Friday Favourite: Medieval

On my last Instagramming post here, you might have noticed a cheeky little Space.NK bag. I popped in a few days ago to grab a copy of their Christmas catalogue because mine never arrived through the post, and left with a couple of bits. My favourite has to be this lipstick from Lipstick Queen by Poppy King, in Medieval. There's a range of lipsticks but this one stood alone and caught my attention because of the colour of the packaging...I'm a sucker for how things look and this deep oxblood colour struck me instantly. The lipstick itself is just as amazing. Medieval is a shade described as a red that can be worn by anyone and while I can't vouch for everyone else, I have to say I absolutely love it. It's not a bright post box red, more a red with pink undertones, but it still creates a bold lip and I found it very easy to wear. For a sheer lipstick, the colour pay off is great, and while it's not very long lasting, I found if I put on one coat, then powdered my lips before applying a second coat it stayed longer. It doesn't dry out the lips and has a subtle shine. I've been wearing this with a subtle smoky eye for evenings out and loving it!

Instagramming #3

I've been a bit snap happy recently, so earlier than expected, here's another look at my life in photos. Find me on Instagram with elle_pearson! Hope everyone's having a lovely week :)

1. Currently obsessing over Imagine Dragons album - favourite song here, listening to it as I type! | 2. Wearing my new sparkly festive purchase to a dinner date | 3. In awe of Lauren Conrad's beauty on the cover of Allure | 4. New sparkly top from River Island (here) | 5. The Jack Wills Christmas handbook arrived....uh oh! | 6. Blue tongue fun after lots of sweets with my two brothers | 7. Space.NK treats...post to follow | 8. Amazing balloon aliens at the opening of the new gym..oh how I miss being young! | 9. Toasty toes | 10. A mini Accessorize haul....such cute panda socks! | 11. Flawless gel manicure in a gorgeous autumnal shade | 12. First mince pie of the season - yum! | 13. A very yummy drink discovered at a quick M&S lunch! | 14. Max, my personal hair stylist, age 4. | 15. My absolute cutie of a little brother...think I need to get myself one of those hats...no? | 16. Moody pout on a long train journey | 17. Breakfast stop in between train journeys! | 18. Perfume collection to date...decisions, decisions... | 19. Farringdon, London by night - on the way to my uni course! | 20. Delilah, one of my favourite artists at the moment  | 21. Dippy eggs & soldiers -  British fave | 22. A days work of Christmas Shopping! | 23. Cosy lights in my bedroom | 24. Body Shop's Ginger Sparkle Hand Cream...post here!

Smells like Christmas

I know, I know, before everyone starts screaming "It's still only just November!" at me, I have to admit that I have a little out of control obsession with Christmas. While I think it's completely ridiculous that Selfridges start Christmas as early as September, I do get very excited almost as soon as the fireworks of Bonfire Night on the 5th of November end. Admittedly, I'm not the most organised girl in the world when it comes to most things, but when it comes to Christmas shopping I am straight of the mark and usually have all my presents, wrapping paper and cards bought by the end of November at the latest. I've even already got my advent calendar waiting for December 1st...crazy I know.

Anyway, in my typical exctited state, I passed The Body Shop while shopping down Oxford Street and just couldn't resist being drawn in to their window display of all their new Christmas goodies. I'm already a massive fan of the brand, one of my favourite products being their Body Butters (post here) and at Christmas it's no exception. Everything smells SO good. I absolutely adore the spicy, warm smell of Christmas and The Body Shop incorporates this into their products so well. There are three new limited edition scents for Christmas: Cranberry Joy, Ginger Sparkle and Vanilla Bliss. They all smell divine, but I opted for Cranberry Joy purely because I'm a fan of fruitier scents when it comes to body care. Stores have so many great deals on at this time of year, and I managed to get a set of one full size Body Butter and one full size Body Polish for £15. Amazing. I'm also a Love Your Body member and was due my free treat so I managed to pick up a little hand cream in Ginger Sparkle and a very cute little lip balm, again in Cranberry Joy. I'm thrilled with all these purchases...the Body Butter never fails to please and is beautifully moisturising as always, and the Body Polish exfoliates gently leaving my skin soft, smooth and refreshed. I wouldn't say the hand cream is anything amazing but I am enjoying the festive gingerbread smell. The lip balm is gorgeous, and while it doesn't moisturise the lips as much as some other lip balms, it does still keep them soft and protects them from the intense cold but what I love is the subtle red colour with a slight shimmer. It's a really wearable shade and is so easy to keep in my coat pocket and apply if I need to. So The Body Shop's impressed me this year! If you're looking for some indulgent body treats as a gift for someone...you know where to go!

On a side note, I loved these two videos of the construction of Selfridges' Christmas Window displays here and here. Enjoy!

All About Eve

Nars has to be one of my favourite makeup brands and I've collected a few of their products but my favourites have to be their blushes and eyeshadows. Their colour payoff is fantastic and so pigmented, with an extensive range of colours. My go-to blush is Nars Deep Throat and the new eyeshadow duo I reach for has to be Nars All About Eve. Since getting this, I've used it every day when doing some quick every day makeup because it works perfectly for a neutral eye. I tend to apply it with a dry brush, but they can be used with both wet and dry brushes, so I'm excited to have a go with a wet brush to see how much more intensified the colour is. The two colours look very similar, and they are, but together they brighten up the eye and make a very natural makeup look a bit more polished. I sweep the slightly darker colour all over the lid and use the lighter one as a highlight on my brow bone and in the inner corners of my eye. Quick and simple with a subtle brightening effect. Another star from Nars!

Friday Favourite: Mythic Miracles

Don't get me wrong, I am a massive fan of the holy-grail of hair oils, MoroccanOil, but recently I've started to tire of it. Whether it's the medicine like bottle, or the scent, I just feel like changing things up a bit. This is where I introduce Loréal Professionnel's Mythic Oil Colour Glow and Mythic Oil Milk. One word: Amazing. I love them both. Without rambling on and boring you about the benefits of hair oils, we all know how they protect the hair, nourish the hair, stop flyways and frizz...I will just say that these two are right up there in the world of hair oils. So many brands do their own versions... serums, oils, leave-in conditioners. Effectively they're all very similar, but I often find that a lot of them tend to just coat the hair and leave it feeling quite heavy and greasy...not desirable at all really. The Mythic Oils do exactly what you want while staying light and non-greasy. They're in spray form rather than pumps, so already it you're working with a lighter, thinner liquid, making it much easier than some of the thicker, more gloopy ones.. MoroccainOil being one of those culprits. I've been using them non-stop for a couple of weeks now and they've been a staple in my hair routine, leaving it noticeably silkier and more healthy looking in terms of colour and strength.

Now, you're probably thinking, why have both? Well, I'll be honest and say I couldn't decide between the two, and they're also very different. The Oil Colour Glow is aimed at colour-treated hair which can only be a good thing and contains linseed oil and cranberry oil, whereas the Milk contains royal jelly and passionfruit seed oil and intended for all hair types. For me, they both achieve the same effect, but my preference lies with the Milk purely because I believe it has a slightly nicer scent. The Milk does get used up quicker though because you are recommended to use more sprays than the Oil, but if you only want to buy one, you'll be happy either way. The Oil is definitely more of traditional hair oil, but I just find the Milk feels more creamy and luxurious as well as being a little less greasy to the touch than the Oil for obvious reasons, of course. Not forgetting the original Mythic Oil, there is plenty to choose from, as well as the range continuing into shampoo and conditioner! So have a browse, check out the ingredients and see what's best for you. For now, it's move over MoroccanOil and hello Mythic magic!

Instagramming #2

1. Christmas at John Lewis | 2. Sparkler fun on Fireworks Night | 3. Time to get the Christmas candles out -  Yankee Cherries on Snow | 4. Interesting Lady Gaga pop-out in Elle magazine...still need to try the Fame perfume! | 5. Meet Bonnie, possibly the most adorable dog in the world. My favourite. | 6. First Gingerbread Latté of the season! | 7. Two new ChloBo purchases - post here | 8. Cosy monkey cuddles with my gorgeous little brother | 9. Babysitting results in a movie and some chocolate | 10. Never thought I'd find the One Direction boys in Vogue! | 11. Getting a little overexcited about the Halloween candy | 12. I met this friend in the pub..who knew dogs liked to drink?! | 13. A shameful addition to my running playlist | 14. Enjoying getting out all my snug Winter clothing | 15. The depressing ironing pile...a day of housework | 16. Three new additions to my wardrobe | 17. Loving my new lace top from H&M, not loving the lack of warmth it provides at this time of year | 18. Georgia in the swanky restrooms at the Sanderson | 19. My favourite Autumnal nail combination, post soon! | 20. Sipping on a cocktail during my Mad Hatter's Tea at The Sanderson | 21. Alice in Wonderland 'Drink Me' potion, a very cute (and tasty!) touch | 22. A night in with Made in Chelsea & a bowl full of sweet treats | 23. Feeling sorry for myself after a day sick in bed | 24. Looking a little crazy at the hair salon!

If you feel like following me on instagram my name is elle_pearson.

Umberto Giannini Beauty Secrets

I'm a bit of a self confessed organiser, or maybe I just love shopping? Either way I always get my Christmas presents as soon as I can because I love the excitement of getting them gradually and building up a pile of presents to wrap come December, imaging the faces on the recipients when they open their special gift. That's one of the best things about Christmas, don't you think? The only problem is when I'm shopping, I'm confronted with beautiful products screaming "Buy me! I'm amazing!" while sitting on the 3 for 2 displays....all far too tempting. And I caved. While stocking up on some gifts for the girls down the beauty aisles of Boots, I spotted this gorgeous little bag, packed of full size Umberto Giannini products for damaged hair. Beauty Secrets in a Bag. What more could I want?! I've been on the market for a wash bag for a while now and when I saw this one, I could just see myself cramming it full of travel size goodies and makeup and trundling off away somewhere. The products inside were a bonus really. So far, I've had good experiences with Umberto Giannini products, I'm just not keen on the smell, but I'm willing to give these ones a try to see if they do my hair any good. You get the Pure Beauty Shampoo, the Intense Beauty Conditioner, the Indulgent Beauty Moisture Mask and the Instant Beauty Leave-in Conditioner. I'm excited to try out all four of them and right now I'm off to do the aforementioned stuffing of the beauty bag...travel sizes, I'm coming for ya!