Parma Violet Spree

Just bought the Topshop nail varnish I was stalking, and grabbed the sun-shower crayon and a maxi skirt and a ruffle AMAZING top while I was there. Argh why do I do this? Of course, this was after a spree in H&M where I nearly had to body slam a woman out of the way to get the last one of this beaut...

[H&M, £39.99]

I swear, as soon as you buy one little thing, it loosens you up and then you just don't get a chance to shut your damn purse. Well, this happens to me anyway... i'm a spendy spendaholic. Some of my spoils...

[Topshop, fiver]

[H&M, £9.99]

[Topshop, £25]

There was more, dear reader, but you care not. Also, I don't want to document the true extent of my shopping addiction in a public place.

The last photo shows what I think may be the most amazing top I have ever owned. I would never normally buy a full price top from Toppers, as they are usually overpriced, but the detail on this, and the soft fabric, and the fact that it's in lilac pas-tell, and it goes so nice with the navy maxi skirt I bought...I just had to.

H&M have got lots of plain (and not so plain) skirts and tops for £2.99...and little dresses for £4.99, so I stocked up on some of those bad boys in preperation for Barcelona, and SONAR festival. Too excited.

Just finished reading 'Modern Baptists' by James Wilcox. It made me want to move to the American South and go to dusty bars with guys called FX and girls called Burma (I'm pretty sure this was not the author's intention). It was very funny, anyway.

Back with a bump

Even though everyone keeps saying that I've brought the sun back with me, it really doesn't feel that way. One minute you're looking out to a turquoise sea without a care in the world...the next you're opening a student loans letter and realising that David Cameron: "C3PO from Star Wars - made out of ham" (I quote Caitlin Moran) is running the country. Fo sho. Sigh.

In happier news, I didn't get sunburnt for the FIRST TIME EVER. To mark this momentous occasion I am going to review my recent goodies.

Ahem.

Urban Outfitters Nail Varnish in Taupe 1:

I also got this in Matte Grey, but this colour is absolute perfection. This is a word I am going to use a lot for my new ladylike character that has been brought about by the nail varnish's sophistication, which apparently means I will talk in italics. Anyhoo, the consistency is great, which is something I never really thought as being important for nail varnish, but now I see that it has a sort of elasticity to it that means it doesn't chip or peel easily, as well as being very easy to apply. The colour is best approximated as a grey/brown, I think Grazia would call it greige. I really wish they would give up with the portmanteau-ing (clearly not a word).

A few crappy photos to attempt to illustrate its greatness:

My new romance with Revlon continues with their Bronzer:

I am not a massive fan of bronzer/fake tan stuff, but I bought this for my holiday and was pleasantly surprised. The colour is subtle and not too shimmery, and builds up nicely. However, I bought it mostly for the super cool compact - there is a little button inside that you press down to make a mirror pop out the side. This makes a satisfying sound and happens really quickly, and reminds me of some sort of spy gadget. Even if in reality it is just a mirror that allows you to see if you are going a tad too terracota, it is still enough to keep me amused.

Illamasqua Lipstick in Obey:

This lipstick was one of my many Lisa Eldridge inspired purchases. I haven't actually road tested it yet on a night out, but I have been well impressed with how it looks while I slob around my room, trying on all my make up. First off, the packaging is very nice, very sleek and all that. The colour is wow - really bright peach and 60's/70's looking - and went well with both my pre-holiday paleness and my post-beach complexion. The texture is as matte as it gets, which is what I wanted from the lipstick, but be warned; it requires serious prepping of the lips before you can apply it. Having said that, if you get a little on your finger and dab it on you get a nice hint of the colour without having to do anything complicated. The best thing about it is how the colour builds; as you add more it doesn't get darker, it gets brighter and lighter.

This is because it has an almost white base, and the more you obliterate your natural lip-tone with it, the more the peach colour comes through. Overall, I'm very impressed, and as it's such an unusual and fun colour I feel it was worth the expense - £15 + postage.

                    

                                                       

Time for a nice cup of post-ibiza tea.                                               

Topshop make-up out today

It all looks as good expected, check it out here at the Topshop website. Most excited about their lilac nail varnish, named after my favourite sweet: Parma Violets. Now to get me some (make-up and sweets that is).

Treats

[ASOS Fox ring, Nicola Roberts for Jelly Pong Pong eyeshadow, Urban Outfitters nail varnish]

The Asos fox ring and Dainty Doll eyeshadow were things I added to my ASOS basket to get it up to £20 when I bought the Illamasqua Obey lipstick. That I am supposed to have reviewed by now. Oops, bad blogging. I got the fox ring because I'm from Leicester and so I love foxes, obvs. I got the eyeshadow because it was reduced, and also because as a pale person I have been wanting to try a range for us pale-o's for a while. It's actually really great, you get a nice creamy gold toned primer to put underneath the apricot eyeshadow, which makes the shadow stay put all day. The colour is super - I think there are two others, check them out here at ASOS.

Nail varnish in Taupe and Matte Grey from Urban Outfitters. The packaging sold these to me, and I have wanted to try a matte nail varnish ever since WAH nails did a matte black/shiny black leopard print on their blog. The muted colours are waayyy more sophisticated than I am. I can't find my nail varnish remover at the moment so I have 9 lilac nails (chewed, badly painted) and 1 matte grey nail (couldn't wait to try the colour so painted over the lilac). Need to become more grown up and take proper care of my nails like a true lady, and do the posh nail varnish justice.

Candy Nails

Just bought the lemon and peach colours to complete the set! Although you need a few coats and a decent topcoat the colours come out exactly as they look; very opaque with great 60's style white base undertones. And of course, they link in very nicely with the whole pastel trend.

I can't wait to paint every nail a different colour now. They will complement the Club Tropicana summer wardrobe I'm planning...See above for the full horror of my eightie's dreamboat plans.