How I Curl/ Wave My Hair

Hey Everyone!

A couple of weeks ago I went to see Olly Murs in concert and thought it was the perfect opportunity to get out my Babylis Curling Wand (I got it for Christmas) and give it a whirl. I have completely poker straight hair, which some may consider a blessing, but to me, although I can wear my hair natural without it looking crazy, its so boring! In addition to it being straight- its flat and persistent. It is extremely reluctant to hold a curl or pretty much any other style.

My hair woes aside, I thought I'd tell you about my current hair routine for when I want a hairdoo that's a bit different from my usual. 

First, I give my hair a little bit of a tease with my Primark Back Combing Brush. After spritzing my hair with Lee Stafford's Heat Protectant (which is actually intended for straightening hair, but I thought it'd do the job all the same), I use the highest setting (210 degrees) of the wand and curl about two inch sections of hair away from my face. When I'm finished, I give my hair a bit of a shake and set it all with Bed Head Maxxed Out Hairspray, the only hairspray I've found that holds my hair, and has the bonus of smelling like oranges and not being an aerosol. 

The effect is casual, kind of beachy curls which last a good few hours (probably longer if I wasn't running out of hairspray). The whole process takes about 20 minutes which I think is fair, though I wouldn't do this on a regular basis as it seems like so much more effort than usual.

What's your current 'oomph' hairstyle?

Current MUA Wishlist

Hey Everyone!

As you all know, I am a huge fan of MUA- it is definitely my favourite drugstore brand- from the price to the quality- they get it right pretty much every time. They are constantly launching new products which results in me having a wishlist the length of my arm. 

1. Blush Perfection Cream Blusher in Blossom 

2. Intense Glosses in Kiss and Tell

3. Matte Perfect Primer 

4. E3 Blending and Shadow Brush

5. Power Pout in Broken Hearted

6. Mega Volume Mascara

7. Shimmer Kiss Bronzer- Bronzed Shimer Kisses

8. Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder

9. F2 Stippling Brush

I got the Cream Blush in Dolly for Christmas and I absolutely love it so I really want to try more shades. I'm not usually a big fan of glosses, but the pigment of the Intense Glosses looks amazing- especially the red. I don't wear primer on a day to day basis, but after reading a rave review of the Matte Perfect Primer I feel a huge urge to get it! I always seem to find myself lacking when it comes to makeup brushes and since MUA's are so affordable I think they would be great to try even though they are strikingly similar to my elf ones. The Power Pout looks like a dupe for the Clinique Chubby Sticks and a cheaper version of the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains so for £3 they look like they're worth a go. With the MUA mascaras I've tried, I've not had a great experience, but I am a glutton for punishment and want to try this new one. I thought the quad bronzer looks nice too. Finally, I have been hunting for this Highlighting Powder for weeks and its sold out everywhere- it looks so pretty- I need it!

What are your MUA must haves?

The Sunday Post #8

Hey Everyone!

Its the early hours of Sunday morning and I thought I'd write a quick post before I go to bed so I can have the whole day tomorrow studying (except if I get distracted by the bloggers twitter chat which happens all too often.)

My Life

Has been pretty boring to be honest. Its literally been school, study, sleep, school, study, sleep. Though I have started using a diary (a bit late in the year, I know) for to do lists and its been really helpful. I'm really looking forward to going to Edinburgh next week to shop shop shop and relax! I noticed that Boots have 3 for 2 mix and match across cosmetics at the moment- YAY! Hopefully it'll still be on when I'm there- let me know if you know when it finishes! 

Update

Well woah there lets stop a sec. Have you noticed? I've got a new layout! After much confusion surrounding HTML, I decided to restore my default layout and work from there to get it the way I wanted because my coding had got to the point where it had locked or something. I'm so happy (at last!) with this layout- what do you think?

Before

After

Weekly Favourite

This week I took advantage of the free postage and bought Missguided's Rose Gold Watch! I love love love it- though its a bit big so I'll have so get some links off before I can wear it. I ordered it at like 7pm on Tuesday night and it arrived on Wednesday- how fab it that?

How has your week been?

My Go-To Lipstick This Winter

Hey Everyone!

So before we completely loose winter and move into the pastels and corals of spring and summer, I thought I'd tell you about the lipstick I have been absolutely loving the past season.

 

Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in Shade 107 received quite a bit of hype as the winter months began- and rightly so. The formula is one of the best I've tried: smooth, extremely pigmented and has a really distinct, almost fruity smell, which I'm pretty much indifferent to. Because to colour is so bold, you need to be careful with application, but if clumsy  old me can do it, anyone can. Although its matte, its not drying at all and I don't have to wear a balm underneath  You might want to use a lip liner, but personally I don't feel I have to. The lasting power is amazing- much better than I thought, and even though it does transfer, the colour stays on your lips. It is extremely flattering and works as a evening or day shade. 

This is a lipstick that would usually be really out of my comfort zone because of how 'out there' it is but in winter I fill my wardrobe with maroon, so why not my makeup bag? I plan to wear this until the sun finally makes an appearance,and will definitely be getting it back out next winter.

Have you tried it?

The Sunday Post #7

Hey Everyone!

How are you? You may (or may not) have noticed that last week I didn't write a Sunday post as I was just so darn busy. Today I'm taking a little while out of maths revising to do it though.

My Life

Most significant point of the week: going to see Olly Murs- yayyy! It was such a fab night- he's a great performer. Then yesterday I went for a little Costa catch up with some buddies (teehee I like that word) and then popped into Superdrug. I got moisturiser (which I needed badly), Collection 2000 Felt Tip Liner (I'll review it when I've given it a good test run) and Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Lychee which I lurveee already! I've also become obsessed with Pinterest over the past week or two- I lie in bed for hours at night just browsing it. 

Update

I'm pleased to say I've stuck to the 'posting every other day in March' resolution, though I miss that little post a day thing I done in the second half of February as I felt really in the loop. I just don't have the time for that anymore though. The early hours of Sunday morning which used to be spend writing posts for the upcoming week are now spent writing history essays. 

After the Google Reader closing drama during the week I'm pleased to notice that my number of Bloglovin' followers has more than quadrupled, though GFC seems to have taken a hit in return. Oh and did anyone notice the new header? I'm not entirely sure about it but it'll do for now. Ideally, I'd like to do a full blog revamp- but my HTML is so messed up it won't let me change anything. 

Weekly Favourite

Firstly, I am loving Pretty Little Liars at the moment- it is so amazing. I had a tiny melt down though late on Friday night when I was catching up- I got so scared that I literally stopped it and left the rest to watch in daylight aha! I've also been really enjoying just putting on the radio in the background. As always, the highlight of that is when One Direction comes on, but I've also really been liking Stay by Rihanna- kind of depressing but good for getting to sleep (and belting out in the shower).

How has your week been?

MUA Blush Perfection Cream Blusher in Dolly Review

Hey Everyone!

How are you? As this post is published (oh yeh, I worked out how to schedule :P), I will be at Olly Murs' concert! Oooh how fancy! I'm not a super/ mega/ crazy fan of him, but I think he's pretty good and I am très excited.  

On to the actual post, and this evening I want to tell you about my favourite product of the moment: MUA's Cream Blusher in shade Dolly (first off- what a cute name!) 

I actually got this blush, along with a whole load of other MUA products, for Christmas, and for some crazy reason I put it in my 'makeup I'll use later' box and it was neglected until the last week or two. I am kicking myself for not using it sooner! This bad boy has quickly become a staple in my everyday makeup: its well pigmented and has a smooth, silky texture. I apply a dot or two and blend with my fingers and follow up with my stippling brush. Unlike my usual rose pink blushers, this is quite coral/ peachy which I actually think suits me better. What I love most about this product is the way it sits and looks on the skin. I find myself disbelieving this slightly as I've never found the quality in a blusher but it actually almost airbrushes your cheeks- making them flawless as well as adding colour. Another fab thing about this is that is is super buildable- as you can see from the two swatches above, you can create a really full on, bold colour or blend it for a more subtle look. The only, very slight, problem I have is that it is quite tricky to get even on both cheeks so is a nono if you are in a hurry.

All in all, this is an absolutely fantastic product and has fast become my favourite blusher.

MUA Blush Perfection Cream Blusher is available for only £2.00!

Have you tried this? Do you love it as much as I do?

Guest Post: Hayley Loves Favourite Products For Under £10

Hello! I'm Hayley from Hayley Loves at lastyearsheroxo.blogspot.co.uk and when Julz gave me an idea of what kind of post she wanted, I jumped at the chance of doing this - my favourite products for under £10. I've been quite naughty lately, and have neglected high street brands and gone more for high end, so this has definitely given me the incentive to head on to my local Boots and appreciate the beauty that is affordable make up products.

I didn't realise just how much I reached for my Colossal Volume Express Mascara until now. I use it nearly every day, it's perfect for creating effortless, separated, long lashes. Apply a couple more coats and you're set!

If I'm looking for more statement lashes, I nearly always reach for L'OrealVolumnious 4X Mascara.  I didn't expect much from quite a thin brush, but this never disappoints. It never clumps and it's really good to layer with, if I ever need to apply more later on.

Everyone loves a good MUA product, and their Flawless SkinPrimer has been a staple in my make up box recently. It creates a smooth, velvety base that isn't drying and really holds onto my foundation. 

On the subject of MUA, I adooooore the MatteFoundations that are like, £2! This is my go-to foundation when I just need some when I'm running a couple of errands, but don't need a full face. It's not really matte at all, it leaves me with a dewy finish, so I think maybe oily skinned people should look elsewhere. It's medium-full coverage is really thick, but easily blendable and covers all my blemishes. Definitely repurchasing. 

I needn't rave about the Brow Kit too much, as you're all aware of how incredible it is. I use it every day, a mixture of the dark and blonde powder and it rarely smudges. And that's all I'm gonna say about that!

A cult product, the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer will be a repurchase till the day they discontinue it. Okay so this shade is a little dark for me, but it blends so well it doesn't matter too much. It's perfect for under eyes and blemishes, you know, I don't know why I'm preaching to the choir!

Finally, most peoples go-to shade this Autumn/Winter, the Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in 107. This deep, wine shade flattered nearly every skin tone with it's blue undertones and was perfect day or night. I still wear this now. It's not drying, perfect for a statement lip, smells gorgeous and looks really, really nice... if I say so myself.

Thank you very much to the lovely Hayley for writing the first ever guest post on Julz' Obsessions! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did- I'm having trouble restraining myself from running to Superdrug right now and buying it all!

Clinique Take The Day Off Makeup Remover Review

Hey Everyone!

Recently I've been dipping my toe into the realm of skincare- trying to move away from babywipes, or at least incorporate something else into my routine. I've had a sample of 'Clinque Take The Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, Lashes and Lips' lying in my drawer for ages and I thought I'd give it a go since I had quite heavy eye makeup on.

Like all Clinique products, this has really clean, no fuss packaging and the lid is like a medicine bottle where you have to push down and twist. The liquid has two components- one sits on the other, like oil on water which I thought was really unique. I used Superdrug's own cotton wool pads and just applied 5 tips and rubbed onto my eyes. It was really silky and oily and firstly removed the eyeshadow then broke down the mascara and eyeliner. 

Frankly, I am bowled over with this product. It actually removed my long lasting mascara (in my opinion its harder to remove than waterproof) in no time at all- the oil just melted it away. When I went over with a wipe after- there was absolutely no makeup left. This will come in so helpful when I'm wearing waterproof or lots of eye makeup.

The only thing that puts me off purchasing this in full size is the price- its £16 for 125ml, which is way more than I would spend on skin care, so unless I come across a voucher or a winning lottery ticket- I'll just need to make this sample last.

Overall, this is the best eye makeup remover I've ever tried as it removes all traces of even the most persistent mascara but its price makes me reluctant to repurchase.

Have you tried this?

PS- Sorry the photo quality/ lighting isn't as good as usual- I took these pictures at night.

Beauty Freebies!

Hey Everyone!

How are you? I've had a great day filming youtube videos (although it took hours and hours for two videos because everything kept going wrong!) and drinking tea. I really need to get on with studying, but hey what's another half an hour writing a quick post?

From a young age, freebies have appealed to me big time. I distinctly remember being in Germany in 2005 and being in Yves Rocher with my mum and carting off big wheelbarrows full (ok, slight exaggeration) of scented wipes from the freebie basket. I actually still have those, which makes me think its not about the actual freebie- its about the buzz of getting it.

Over the last few months I discovered freebie boards online which offer all the latest free stuff that you can sign up for to receive to your door. My favourite boards are Martin's Money Tips and Hotukdeals. I simply check back every now and again and enter my details to the links. And the best part is the brands that usually offer samples are brands you would use anyway like L'Oreal and Garnier. Not only is it like Christmas when one arrives through your door, but you get to try a product before you buy.

These are some freebies I've collected over the past few months, some of which I'm very excited about trying.

As you can see, most brands offer sachets, but there is actually quite a lot inside and usually when you are signing up for foundation you can select what skin tone you are so you can get an accurate view of what the product would be like if you bought it. I love having samples for travelling and I particularly love the perfume samples as I can satisfy my perfume cravings without increasing my collection any more (I have so much to get through!) Also, I'm really impressed with the size of the Maybelline Fit Me sample- its in a tube and everything!

Are you a freebie fan?

Why Do You Wear Makeup TAG

Hey Everyone!

The other night I got to thinking about how I portray myself through Julz' Obsessions. I think my 'life self' and 'blog self' are pretty much the same, but its easy to present myself the way I want you to see me, brushing my flaws aside. I am therefore thinking about doing a few posts about insecurities, though I am slightly worried about the reception they may receive, so let me know if that's something you might be interested in. 

Anyhoo, I thought the 'Why Do You Wear Makeup TAG' would be a good place to start with the whole 'getting to know the real me' thing.

1. When did you begin to love makeup?

I've always been pretty interested in makeup, I always remember begging my mum to put makeup on me as she was doing her own and smearing the Avon kid's cream blush over my cheeks when I was really young. Around age 10 I would wear lipgloss and maybe a bit of concealer. I started putting on makeup as a routine when I went to high school. However, I only began loving makeup around December 2011 when I discovered the wonderful world of beauty blogs. My love has just grown and grown since then!

2. How do you feel without makeup?

Without vs with makeup

Probably like the majority of us: naked. Its weird but I feel really self conscious going out without makeup and feel a whole lot more confident with it on. 

3. What do you like about makeup?

My everyday makeup when I started bloggng and my everyday makeup now.

I like that its like art. I find doing makeup really, really enjoyable. When I'm super busy with exams and studying etc, its a part of my day I really look forward to, especially at weekends when I have time to experiment. There's always something new and exciting to try and different looks to create. I love how, used correctly, it can enhance your features and make you look like a better version of you.

4. Three 'Holy Grail' items?

Find this is my guest post on Natasha's blog here! 

So there we have it. Its actually quite a short TAG but I've certainly went on a bit. I don't usually tag specific people but today I shall, but if you're not tagged feel free to do it anyway- that's what I done- I just thought it looked like a good one to do.

I tag Melanie, Becky, Islay, Hayley, Becky & Siobhan.

Make sure to send me a link if you do it :)

Soap and Glory: Peaches and Clean 4 in 1 Cleansing Milk Review

Hey Everyone!

Its weird because I'm such a huge Soap & Glory fan, with heaps of their stuff, but I hardly ever review it. I'm going to start doing more reviews of their products because they're one of my favourite brands. 

For Christmas, I got the Best Of All gift set which consisted of 9 of Soap and Glory's best selling products, including 'Peaches and Clean 4 in 1 Cleansing Milk'. I was pretty pleased that this was included in the gift set though as at first I thought it was a face wash and my Clinique one was running out. I am hopeless with skin care but try to use some sort of cleanser/ wash in the shower. When I discovered this was actually a makeup remover I was even more intrigued.

Firstly, ain't the packaging just lovely? True to Soap & Glory, it is vintage-esque and kitsch and I much prefer the pump dispenser to tubes. The product is creamy, slightly yellow and had a very strong smell of peaches. I'm not the biggest fan of the smell but its not so sickly that I can't stand to use it.

To put its claim 'Melts away makeup' to the test, I started with a full face of makeup and rubbed a decent amount all over my face. True to its claim, it does seem to break down the makeup really easily (as you can see with it smeared all over my face). I felt like it also collected the makeup so when I washed it off most of the makeup went with it and I was left really fresh faced. However, when I went over my skin with a wipe, I found quite a considerable amount of makeup still on my face. I'm not counting the eye area as its not intended for that, (as I learned the hard way) but as you can see it didn't take off the entirety of my foundation. 

For this reason, I wouldn't rely solely on this as a makeup remover, but I am incorporating it into my skin care routine by using it in the shower after I've taken on the majority of my makeup with a wipe. You could do this in the reverse order, I just like the lasting fresh feeling after using Peaches.

I think it is worth the price as it does leave your skin squeaky clean and makes getting makeup off a whole lot less laborious.

You can buy Peaches and Clean from Boots.

Summary

A strong peach smelling creamy makeup remover which I will use in addition to wipes to remove my makeup. Leaves your skin feeling fresh and is good value for money.

Have you tried Peaches and Clean? What do you think of it?

I said 'makeup' a total of 11 times in this post!

The Sunday Post #6

Hey Everyone!

My Life

I am getting so busy again *sad face*- this weekend I have a ridiculous amount of homework, but I seem to be coping with it ok- I need to get to work as soon as I finish this post and hopefully I'll be all good. For a bit of a break yesterday (and since I was passing) I popped into Primark. I can safely say my love has returned. You may know that I went off Primark recently because of their increasing prices and I wasn't really loving their stuff, but yesterday when I went in it was amazing! I spent well over an hour in there, causing me to miss lots of trains and it took an hour and a half to get home instead of 20 mins (though to be honest that was the trains' fault!) and I also missed the beginning of Saturday Night Takeaway. However, with the help of +1 I managed to rescue the situation. Anyway, I will either post about what I bought or make a video in the coming days so look out for that!

Update

Did anyone notice that I said I would post everyday this week again, but missed Saturday? Bad Julianne. Ah well, I reckon I'm excused for the sheer volume of homework I have. I don't plan on posting everyday next week, though I will post more frequently from now on- perhaps every other day in March? Ooh there's an idea. Also, I'm thinking of having a little revamp of the layout in the coming weeks: nothing major just maybe alter the page tabs at the top as I don't really post a lot on fashion any more. Oh and I also added a search gadget in the sidebar: I don't know why I haven't sooner as I use them all the time on other blogs.

Weekly Favourite

Although I'm still very much loving One Direction, this weeks favourite goes to the extremely talented Robyn from http://www.robynmakesthings.com/ who did an amazing illustration for me! You guys should definitely check out her blog- her art is just great and I am actually very inspired to get out a sketch pad- though I guess my stick men wouldn't quite compare :P

This is the fab illustration Robyn done for me- I'm definitely going to incorporate it into my blog layout in some way!

How has your week been?

NOTD: My First Successful Nail Art

Hey Everyone!

Remember back in the early days I used to post attempted nail art with big splodges and messy edges (eg here- cringe!)? Well I think I can finally say that I have successfully done nail art and it hasn't been a disaster! YAY- applause needed, thanks :)

I've been wanting to try out different styles for ages, with the constant inspiration from blogs and pinterest, but my nails are really short and my hand isn't the steadiest, so I decided nail art wasn't for me. However, inspired by Islay's amazing nail art (who makes everything look so simple!) I thought hey why not give it a go, and I was so pleased with how it turned out!

So you might think 'those aren't even that good' but for me its a major achievement! I think if I get the white stripes a bit thinner and grow my nails so I have more space to work with I might actually master this.

These are the polishes I used in the order I used them, from left to right, and for the lighter green I mixed the green and yellow together. Why is there a random pencil hanging around you may ask? Well this was actually the tool I used for the flowers and it actually made things way easier. I used the writing end and just cleaned it after each colour.

And the best news? The polish lasted a whole 4 days before I peeled it off- a personal record I think.

Have you tried any nail art recently?

I'm posting everyday at 6.00pm this week: let me know in the comments if you would like me to post at set times like this more often :)