Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain

I absolutely hate lip gloss. I know it's like a right of passage to slick it on and whip your hair around as a teenager, but I have way too much hair for that rubbish and it always, always ends with my hair unattractively sticking to the glittery goop I've smothered on my lips. For that reason, I've always been a lipstick kind of person; the darker the better. I'm the girl rocking a plum lip in the middle of Summer, the word "coral" is enough to send me into a fully fledged panic and I avoid anything gloopy or sticky like the plague. Having said that, the colour of the Parisian Passion Colorstay Stain by Revlon lured me in and for £7.99, or 2 products for £10, it wasn't going to break the bank if I hated it (and I did get a nail varnish as part of the bargain, too.)

I think, as it's described as a stain, I expected this to be closer to something like Benefit Benetint, like a liquid application that dries into a stain, but this isn't like that at all. It goes on somewhat like a gloss, a sort of thick liquid and it doesn't dry, but it does sort of set whilst leaving a stain. It's hard wearing and long lasting, or at least more so than most lipsticks in my experience, however it isn't quite as long lasting as a stain like Benetint. The colour is a deep plum, and is actually quite true to the colour on the tube, but it isn't quite as opaque as similar colours I own like Mac's Rebel, although I guess you should expect that from a stain compared to a lipstick The most pleasant surprise it has to offer though? It isn't sticky! Hallelujah, praise the lord. It's shiny like a gloss, but I don't have to fear a gale and therefore looking like the bearded lady.

All in all, this strikes me as the perfect balance between gloss, stain and lipstick and at such an affordable price, I'll be looking at picking up some more colours. Who knows, maybe I'll even consider trying a coral.

S xo.

Netflix Picks

I firmly believe that there's two kinds of people in the world; those who have Netflix and those who need to reevaluate what they're doing with their lives. Yeah, I'm one of those people, one of the people who want to know if you've seen this on Netflix, or asking if that film's on Netflix, or inviting you round to watch Netflix. Basically, Netflix need to be paying me given the amount of time that I spend talking about them. Given that it plays such a massive role in my life (I'm honestly not kidding, I probably rate it higher on my list of things I love than most of my friends. Although not quite as high up as the Food Network) I figured I'd give you my top five picks of what you need to be watching.

Hemlock Grove 

  

Netflix has just recently released Hemlock Grove season two, and I've been completely addicted. I'm a bit of a sucker for Eli Roth, I've always said I'd get married in his Goretorium if I was going to have a Vegas wedding, and although I'm completely terrified of Hostel - this is a whole new ball game. There's something delightfully creepy about the characters in Hemlock Grove, and as you're thrown from pillar to post trying to work out who is who in town, and who you can and can't trust, it's impossible not to be pulled in deep into the story. Well worth a look, but make sure you're willing to watch episodes back to back as it's weirdly addictive. Be wary though, incest, creepy parent child relationships and genetic mutations feature commonly.

Whip It

Honestly, as far as I'm concerned this is the best film Ellen Page has ever been in - including Juno, which I went to see about nine times in the cinema and can recite word for word (Jeez, Banana, shut your friggin' gob, okay?!) This is a real girl power movie about growing up in a crappy town, and doing something for yourself. I'm not sure what it is about this that I love so much, but Landon Pigg is pretty good eye candy, and his music is really, really decent. Worth it for the skating names alone; top picks being Smashley Simpson and Iron Maven - it will definitely have you looking for skates and finding out where your nearest Roller Derby team recides.

Breaking Bad

I don't think I need to say that much about this one, it has a cult following for a reason. Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston, drugs, overuse of the word "bitch" and the ability to make you consider creating a drugs front as a viable future prospect for yourself. Get past the first dissolving of a body, and you're over the worst - most episodes even have a surprisingly dark comedic undertone. I can't rate this highly enough, watch it, bitch.

Lilo and Stitch

I don't ever recall watching this as a child, but since I've been in my teens it's fast become one of my top ten Disney films. I think I like that I relate to both Lilo and Stitch a surprising amount, and I find the whole thing really, really sweet. It's cute, sure, "Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." but it's also really funny, and sort of adult in the humour. If you've never seen Lilo and Stitch, you need to watch it. If you have seen Lilo and Stitch, you need to watch it again because it only gets better each time around.

Lie To Me

Some of you may know that I've been taking Criminology classes online, and for some reason I have managed to convince myself that obsessively watching Lie To Me counts as working towards this. I like the idea of being able to tell liars in a crowd almost as much as I like the idea of this show teaching me to be a better liar. This is sort of a new fangled whodunnit, and you find yourself using skills the show's teaching you as the episodes go on. It really does require concentration, though, it's not a good programme for just half watching, but it's worth setting your mind to.

What are your favourite Netflix Picks? Have you seen any of mine?

S xo.

The Big #Lbloggers Question

During last night's #Lbloggers chat, which was on inspiration for those of you who may have missed it, Tolly Dolly Posh posed a question that really got me thinking.

If you use your life as inspiration most of the time, do you take the shine away from it when it's published on your blog? #lbloggers

— Tolly Dolly Posh (@TollyDollyPosh) August 3, 2014

When asked what exactly she meant by this, she fairly replied;

@claremgallagher Are your treasuring moments for yourself as much as you would if you didn't publish them? x #lbloggers

— Tolly Dolly Posh (@TollyDollyPosh) August 3, 2014

It's fair to say, this might have been a tweet I didn't even glance at any other week, but this week I've been in two minds about my personal posts, potentially as I brought a new level of honesty to my blog in my Sexuality post. I've always been the type of girl to give you too much information about me the first time that you meet me, I'm the one at a meal who is yelling at you not to start eating before I've got a picture for instagram and I'm definitely, definitely the kind of girl to say what's on my mind, whether it's appropriate or not. Having said that, this week I seriously doubted myself. I have spent the days since that Sexuality post went live, wondering if any of my friends who maybe didn't know some of the things I'd put in that post were offended about the way they found out. I don't regret posting it, and I've had some great support regarding it, but it's something I maybe should have considered more, particularly with regards to people in my real life.

What Tolly Dolly Posh said got me thinking. In a world where my entire life is either blogged, tweeted, instagrammed or thrown on facebook, am I treasuring the moments as much as I would if I wasn't living through a touch screen for the entertainment for hundreds of (mainly) strangers? I somewhat agree with Clare in that she replied;

@TollyDollyPosh i think so, if anything I feel like I remember them better #lbloggers

— clare gallagher (@claremgallagher) August 3, 2014

I think this is probably why I developed my blog from strictly food to lifestyle. I wanted to share more of myself with the people I was beginning to consider friends, and I don't regret doing it. When I am older, and more importantly when I meet people in the future, or when any children I have might ask about my past, I'll have it all neatly laid out into posts for them to read, and I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. I do, however, think that I'll be looking more carefully in the future about what I'm choosing to blog, tweet and instagram about, and even the ways that I choose to do it.

What do you think? Are we taking the shine off of things by throwing them on the internet? Is there such a thing as oversharing when you're a lifestyle blogger?

S xo.

Anna Sui Eye Colour Palette

Some of you might remember when I posted about my new Narsisisst palette earlier this week, I also mentioned another palette with killer pigmentation that knocked it out of the water. So, without further ado, I introduce you to the Anna Sui Eye Colour Palette. I know, not what you were expecting, right?

When I spotted this on Escentual, I fell in love with the packaging. I vaguely remembered the release of Anna Sui make-up to Asos not that long ago, but I was fairly sure an eye palette wasn't part of that collection (and I can't see it on the site) but for £14 in the sale, there was no way I was leaving it there; it's not really my thing, but I know there's a lip palette in the sale, too. I absolutely fell in love with the cute, vintage packaging of this palette and it sent me back a few years to when I used to collect Dolly Girl bottles like they were going out of fashion, there something so girly and sweet about Anna Sui, and I can't help but want to snap it all up and make a pretty collection on every spare surface. The packaging itself isn't amazing, it's a cardboard based palette as opposed to a plastic one, and it comes with those sponge applicators that I hate so much, but trust me when I say that it more than makes up for it with what's inside.

When I first opened the palette I thought I'd probably made a massive mistake. The colours seemed erring on the side of being unwearable, but when I swatched them they all seem surprisingly versatile. I don't know what I expected from the palette, but it wasn't soft, pigmented shades like it offers. High packed glitter, very little fall out and barely any work to get a really rich colour pay off? I'm sold. Notable colours for me are the ones that actually look vile in the pan; top left in the pan (bottom middle swatch) is a gorgeous burned rust sort of colour I want to incorporate from now until forever in every make-up look,  and the glitter packed black underneath that's just begging for a smokey eye. I wouldn't say any shade let the palette down in terms of pigmentation, but for me the pinks are still a little too much. That's just personal preference though, really. All in all, I've restarted a love affair with Anna Sui, and you better be sure my Asos account is getting a thrashing because of it!

Have you tried Anna Sui make-up? What was your opinion?

S xo.

July Favourites

This month has been a bit manic for me. I've gotten back into blogging (mostly) every day, I've been on holiday, I've been working, it's all just been a little bit crazy (although that's not to say it hasn't been a decent amount of fun.) I thought I'd share with you a couple of things I've been loving this month, there's no make-up and fashion things in here as if I love them they'll be getting posts of their own; but here's a couple of other things I can't live without.

Music.

Because I've been on holiday this month I've listened to a lot of music compared to what I normally do, and there's two artists that have been constantly on repeat on my spotify; Passenger, and his album "Whispers", and Front Porch Step and their album "Aware". I could tell you why I like pretty much every song off both of these albums, but I've picked my favourites off of each instead. From Whispers, it's Bullets (although the acoustic version of Riding To New York came a close second) which I think actually might be the new single because I heard a sneaky play on Radio Swiss Pop yesterday. From Aware it has to be Private Fears In Public Places because, oh my days, my future husband or wife needs to be cool with this as a wedding song, but Drown is also right up there with the songs I can't stop playing.

Books.

I read tons and tons of books on holiday, but these two are by far my stand out favourites. The Deaths by Mark Lawson is a really lovely twist on an old fashioned whodunnit. In the first chapter you're introduced to the crime scene, then taken back to the past to see the lives of four sets of couples, each who have motives and reasons to be both victims and killers. A brilliant, surprisingly gripping book that kept me guessing until the very last few chapters. The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey is a book everyone seems to be raving about, and I'm not even going to think twice before jumping on the bandwagon. It's a really surprisingly moving book, and a genre I wouldn't have gone for had I realised but I'm so, so glad I did. A zombie apocalypse book from the view of a child, with an ending I just didn't see coming at all.

Other Bits.

I got my last degustabox before my subscription got cancelled this month, and in it I got three of the Zeo soft drinks, one citrus, one lime and one grapefruit and peach. These are all fizzy soft drinks with surprisingly low calories (between  30 and 47kcal) that are actually really nice. They all sort of have an underlying taste similar to Tizer, but that's seriously not a bad thing in my eyes. The last thing I've been loving is these multiwick candles from Sainsburys, This is Orange, Rose and Amber and I got it on sale. I can't find the original price, but I know it wasn't any more than £12, which is so much cheaper than the Yankee candles I normally favour! These actually leave a lingering smell in the air, as well, which is something my yankees never really have.

What have you been loving this month? What did you think of mine?

S xo.

21st Century Dating

I've never been big into the dating scene, I've always preferred to meet my significant others the old fashioned way; through friends, rotten drunk or via a mutual dislike of another person. Maybe it's just that I'm not used to it - having never had to have it play a huge part in my life - but I'll admit it, I just don't get the 21st century dating thing. A lot of my friends, taken or otherwise, seem to have ended up on Tinder somehow or another, so I decided to sign up for the day to see how I could be finding a potential soulmate if life had worked out a little different (Sorry, Bek, I love you.)

First things first? The sign up for Tinder is ridiculously easy, a basic link up to your Facebook provides them with pictures, friends and likes. Convenient, if a little bit creepy. Then the fun bit comes. Basically tinder is one massive archive of Facebook profiles looking for a date, or a bit of fun. I'm presented with a picture, I can click on the picture to see a couple more, any mutual friends and any mutual interests, then I swipe left to discard the person into cyberspace, and right to await my verdict on whether I'm pretty enough to be picked by them. If we both swipe right, we're a match and we can talk to each other via a messaging system inbuilt into the app.

Maybe it's the old fashioned romantic in me, but isn't that a little cold? Sure, I've found a semi-attractive person (no offense, Jake) who also finds me semi attractive, and we both like Usain Bolt and the Go Compare Adverts (both pages on Facebook I liked circa 2012). This is, surely, dating for the lazy; missing only testaments of loyalty from bitter ex partners. I don't know about you, but finding out that someone likes to watch Usain Bolt clips at 2am and sings along to the Go Compare adverts is part of the fun of a relationship. Me and Bek play a game regularly called "tell me a thing" where each of us make the other drag up completely bizarre snippets of life that we're yet to know about each other. Picking me as a potential partner based completely on my looks and pages I don't even remember liking? It all seems a bit well... impersonal. Not to mention a little stupid. Also, I don't even really look a thing like that picture, it's all clever make-up, good lighting and a good old fashioned instagram filter.

I'm not saying that the app isn't convenient, it's good to know there's an attractive girl less than a kilometre from me when I'm standing in the middle of town, I just can't help thinking - perhaps in a very old fashioned way - maybe I could have just pulled my head away from a screen I already spend way too much time obsessing over and I might have actually seen her. Maybe even started a conversation. Crazy, I know. For those who use Tinder, fair play. It's a brilliant confidence boost when you're getting matches, if a bit of a kick in the teeth when you don't get one, but it's just not for me. I guess I'd rather get drunk, go home with a stranger and hope he's my soulmate instead of a degenerate that's nicked my purse when I wake up in the morning.

Have you tried Tinder or online dating? What was your experience?

S xo.

Benefit They're Real! Push Up Liner

It seems like the world and their mother's have reviewed this eyeliner, and yet when I came to reading through them, opinion couldn't be more diverse. From what I can gather the general gist seems to be that for those who have always worked with a gel liner (like me, much to my girlfriend's disgust if she ever has to share my make up) this is a handy bit of kit that means you're not lugging around pots and brushes, however if you have traditionally used a pencil or liquid eyeliner? General consensus suggests this might be a struggle.

At £18.50 from Feel Unique, this beauty is a lot more expensive than my old faithful Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner which retails around £7.99, but I'm almost swayed to say it's worth it. The first thing I love? The cap is screw on and not push on, so so many of my gel eyeliners have dried out in the past when I thought the lid was on properly and it wasn't, so; well done, Benefit, a handy little solution to an age old problem. I like the little flexible rubber "fin" as Pixiwoo seem to be calling it, and it probably does get closer to the lash line than a standard liner, although I've always filled that gap with shadow when I'm wearing eyeliner anyway. The gel is a lot wetter than I'd imagined reading through the reviews, and it's definitely a lot more fluid than the Maybelline in my opinion, although that may well be method of application, too (bare in mind if you use liquid this will still seem pretty "stiff" to you). It's pretty easy to use, twist the bottom until the eyeliner pops through the fin, wipe a quick line on your hand to rid the excess and then line the eyes. You don't need too much product, but I think I read Benefit claim that you only need one click for both eyes and I think that probably is a bit optimistic on their behalf.

I read a lot of reviews saying it was difficult to get a thin line of eyeliner with it and I don't know if I'm just using this differently to everyone else but this isn't what I experienced. I found with a little bit of playing around you can easily vary pressure and angle to achieve pretty much any look you might want. Now, all of these positives aren't to say the product is perfect. Does it live up to it's claims? Yes, it is long wearing and yes it is, for the most part, day to day life waterproof. It does, however, drag uncomfortably on any uneven patch of skin, most noticeably in the photograph of my eye above you can see where it has caught between the corner of my eye and the wing of the liner. It's also fairly expensive for a gel liner, most of which also live up to the long lasting and day to day waterproof claims that Benefit are using to market this pen, and you do feel like you're wasting a lot as I have to swipe at least one line across my hand to get rid of the "glob" when the product is first pushed through. I'll probably buy it again in the future, and I'll definitely continue using it, as it does bring a whole new sense of ease to winged eyeliner, I'm just not sure that it's the Holy Grail product that the beauty world would have you believe.

Do you use a gel eyeliner? Will you be trying They're Real?

S xo.