year’s resolution, but I mean healthy in an overall way. Mentally and Physically. When you’re in the midst of busy lives and work, you forget how important mental and physical health actually is. I have decided some days I can allocate to ‘me’ days as I don’t really have many on them! Also I want to get some of the muscle back I lost of the Christmas period of too much food consuming!

2)      Work Harder. Especially this year, as it is my GCSE year I want to really aim high here. I just need to put my head down and not get distracted as much. Should actually be doing work now…oops!

3)      Say ‘Yes’ more. This may seem a bit weird but apparently saying yes to more things can make you an overall happier person. I mean you obviously have to say no to something’s, saying yes to everything could be potentially dangerous (that went downhill quickly haha). What I mean is, saying yes more to the things you know are going to benefit you.

4)      Being Grateful. Sometimes I feel like I just continue on through life without really looking round and realising how lucky I actually am. So this is my final resolution, to be grateful for everything that happens in life, as some people literally have nothing. To take in all the beautiful moments that we take for granted, like seeing my family or doing something small but fun.

I know I haven’t been very active recently on my blog but life just gets in the way. Hopefully 2015 will be the start of something great for this blog, however I won’t be committing myself as sadly revision comes first!

What are your New Year Resolutions?

By my Bedside

When i come home after an absolutely exhausting day all i want to do is curl up in bed and read a fabulous book. My 2 favourite all time books are The Shock of The fall by Nathan Filer and You're the one that i want by Giovanna Fletcher. Both of these are absolutely amazing book- a must read!

However i will always have my kindle on hand with a new book to read, because I always need new books to get me to sleep at night. As you many notice there is one book i have not mentioned yet- a dog book! If you have read my Meet Percy post you will know i have a new dog!

I also have Body Butter in Strawberry for my hands and feet- to keep them moisturised and soft.

Halo hygenic wipes- because you can never be too careful.

Vaseline is an obvious bedside staple all across the world, i mean who needs dry lips?

Finally tissues as it's winter soon (shudders)!

What do you keep by your bedside?

Meet Percy!

Today I have some extremely exciting news to share!!

Well for the past couple of weeks I have been preparing for a new arrival….a puppy (I have mentioned this on twitter- @SkinnyLipstick)!

With this post I officially welcome Percy into the blog-family. Percy is a pug, duhhhh as you can see.

Pugs are rather controversial (a bit like marmite!) you either love them or hate them. I am totally all for them, if I could I would be holding up banners stating my love.

For years I have imagined myself tottering round in glamourous heels with my pug in tow. Well that dream has certainly become a reality, however I wont be walking

Percy through muddy fields with heels on, don’t worry!
The picture above is myself with Percy (Top from forever 21)

Maybe there will be regular appearances of little Percy! Who knows…?

Do you have dogs? Do you want them?

Clinique Facial Soap

Summer has officially ended in England *looks sadly out the window*, yet i still want my skin to glow!

This facial soap was basically a impulse purchase ( I mean what don't I buy on an impulse?) for £11.50,and I have come to believe that if you keep your skincare routine simple and not too fussy your skin will find its natural glow.

I use this morning and night, at night when I take my makeup off. I love it. I am not a regular user of Clinique but I have great things about the brand.

This my friends, is da bomb. Seriously I mean not many people think of using something so simple, I barely see any soaps in skincare routines, there needs to be more.

This has most definitely found a firm place in my beauty drawer.

Xox

Being Healthy on Holiday!

'Healthy & Holiday'. Now those are two words which are not often put together.

I realise that being on holiday means you eat one too many ice creams and maybe have a few too many margaritas!

However one must think of their bodies in this process! Now I am not going to go all preachy on

you don't worry but I am going to give you my tips that I have learnt being healthy on holiday!

1. Stop eating when your full. This seems just blatantly obvious but it took me a very long time to actually do this. You have to listen to you body and don't over eat- which is so easy to do.

2. Set a drinking time. What I mean by this is say to yourself you can have alcohol after 7pm only. 

3. Drink as much water as possible. In the day try and opt for water rather than unhealthy drinks and you could really help your skin!

4. Cook your own meals. If this isn't possible, obviously you can't do it. However if your renting an apartment or such like then for some of you stay you can cook your own meals. When we go away we always do this, it can also save a lot of money.

5. Skip the bread. We all know when you get lovely warm bread at restaurants how tempting it can be. Believe me I am guilt of this numerous times. If your going to eat a big meal skip the bread, your hunger can wait that little bit longer!

6. Use your common sense. This is the best advice I was ever given. My attitude towards food has not always been a healthy one ( another story for another time!) however when i got out that stage I had to re-evaluate. I was told to use my common sense when eating, eat when your hungry and stop when your full.

7. Eat when your hungry and stop when your full. This follows on from my last point, no diet ever works, it's proven! So it's really simple when it boils down to it.

8. Get your butt moving. Take your trainers on holiday or join a morning yoga class! Basically put down that book for at least an hour and get your but moving!

Ok so those are all my points,  I definitely got a bit off track on my last couple of points but I hope you got the general idea anyway!

xoxo

Night Before Flight Routine.

Before I go on any holiday I always have my 'evening before ritual'. In attempt to be 'bikini ready'!

I have been doing this for years, however some products have been switched out or added due to new discoveries!

After a long day I come in and immediately take off my makeup (thanks to the persistent advice from Caroline Hirons!)

Then I have a nice long shower/bath and wash my hair with Liz Earler Botanical shine shampoo & conditioner, they are very gentle and perfect for damaged hair. Then the obvious one - shaving my rather neglected hairy legs, no one wants hairy gorilla legs on holiday, with an everyday cheap razor. I mean I do wonder how people don't get utterly exhausted from shaving your legs every single day without fail.

Post-Shower I moisturize from head-to-toe with a nice thick cream, to rid of my scales. Recently I have been using Aqueous Cream from Superdrug, it literally has worked wonders on my skin.

Face-wise I cleanse with Liz Earle Hot Cloth cleanser and tone with Liz Earle Tonic (not pictured), moisturizing with Pro-activ Repairing treatment no 3 ( been using this for a very long time, it is one of my skin staples).

A new addition to my ritual is Boots eye gel, it moisturises and relaxes my eyes, the thing that surprised me was that I noticed a difference using it. 

If I have any spots I will use Antiac Activ spot treatment, I usually always have this in the back of my cupboard in some form.

Finally I will paint my nails and bury myself into a good book, this holiday I painted them Barry M Gelly varnish 'Prickly pear' - a lovely lilac colour which works with multiple outfits. 

Do you have any before holiday rituals? Please share!

Holiday Haul!

Well I certainly have not posted for a while. To be honest, I have had a slump. A complete blogging slump! I think I have found my interests again, so to kick start my blog again - I have a haul for you!

*sorry for the bad picture quality, took these pictures on my iPad!*

So firstly I bought Garnier Express 2 in 1 eye make up remover, the thing that attracted me to it was that it claims to protect your eyelashes. As many make up removers are harsh on your eyes and then result in many eyelashes falling out. No one wants bare eyes!

Then I bought Clearasil Blemish + Marks scrub, I bought this because I have had some spot issues round my nose and need to combat them now.

I also bought a Boots Essentials Eye gel. Oddly enough I have never owned an eye cream/gel before this. So I thought I should try a cheap one and see how it works.

Make-up wise I bought, Loreal nude magique CC cream ( the anti redness one) and Rimmel wake me up concealer. No particular reason why I bought these just wanted to try them!

Expect reviews of these products soon!

Wimbledon!

Bryan twins on the left.

Henman Hill + a tiny bit of the big screen.

*drool* strawberries and cream

Last Wednesday myself and a few of my friends decided to take a trip down to Wimbledon. Many trains and tubes later we arrived in the scorching heat- it was the hottest day of the year by far. However we stormed on and found our court, we booked tickets for court 2, it was such fun as we were able to watch the Bryan twins play! Over our courts claps and cheers we heard a tremendous thunder from the centre court, as Andy Murray was play and consequently lost... much to our disappointment.

For part of the day we also decided to push our way through the crowds on Henman Hill and find a tiny place which was just enough for us to sit down. All around us were people of different ages (mostly drinking ngl) which is what i love about huge events like Wimbledon, it attracts everyone!

To finish off our fabulous day at Wimbledon i bought some strawberries and cream, there is no way i could go to Wimbledon without getting strawberries and cream!

Mark Hill Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo has become a staple in so many of our bathroom cupboards, whether it's because we can't be bothered to wash our hair or if we want to give our hair a bit of a uplift. Batiste has become the prominent product for dry shampoos, however i am not a fan of Batiste's smell. So consequently i bought this dry shampoo from Mark Hill for £5.49, more expensive than your average dry shampoo.

I am just going to say now, i was utterly disappointed. The product itself was good and smelt fantastic but it ran out extremely fast! It ran out after 2 uses! 

I later realised that many people also had this problem and it was because the can leaked! If only it didn't leak this could be a fabulous product....

'if only, if only'

Summer Walks

Not gonna lie to you, i am really embracing summer here in England, are you?

Anyway I believe that exercise should be a part of your everyday routine, your never going be in the best physical shape you can be without exercise. To keep up your appearance i think you have to do some form of exercise 3 hours per week. So why not go on a beautiful walk?

I hope these pictures of my beautiful sunny walk will inspire you to reach your weight goals!

Mac Lipstick Angel

As we are in the midst of our summer, now is the time when we whip out our 'pretty in pink' lipsticks and blushes. Recently this lipstick- Angel, has been my absolute staple.

It is in the classic Mac bullet packaging, which is a personal favourite of mine and costs £15.

It is the perfect balance of a soft pink and a subtle nude, as you can tell when it is on your lips but it is not too bold. It glides over the bumbs of your lips making them look seamless.

Mac has yet to fail me! If your looking for the perfect summer lipstick look no further.

Scrummy Snacks!

 Whoever said healthy food doesn't taste good was wrong, so very wrong. I know the majority of us reach for our favourite snacks in between meals to keep the hunger at bay, however this can be seriously unhealthy for your body, especially if its full of artificial sugars and such like. However your mid-morning snack can be super healthy now because of the Nakd bars!

Nakd bars are basically fruit and nuts squished together, which sounds very gross. Whereas actually they are so yummy, and pretty much the best snack out there for you. I have taken snaps of some of my favourites- Cocoa Orange (like chocolate orange!), Cocoa crunch, Banana bread and Banana crunch. The Cocoa ones are very popular and pretty much nearly always sold out! 

I think these would also be great post/pre workout to give you that boost of energy you need.

Have you had a Nakd bar? Do you prefer them to other snacks?

Life Updates #1

I have decided to start a little series called life updates which may/ or may not be posted every sunday, as i feel like i need more about me on my little space!
With that exciting news, lets start this post off.
Firstly, i am moving house in 3 weeks, which is very very exciting. I feel like everybody i know is moving house as well, even on the youtube/blogosphere. Plan for moving are well ahead and we might have possibly sold our house as well,basically everything is happening at once!
As it is summer time and we all want luscious summer bodies, i will be doing more blogpost on healthy, easy summer snacks. So you can snack away at your desire and still fit into that tight fitting dress. To add to that i will be writing posts on fitness and health, without leaving behind the beauty posts as well.
If would be wonderful if you could bear with me, for these couple of weeks anyway!
xx

Follow me on Bloglovin: http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12333475

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Rose Hip

Ok, *raises hands* yes i bought the new latest craze of all the bloggers. The Rose Hip Barry M Nail Varnish, the spring/summer nail varnish of the bloggers.

I am freaking obsessed with this colour, any chance i get to wear it i do. It is the perfect blend of subtly, girly and summery. What more could you actually want? What i especially love about this is that it goes with any outfit without the faff of colour coordinating.

However i have never been a 'Hi-Shine' person as such. I tend to creep more towards matt's and silk nail varnishes... but this was a lovely surprise. I am a changed women.

What is your staple Summer nail varnish?

A change....

So.. I have changed my name! I am now the 'Skinny Lipstick'. I felt like this change was a long time coming, as i continually grew to hate my name 'Crushing On Pink', it had no true meaning to me.

Until i finally bit the bullet and changed to 'Skinny Lipstick'!

Also i have given my site a face lift and changed its design, so it truly reflects what is on this blog.

Starting from now, there will not only be beauty posts but there will be Lifestyle and Food posts being posted regularly. I really feel this has given me the motivation to really blog again and not just go through the motions.

Enjoy life you only have one.

Maybelline Color Tattoo- Permanent Taupe

Eye shadows are my weakness, i seem to be forever buying neutral eye shadows. I swear I have at least 5 of the same shade of brown. So why not buy another one?

This is my second Color Tattoo (I also have the shade Pink Gold) and this doesn't disappoint. It is so simple to use, perfect to take on holiday or travel. I don't use a brush, I just use my fingers to blend it near the corners of my eye or all over my eye lid. It does make a really nice simple and subtle smokey eye.

What I love about this is that it is not your classic neutral, it is a cool grey which goes perfect with most skin tones. It also lasts all day which is great!

Have you tried it? What did you think?

Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner

Yes gaze upon the product in all its glory. I thought i would make full use of the lovely British weather which we have been granted with lately, hence the stony background. I bought this for £19 aboard the British Airways plane on the return from my holiday in the sun, if I am honest I think I got quite a deal. A full size pot usually retails for £17 and I got 2 slightly smaller pots for £19! I mean how fast do you go through eye-liners?

For me the packaging is absolutely chick and stylish, classic Bobbi Brown. I had heard many bloggers go crazy over these eye-liners and their amazing qualities.

I forgot to mention you also get a miniture of their 'ultra fine eye-liner brush' which is very handy.

The colours are 'Black Ink' and 'Sepia Ink'. Black Ink is your average everyday black and Sepia Ink is a dark brown, although it gives your eyes a softer appearance. They apply very smoothly onto my eyelid with minimal hassle, always good. And they last all day. There is no chance that this product will come off your lid in the day, even if there was some random rainstorm. I am telling you now, its a lifesaver eyeliner.

There is nothing bad to say bout this product and i can tell you i will be using it for a very long time.

Have you tried this fabulous product? What did you think?

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation

Apologies for the complete lack of posts on my behalf, i have big exams coming up so my motivation for blogging has been the size of an ant! Exams are the worst.

Anyway lets move on to this foundation! This is the Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation and retails for £8.99. It is a medium coverage foundation with a slightly pink undertone. You can tell you have foundation on which i thought was slightly disappointing, as it is 'nearly naked'.
Throughout the day it seems to wear well, however if you have oily skin like myself you will most definitely need to powder, at least a couple times.
Overall i think the Revlon Colourstay foundation is at the moment staying my firm favourite!
Have you tried this foundation? 

vo5 Plump It Up Back-combing spray

I am going to share a little bit of my hair background, as one could call it. I have wavy/curly hair, however i often straighten it and that is where is loses all its volume and just is not something pretty. My hair needs that bit of oomph to make it voluminous - like Nicole Scherzinger's hair on the Herbal Essences ad (apart from all the sex noises obviously, hehe). That is why i bought this.

I was a bit apprehensive at first because of the word back-combing. Where i live there was a period of time where girls had backcombed their hair so much it was huge and messy (like Bridget Jones after she got out of the open top car?), do you know what i mean?. Not the look i was trying to achieve anyway.

I was a bit disappointed with this product, as i felt this did not give much volume to my hair at all! I will give it a little slack, i mean it did something but not as much as i was expecting. This will probably work on shorter hair as my hair is long so its heavy. For £3.79 it isn't bad either.

Have you tried this product? What did you think?

L'oreal Touche Magique Concealer

The nuisance of my life, concealers. I am afraid that this is yet another disappointing concealer. For £8.19 i was thoroughly frustrated with this product as I really liked the whole idea of it all.

This is meant to be a dupe for the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat and it is very much inferior to the mighty Touche Éclat.

The packaging is ok although I don't  particularly like the plastic feel or the colour if I am honest, though that is just my opinion. 

To use this product you have to twist the bottom and the concealer comes out into a soft bristled brush, with which you apply onto your face. I feel like the concealer is a watery consistency with minimal coverage. For me it did none of the'anti-fatigue illuminating' effects as it promised, it was a bit too light for me. As I have ranted about my dark under eye circles on numerous occasions. It lasted a full day (yay a bright side) so it is longwearing.

If your looking for a light coverage very natural concealer this one is perfect  for you!

Have you tried this concealer? Did is work for you?

Collection Deluxe Lipstick - Tallulah

Yet another pink lipstick that is being blogged about and the return of the pink background! This is the Collection Deluxe Lipstick in the shade Tallulah and it is £3.99.
Tallulah is a light pink, a mid toned pastel which i thought would be perfect for spring/summer casual 'pretty in pink'-esque look, although i might be inclined to class this as a nude as-well. The packaging i am not a big fan of as the main packaging after a while goes a rusty dark color but that is forgivable as the product is utterly fabulous.
It has a moisturizing non slip texture which sits perfectly on the lips even if they are slightly chapped (possibly too many days out in the sun). It lasts for at least 2 hours before it starts to properly fade. Not the most long lasting lipstick in my collection.
One swish of this over your lips gives an instant color pay off which has to be one of the best things about this product!

Zara Limited Collection Perfume LVIII

My latest craze... perfume! I had actually no idea that Zara did perfume until my friend mentioned it. All that time i had never even known. Almost immediately i went down to Zara to browse their perfumes and i chose this one. I did like the fruity scents as well- don't get me wrong however i felt this was more of a signature scent.
This was 6.99 from Zara, a fabulous price for a perfume. It is quite a heavy scent so i would only spritz the tiniest amount. Overall i love the packaging, scent and price!

Have you ever tried a Zara perfume?

Revlon ColorBurst Balm- Flirtatious

Well i decided to try a different background for this post today, hm not too sure about it but it will do for now!

As you may (or may not) know the Revlon Matte balms have been raved about on the internet, however I bought a normal colorburst ones accidentally due to the confusion of Boots website.

It is a bright glossy balm and costing £7.99 from Boots, fair price for what it is.
It applies nice and smoothly, very similar to a tinted Lip Balm, though this has way more pigment. Even after an hour you can rub your lips together without removing all the skin off your lips (you know the feeling). It is very moisturising and non sticky - Finally something non sticky!

I wear this quite a lot as it is still very bold for my complexion but i love it and looking to buy some more, including the matte balms as they seem utterly intriguing.

Lily Flame Blush Candle

I know i am not the only one who loves a good candle, i am one of the many candle lovers in the world. Come into my house and there is always at least 1 candle burning at any one time. Recently i was browsing good old John Lewis and came across this. It is £8.50 full size, which relative to other candles is a fair price.

In all honesty, i tried sniffing some of the other candle and wasn't a huge fan really apart from this one. Blush smells warm and fragrant, it doesn't smell fresh almost musky. When it is alight it the smell is not as strong as it smells when you first open the tin. I really like it, it creates a nice smell around my room and adds warmth as well (not in the literal sense).

Over all i really like the product and the packaging is just adorable!

Natural Collection Blush - Pink Cloud

When i think of Natural Collection i think of girls buying their first bit of make up. I haven't really given it the credit it deserves. I recently bought this blush from Natural Collection in the shade 'Pink Cloud'. It seemed liked the perfect natural pink colour, without going too harsh. It was £1.99 which is a really good price.

Whenever i buy Natural Collection products the product always seems to fall out the packaging, is that a common problem? Its not a huge hindrance it is just a bit annoying when it keeps falling out every time i pick it up.

The colour pay off from this blush is fair, it is amazing if you want a really natural pink cheek. However if you were going to go for the bolder blush look, i don't think this is for you.

Length wise, it stays on mostly all day. Although the consistency is quite powdery and looks it if you build up the blush.

I really like this blush especially as we are getting into spring/summer because i can easily achieve that effortless glowy look for summer!

Max Factor Wild Shadow Pot - Auburn Envy

First, I must apologize for my absence and being an awful blogger. I just have had a lot on my plate recently and that plate is clearing now so i can add blogging back into my life (...well that was descriptive and slightly weird).

Anyway putting the weirdness aside i have this Max Factor eye shadow in 35 Auburn Envy to review! In my make up collection there are very few Max Factor products, no particular reason it is just i have never been drawn to it. However over the Christmas period (oh how long ago that feels) the eye shadows caught my eye. I came away with this eye shadow in my grips.

The Packaging.... how disappointing, i mean for £4.99 it must be possible to package it better. Although it isn't that bad it feels quite cheap and tacky. 

Empties #1

A couple days ago (March 3rd) was my birthday and i got some new make up products. So i thought i would clear out some space, and i have been keeping empties lying about so it was due time to do an empties post!

1. Revlon Colour Stay foundation- I have since repurchased this foundation and love it!

2. Clean&Clear Blackhead Clearing Scrub- It didn't work wonders for me so i will not be repurchasing it!

3. Collection Pump up the volume mascara- It was ok, although there are much better mascaras out there.

L'oreal Hairspray- It was good, though not amazing.

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 hour - This broke me out a bit, now way to dark for me! I mean look at the colour difference between the 2 foundations.

Well this concludes my first empties post, i hope you enjoyed it!

Collection Eye-shadow Pencil

This post was due about a month ago, but this product was put to the back of my mind, assuming that i reviewed it. Honestly, i am so dippy sometimes you wouldn't believe. This is the Collection Eye-shadow Pencil which is £3.19 from Boots.

Firstly, I love the whole concept of this idea. The whole quick, in a rush, whack it on and go. As the packaging goes, its simple but intriguing for sure. I chose the colour Hot Chocolate, a deep brown, perfect for the natural smoky eye. 

 The amount of product is appalling to be honest. The top is all you get, you can't roll it up any more, this was really disappointing as the product itself is good. 

This eye-shadow stick is very pigmented and has a lovely colour. Also it blends very easily for the perfect smoky eye, as i mentioned before, gosh i am totally obsessed with the smoky eye!

I might do a blog post showing you how i apply this, comment if you want me to!

 As you can see from the swatch below it is very pigmented, creamy and packed with colour!