Maddy.Ann

What's in My Bag.

I thought I'd spill with you the contents of my bag and make use of an amazing new app that I found, just hover over the little circles and it will take you to a link where you can purchase the item - cool, huh? Sometimes I just love technology. I try and keep my bag as organised as possible, and have a little pouch with all the essentials (read: a whole stack of lip products that I probably never get round to using) that I can easily transfer from place to place so what you see is my bag in it's most ordered state - don't worry, I'm not super woman, it doesn't look like this most of the time!

What are your bag staples?

UPDATE: The widget doesn't seem to be working ... well that's embarrassing isn't it? I've linked everything down below anyway, hope you still liked the post, haha!

Sunglasses* // Lip Gloss* // Lipstick // iPhone and earphones // Phone Case

Perfume // Gum // Mirror // Small Zip Bag* // Handbag

Since moving schools, the rules about nail polish have toughened up, so I've had to seek out some alternative everyday shades, since I hate having bare nails so much. I was searching for a neutral baby-pink-ish shade for ages so when my lovely sister surprised me with OPI's Mod About You, it was the perfect thing to fit the bill. (plus, it's reduced right now to only £7 on BeautyBay - the link above!)

A very white toned pink, it's definitely stretching the rules on 'natural nail polish' a little, but so far I haven't been told off about it yet, so it is definitely one to search out if like me you love wearing something but your school or work are strict about colours. It also has the most incredible formula, only needing two layers to get a nice fresh opaque colour that sticks around (with the help of a good topcoat) for about a week - perfect timing to take them off and repeat on a Sunday evening for the following week.

The brush is nice and thick, which makes application a breeze, and the finish is nice and glossy, unlike a lot of pastels which tend to dry fairly matte, so if you were short on time this would be fine without a topcoat and its one that I can see myself getting a lot of use out for a long time to come.

So, a natural-ish polish that fits the bill for school has well and truly been found. What are your recommendations for natural nail colours?

I’m sure many of you know by now that I’ve been selling my phone cases on etsy for a couple of weeks, but I wanted to share with you the one that I have for myself. It’s a bit of a difficult post to write, without coming across as big-headed, since I did make them myself, but I thought I would do it anyway. The lipsticks case is one of my favourites on there, obviously you know that I love lipstick, haha, but I also really like the colours and think it is such a cute way to brighten up a phone. The quality of these cases is so good, I’ve had mine on for coming on for a month now and still no sign of a scratch, and although this makes them a little more expensive, I do think that the extra cost is worth it.

I wanted to reiterate that the cases are not just for iPhones, but can also be bought for Samsung and Blackberry phones, as well as the new iPhone 6. I hope I have tempted you enough to get one for yourself, and they would make perfect gifts for others too.

I’ve got my eye on the whale one for my next purchase, how about you?

Shop the rest of the range here

It's not often that a new nail product will break its way into my favourites, I tend to stick with the products that I know and love, Seche Vite I'm looking at you, but I seem to have been finding quite a few recently that are making their way to the top of my stash and changing up my routine completely.

Firstly, this Leighton Denny glass nail file, which I have been lusting after forever from Leighton Denny. I don't take the best care of my nails, all too often the moisturisers and cuticles are forgotten but the thing that I really neglect is filing. Both the sound of nails being filed and the feeling make my blood run cold, so anything that gets the job done quicker is a winner in my books. I have to say, every now and then it does squeak across the nail *cringe* but apart from that it really has no faults. It feels more gentle on the nails than a typical nail file, files quicker as you can go in both directions and not damage the nail - I don't think I will ever be going back. Plus, with the lifetime guarantee that comes on these things, I don't think I will ever need to!

Next, some polish recommendations. Ever since the news that NARS were teaming up with Philip Lim to create a limited edition collection of nail polishes I had been itching to try them out, so when I managed to land a bottle of the shade Wrong Turn, I was over the moon. With trademark high quality formulas and a gorgeous gunmetal, metallic grey finish, this colour is a stunner and I can already tell will become one of my autumn staples. To finish off, I have been loving Orly's Glosser, which is a top coat designed to add shine to your mani, and boy does it deliver. I've had several people ask me if my nails are gel after using this and it really does make your nails appear as if they have been coated in a thin layer of glass or something, it's that good. My only gripe with it would be that it doesn't cut down the drying time as much as Seche Vite does, so it's reserved only for when I have a long time to do my nails perfectly, and not for when I am trying to rush out the door!

So, those are my nail favourites as of late, and I think it just goes to show how important it is to break out of your rut and try something different. Have you discovered any great products recently?

I'm not a massive fan of doing these too often, mainly because the makeup that I wear on an everyday basis doesn't really change too much (and I also hate photographing my face), but after trialling a couple of new products recently, I've come up with a new, very simple little routine that I thought I would share.

Since it's summer, and the weather is really gorgeous and the moment, I have 1.) found that my skin has cleared up dramatically and doesn't really need anything on it and 2.) found that even if it did, I probably wouldn't be bothered to make the effort anyway, #lazy. So, moving straight onto the eyes! I've really been loving my TooFaced Natural Eyes palette recently, as the colours in it are all so gorgeous and with the predesigned trio of colours, super easy to put together a quick little look too. I usually opt for the day time trio, although if I'm feeling adventurous I mix it up a little and break the rules, and I think it just provides a really awakening, pretty look. To provide a little bit of definition, I've been using Benefit's They're Real Liner* to tight line my eyes, and add a small line on my top lid, smudged out a little to make it look softer and give a barely there impression. This stays put literally ALL DAY, which is amazing because with my terrible skills, once I have put it there I want it to last! To finish off the eyes, I've been sprucing up the lashes with a bit of the They're Real Mascara*, which provides equal doses of length and volume and keeps all my demanding lash criterias happy.

To inject some colour and glow into the look, I love this peach toned blush* from BornPrettyStore. It has just the right amount of sheen in it to highlight the cheek bones and give a luminous, lit within look to the skin, and the peachy pink shade is great at brightening and lifting the face. And finally, for the lips, a swipe of my favourite lip pencil - Revlon Matte Balm in the shade Complex - which I find works even better on my skin tone now that I have a bit of a tan! Definitely number one in my stocks at the moment.

So that's it, 5 products and a super quick and simple way that I have been doing my makeup recently. What are your favourite products at the moment?