OOTD- all dolled up for a bit of Pop Tarts!

Hello my lovelies! Today I thought I'd show you what I wore last Saturday night to to my favourite uni club night- Pop Tarts (They play non stop cheese all night- amazing!)...

 Blouse- Primark

Skirt- New Look

Tights- Pretty Polly

Shoes- New Look

Bracelets- New Look

Necklace- H.Samuels  

My sheer pussybow blouse and ribbed body con skirt are two of my most staple wardrobe items, as they go with anything and can be dressed up or down for any occasion. The body con skirt was only about £15 from New Look last year and I'm not sure I could live without it now! 

TOP TIP- If you're wearing a top tucked into a body con skirt, but start to get a bit bloated from drinks or a meal untuck the top as it will glide over your tummy, but the skirt will still give your bum and legs great definition.

I used my fabulous suspender tights to dress up the outfit and make it going out worthy. They were about £8 from Pretty Polly and it was definitely worth paying a few more pounds for Pretty Polly ones, rather than getting the cheaper ones from Primark and New Look, as I think they are much better quality so will last longer. At first, I was a little dubious about wearing them as you have to style them carefully so they look classy and sexy, rather than trashy. I think the key is not having too much of your top half on show which is why I went for quite a high necked top and put a high waisted skirt over the sheer fabric. 

TOP TIP- When putting on and pulling up suspender tights, never pull at the thinner section above the suspender bit, as this ladders very easily. 

To finish dressing up my outfit I wore my black shoe boot peep toe heels, as I don't feel right wearing such dressy outfit with flats, although by the end of the night when my feet were killing me I wished I'd gone for flats!

I kept jewellery nice and simple by wearing my chunky leopard print and gold bangles to break up the black and white a bit and my staple heart necklace, as I've said before that you don't need much more decoration than the bow when you're wearing a pussybow blouse. 

I've realised that I haven't talked much about my make up yet so stay tuned over the next few posts where I'll be correcting that...

What do you think of my outfit? What's your opinion of suspender tights? What's your favourite going out outfit of the moment?

Have a great end of your week everyone!

Love Meg

x

In Love with Harajuki Lovers perfume...

Good morning lovely people! Welcome to my first ever perfume post...

I tend to get lots of perfume for my birthday and Christmas, which are both in December and then try and make them last throughout the year. Over the summer I had a nightmare as I thought I'd completely run out, but then I got back to uni and remembered I'd left a bottle there for when I got back and what a lovely perfume it is!

It's the Love fragrance from Gwen Stafani's Harajuki Lovers perfume range. If your not familiar with the range it's basically a set of 5 perfumes that each have a different collectable doll on top of the bottle. All the dolls have bright flock hair and are dressed in a certain Japanese style.

I was given Love for Christmas, which according to the website is dressed in a sweet lolita style and has a fruity floral fragrance. The other perfumes available are Lil' angel, G, Music and Baby. I have to say when I first opened the present I was a bit taken aback by the giant doll, but now I know more about the range I think it's such a great idea to get a collectable item with your perfume so you can actually keep it when the perfume is used up, instead of just having lots of empty bottles.

The only negative thing I would say is that because the doll is so big you only get 30ml of actual perfume, which for £20 from boots is a little pricey to just buy for yourself (you can also get 10ml bottles for £13 from boots), but the perfume you do get is gorgeous! It really does have a sweet floral fruity fragrance, which is just the type of smell I like to go for and it keeps me smelling lovely all day. If you want to investigate this collection further check out it's very cool website- http://www.hlfragrance.com

TOP TIP- Make sure you keep your perfume in the box if you have it out on display, as exposure to sunlight will cause it to evaporate and discolour.

Have you got any perfume from this range? Or are you interested now you've read about it?

Love Meg

x

Washington haul!

Hello Girlies!

My parents went away to Washington for a week just before I came back to uni and I've been meaning to show you what they bought me for ages. I asked them to bring me back lots of American food as I'm obsessed with reeses peanut butter cups amongst other yummy American things, but they also got me two lovely necklaces-

The first one is quite detailed so will be perfect with plainer outfits that need a bit of extra decoration. I love the fact it has four different charms and I particularly love the 3D flower! I think the light pink colour scheme makes it a really pretty girly piece that is a very welcome addition to my jewellery box.

I've worn the second necklace a few times now and it's become one of my favourite pieces, as it seems to go with nearly every outfit I wear. I really love the dainty flower portrait and the gold colour of the chain, as I do prefer gold jewellery. I also love layering my outfits with long dangly necklaces so this was a perfect choice for me.

Okay so oreos have nothing to do with beauty or fashion, but I was so excited when I pulled these out of my Washington goody bag... Oreos are my most favourite biscuit and these are even better as they are triple double ones! Amazing!  

TOP TIP- Smother your oreos in crunchy peanut butter before eating, trust me it's delicious...

What do you think of my Washington goodies? Have you got any lovely new jewellery lately? More importantly, am I the only one that covers oreos in peanut butter? 

Hope you've had a good start of your week! 

Love Meg

x  

OOTD- Can I pull off velvet shorts?

Hello Lovelies!

Sometimes I buy things that are quirky and different just because I want to try and pull them off, it's like a challenge to see if I can make items of clothing that people might think are a bit weird look good! So this is me trying to pull off my new pocketed velvet shorts from River Island... I must admit I was sceptical of the colour and material when I saw them on the hanger, but I have pretty much every other style and colour of short going so I thought why not add some brown velvet ones!

Shorts- River Island
Blouse- Primark
Heels- New Look
Tights- Tesco
Headband- New Look
Bangle- New Look
Ring- Dorothy Perkins
Necklace- H. Samuels
Sunglasses- New Look

The shorts themselves make quite a statement so I decided to team them with plain items. My sheer pussybow blouse from Primark is my absolute staple neutral top for pairing with statement bottoms, as it's white colour means it goes with everything, but the pussybow design and sheer fabric allows it to still be really pretty- much better than just wearing a white vest top! I am wearing a black vest top from New Look underneath because I only really like wearing sheer tops over just underwear when I'm wearing high waisted bottoms- I end up feeling a bit naked otherwise! 

I went for black tights with the shorts because it was too chilly for bare legs, plus I think it makes the outfit look a bit classier.  

The platform shoe boot peep toe heels are my most favourite heels in the world, I got them from New Look for about £20 a couple of years ago and they've served me well ever since. They are far too high for day time, but I do love to wear them when I'm going out to dress up outfits and make girly outfits a bit more edgy. 

I thought I could add quite a few accessories because the rest of my outfit was simple, so I wore a single leopard print bangle from New Look, my Dorothy Perkins chunky gold flower ring and my staple heart necklace. TOP TIP- Never wear a necklace that is too long or chunky with a pussybow blouse because the bow itself tends to be enough decoration and detail. I then got a bit 1920's flapper girl by adding a flowery headband to my short bob, as I thought it added a bit of  autumnal colour that went with the brown of the  shorts. 

I finished off my outfit with my bargain New Look sunnies, purely because it was very bright when I was having the photos taken. I was rather pleased with the result of my outfit and think I will be able to wear these shorts without feeling silly, although my boyfriend still thinks they look like clown shorts and my family have commented that they look like something out of Tudor times!

What do you think of the look I created around my velvet shorts? Do you own any items that you bought as a challenge?

Hope your all having lovely weekends!

Love Meg

x

NOTD- Gold finger

Hello Lovelies!

Whenever I choose a block colour for my nails I always tend to go for pastel or bright colours, especially coral and barbie pink, so for something a bit different I thought I'd try out the metallic nail trend, because apart from using metallic colours when I do leopard print nails I never wear them. I tried out one of my Mum's gold varnishes from avon to see if I'd like the effect...

I really do love the effect of this nail polish and it only took two coats to become an opaque colour which was great as I think thin and watery metallic colours that don't cover your nails properly don't look very good. I think metallic colours, particularly gold, are really big at the moment because everyone wants to try and achieve that nail foils look at home. It's also a perfect autumnal colour, goes with any outfit and looks rather glamorous, demonstrated perfectly by Rihanna who is wearing gold minx nails-   

So now I think I shall be investing in a range of metallic foil effect nail polishes, as I don't know if I could achieve great results but doing actual foils at home. I've know from reading http://katey0787.blogspot.com/2011/09/barry-m-foil-effect-nail-paints.html that Barry M do really good gold and silver foil effect polishes, so I think I'll be checking them out very soon!

What do you think of metallic nails? Have you tried actual foils or any foil effect nail polishes?

I hope you have a fabulous Friday!

Love Meg

x

Review- Simple spotless skincare range, part 2

Hey Lovelies!

Okay so today I'm just going to finish off my review of the new simple spotless skincare range that I started yesterday. If you haven't part 1 which was yesterdays post click here-http://megsbudgetboutique.blogspot.com/2011/09/review-simple-spotless-skincare-range.html (This post will make much more sense of you've read it!) 

So yeah, here are the reviews of the other two products I bought-

Simple Spotless Skin Triple Action Face Wash 

Price- £3.99 from tesco and boots and £3.56 from superdrug

Simple's description- 'Get results from day 1. It's a perfect blend of spot fighting ingredients and natural antibacterial goodness to deeply cleanse, purify and tone, removing hidden dirt and unclogging pores.' 

PROS-

• I have been using this most days on a wet face as directed and yes I did see clearer skin results from day one!
• Because it has no perfume or colour it doesn't upset my skin and is suitable for any skin type.
• It leaves my face feeling cleansed and refreshed.
• It doesn't dry out my skin as some face washes have done in the past.
• It has a really fresh and pleasant natural odour. 
• It's a big 150ml bottle for the price and a little bit goes a long way, so it's defiantly value for money and great for budget buyers. 

To be honest I can't think of a single con for this fabulous face wash as I haven't had a single blemish since I started using it (touch wood!) and it's affordable, so I would give it a 10/10! 

The only thing I would say about using any face wash is that in my experience it's not good to use it every day as your skin will get used to the product and so it may not work as well. Also, even with simple products I think overuse can over process your skin and cause blemishes and irritation, so don't be afraid to have a day or two off from your skincare routine! 

Simple Spotless Skin Rapid Action Spot Zapper

Price- £5.49 from tesco and boots and £5.10 from superdrug

Simple's Description- 'Get results in just 4 hours. It's a perfect blend of spot fighting ingredients and natural antibacterial goodness to visibly reduce spot redness and size without irritation to the skin. It's tough on spots but gentle on your skin. Contains Zinc & Chamomile goodness for visibly clearer skin.'

PROS-

• I have tried this on spots and noticed a difference in a short amount of time (I'm afraid I didn't time if made a difference in exactly 4 hours!)
• Again the lack of perfume and colour doesn't upset my skin and is suitable for any skin type.
• It has a very neutral odour so it's not noticeable when your wearing it. 
• The roll on applicator makes application smooth and easy.
• The product is light weight enough to wear under make up so you can fight your blemishes throughout the day and it doesn't go clumpy or peel off, your skin seems to adsorb it instead.
• It looks like a small bottle for the price, but you only need to use a teeny tiny amount and it's not a product you need to use it daily so it lasts a really long time and is good value for money. 

Again I can't think of any cons and would give it 9/10 (I knocked off one mark because even though I noticed a difference in about 4 hours, I'd still like it to be a bit quicker in totally getting rid of the spot). It is more expensive than the other two products, but I would be willing to pay even more for it as it actually works. 

My top tip for using this product would be to apply it as soon as you feel a blemish brewing, as it will be more effective the sooner you use it.

I've been so impressed with this spotless simple range that I now want to replace the only other product I currently use in my skin care routine- moisturiser, with the spotless skin anti-blemish moisturiser. At the moment I'm using Nivea lotion for dry skin which I am happy with, but I can't resist switching to a product that moisturises and fights spots at the same time!


Are any of you tempted to try this range now? Or do you use a range that is even better than this one for giving you lovely clear skin?


Love Meg
x

Review- Simple spotless skincare range, part 1

Hey Girls!

I've never had too many problems with my skin as I have a pretty normal skin type that can be prone to the odd blemish on my T-zone, but that hasn't stopped me from trying a large amount of products that promise to make it that bit better.

I went through one stage of having a ridiculously long routine involving scrubs, masks, toners and lotions (they'll be more on these and the other products I've tried before in future posts), but instead of making my skin blemish free and beautiful it actually made me break out. I decided this was the result of over processing my skin and actually stopped using any products on it apart from facial wipes to take off my make up and moisturiser after showering. However, recently I got sick of getting the odd spot and not doing anything about it, plus I felt I was pampering the rest of me so much and neglecting my face so I went in search of a few new products. Nearly all the products I've used in the past have been from the simple range as I think it's so gentle and perfect for any type of skin, so I was instantly drawn to their new spotless skin range and as completely clear skin is what I want to achieve it sounded perfect. I took advantage of the buy one get one free offer on in tesco and got the triple action face wash, rapid action spot zapper and two packs of the quick fix cleansing wipes,.

I'm going to review the cleansing wipes today and follow up later with reviews of the other two products as my post will be far too long if I talk about all three in one go!

Simple Quick fix spotless skin cleansing wipes

Price-£2.99 from Tesco, but £3.05 from superdrug and £3.85 from boots

Simple's description- 'Effectively removes make-up traces and impurities that can cause spots and blemishes. Gives you visibly clearer skin from day one and contain zinc and chamomile, as well as spot fighting and natural antibacterial ingredients.' 

PROS-

• I use a wipe every night to take off my make up and they honestly do seem to live up to the claim of giving you clearer skin straight away.
• They also live up to their claim that one wipe is strong enough to take off even heavy make up and waterproof mascara.
• They are defiantly a 'quick fix' easy way to keep your skin clear.
• They save you money as they combine a spot fighting product and make up remover into one.
• If you get them from tesco they are a reasonable price for buyers on a budget.
• They are value for money as you get 25, so one pack will last you almost a month.
• They leave your skin feeling lovely, cleansed and moisturised.
• They work for any skin type, including sensitive skin.

CONS-

• They do make my eyes sting a little so I've had to start using simple eye make up remover and a cotton pad to take off my eye make up, whereas the regular simple  cleansing wipes were very gentle on my eyes.

Overall I love these cleansing wipes and  would give them 8/10. I will continue to use them as I feel having an easy quick way of keeping my skin clear is worth having to use a separate eye make up remover. 

I'm not going to review the remover properly as that would be going off topic, but basically it is has no cons! It's super cheap at £1.19 for 50ml, lasts for absolutely ages and is super gentle on your eyes, but tough enough to remove heavy and waterproof eye make up. I use it on cotton pads for the majority of my eye make up and on cotton buds to remove that stubborn make up on the lower lashes.

Have you tried these two products? What's your opinion of simple?

Love Meg
x

OOTD- feeling cute and girly

Hello Lovelies!

Last week me and my boyfriend went shopping in Maidstone, I didn't get anything overly exciting to show you but I did wear an outfit that I think is worth sharing. I was going for a cutsie girly look that still made me look my age...

Dress- New Look
Socks- Primark
Brogues- ASDA
Satchel- Miss Selfridge
Sunglasses- New Look
Necklace- River Island
Bracelets- Pandora and Links of London 

The dress was new earlier this summer from New Look and a steal at only £14.99.I love the neutral autumnal colour and the pretty lace insert, plus it's the type of dress that flatters my hourglass figure as it's tight at the top and clinched in the waist, but floaty over the rest of the body. It's quite short as dresses go so I teamed it with some black over the knee socks from primark as I've always found them the best and cheapest at around £2.99 for two pairs (I'll find out exactly how much they are, I can't quite remember!). I love wearing over the knee socks with dresses, skirts and shorts as it can look really cute but at the same time a little bit sexy (they'll defiantly be a blog post about how to wear socks with your outfits soon). For shoes I chose my trusty asda brogues as they go so well with socks and their tan colour really went with the colour of the dress. They also give a bit of an edgy look to an other wise very girly outfit.

For jewellery I wore my staple pandora and links bracelets to match my socks and my favourite long gold heart pendant that was in keeping with the autumnal colours.

Looking at the cloudy weather today I can't believe it was bright enough for sun glasses a week ago, but it was so I wore my bargain £5.00 thick black framed new look sunnies. I used to have aviator glasses, but I found they broke easily and never fitted right, so these ones I got for my holiday this summer have been perfect. 

I didn't have much stuff to take so I took my brown satchel with gold buckles that I got from Miss Selfridge last year. I think a satchel is a must have in any girls handbag collection because they are such a practical size and go with nearly any outfit. I also thought my satchel went well with the little girl aspects of my outfit.

What do you think of my shopping trip look? Do you have any cute girly outfits or items that you love to wear? 

Love Meg

x

Save or Spend? Maybelline Gel Liner Versus Collection Liquid Liner

Hello Lovelies!

Today I thought I'd do my first review and where better place to start than with the make up item I simply couldn't live without- eye liner! I'm fortunate to have rather big eyes which means I have eye lids that suit wearing it. I can't actually remember the last time I left the house without it on so it's really important to me that I have an eye liner that-

• lasts all day
• doesn't crack or flake
• is quick and easy to apply
• goes on in an even line
• has a bottle that lasts for a long time
• and is affordable 

I never use pencil liner on the lids as I find it's never bold enough and is difficult to apply as it doesn't glide, so I've tried lots of different liquid and pen liners and until recently have sworn by Collection 2000 fast stroke liquid eye liner from superdrug. However when I bought two new number 17 eyeshadow trios from boots last week I thought I would take advantage of the three for two offer they have on selected make up and get the more expensive Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner too. So I thought I'd review both and decide at the end if it's better to splurge or save... 


Collection 2000 fast stroke liquid eye liner

PROS-

• Very cheap at only £2.99 from superdrug
• The bottle lasts for ages, I use mine everyday and I only need to replace it every 2-3 months
• It lasts almost all day
• It has a soft and thin applicator, making application precise and gentle
• Very easy and quick to apply 
• The liquid dries quickly on your eyelids
• The liquid and applicator glide over your lids allowing you to apply it in minimal strokes 
• The liquid is really black and bold, which means it stands out on top of even dark eye shadow 
• The applicator is fixed to the bottle so you can't lose it  

CONS-

• The liquid can sometimes sting a little
• You can get a bit of cracking and flaking towards the end of the day
• It can sometimes be hard to apply it in an even line
• Sometimes with new bottles the applicator can be too hard and pointy, so I often swap it over for the the soft applicator I've already been using from my old bottle

Below are a few photos of me wearing collection 2000 fast stroke liquid eye liner, number 17 eye shadow and maybelline falsies mascara (I'll be doing reviews of the eye shadow and mascara soon!)-

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner

PROS-

• It lives up to its claims that it lasts all day
• It also lives up to its claim that you can apply it to the top lid in one stroke
• It never cracks or flakes
• It has a very soft applicator brush, making application nice and gentle
• Easier and quicker to apply than I thought it would be- I managed to apply it perfectly in a moving car! 
• It dries instantly on your eyelids
• It never causes my eyes or skin to feel irritated or stingy
• It's very easy to use under your lower lashes if you turn the brush so it's flat

CONS-

• More expensive at £7.99 from boots
• The applicator is quite chunky making it hard to do precise flicks at the corner of your eyes
• the gel doesn't glide onto your lid as easily as liquid does
• the gel isn't as dark and bold as I would like, so it doesn't stand out as much over dark eye shadow
• I haven't used up a tub yet so I don't know how long it will last but you only seem to get a very small amount of gel
• Because the applicator brush is separate to the pot it's quite easy to lose and the tip also gets easily clogged with old gel

Below are a few photos of me wearing Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner and maybelline falsies mascara (that's all I'm wearing make up wise which is why I look so pale!)-

So after weighing up all those pros and cons I have decided that at the moment it's better to save and get the collection 2000 eye liner, as although the maybelline one feels lovely and lasts longer, I think it would better suit girls who just do one straight line on their eye lid opposed to more intricate outlining and flicks like I do. I'll enjoy using the maybelline one while it lasts and maybe after getting more used to it I'll change my mind, but I just don't think it's worth paying twice the money for!

Have you tried either of these products? Do you agree or disagree with my decision? Or do you have another great eye liner you love to use and think I should try?

Love Meg

x

p.s Since writing this review and using the Maybelline gel liner for much longer I have changed my mind and now much prefer it to the collection 2000, in fact I'm in love with it! So please do check out my up to date opinion of this product here- http://megsbudgetboutique.blogspot.com/2011/12/reviews-revisited.html

NOTD-How to get leopard print nails

Hello Lovelies!

So I've been blogging for nearly a week now and I figured it was about time I started on the beauty side of my blog so today I'm going to show you how to achieve my latest nail art obsession- leopard print nails! 

After seeing a couple of my friends try this out a while back I knew I had to try it. I'm very happy I did as my housemates have commented on how much they love my nails and were so shocked when I told them I did them myself, also a friend last week thought I'd had proffesional nail foils done! So yes if your bored with regular nail colour give this a go and impress everyone... 

 1. Start off by painting your nails with two coats of a gold or yellow base colour (you can play around with other colours but today I'm just showing you how to achieve the conventional leopard print look). I used a pale metallic gold from colour works.

2.Once that's dry paint a few little random misshaped splodges over your nails with a brownish or bronze colour leaving gaps inbetween. As long as the colour is several shades darker than your base coat it should work. I used maybelline colourama in toffee. TOP TIP- you can remove any mistakes you make with the brown splodges without removing the gold base coat by gently wiping them while they're still wet with a cotton bud dipped in nail varnish remover.

3. Now outline the splodges with a thin black liquid eye liner or nail pen. It's best if you don't outline the whole thing, but draw two semi circles at either end of the splodge like this ( ) leaving gaps in the middle. I know it's a bit tricky, but try and make your outlines thin and precise. I used collection 2000 liquid eye liner.

4. Next, fill in some of the gaps between the outlined brown splodges with little black splodges using the same eye liner / nail pen you've just used. Again make these random and mishaped, but keep them small and precise and you only need a few.  Again, you can remove any mistakes you make with the eye liner without removing the gold or brown by gently wiping them with a cotton bud dipped in nail varnish remover!

5. And finally, once the black is all dry paint your nails with a clear top coat to stop the eye liner or nail pen from washing off and make them nice and shiny. Be gentle when applying the top coat, as if you apply it too harshly you can pull some of the black off...

 ...and viola! Sexy nails that will banish one colour boredom and make it look like you've been to a salon :)

 Now you can do the same to your toe nails, although it's a bit more tricky to do those little ones!

Please let me know how it goes if you give this a go! The very first time I tried it it didn't look that great as I was too heavy with the eyeliner so keep practising even if you're not happy with the first attempt :) Also please let me know if you try this out with different colours or do you have other nail fashions you're loving at the moment? 

Love Meg

x