Autumn lips

I know what you're thinking. Where the hell is the picture of the lipsticks?! Gah! Well, having to take all my photos with an IPhone 5 means I'm constantly struggling to find good enough lighting and I cannot for the life of me get a clear, crisp image of the lipsticks themselves lined neatly in the row I carefully positioned them in *shakes fist at the iphone gods* If I do happen to take a blog worthy picture this arvo i'll be sure to pop it on the blog asap!

It's September! Autumn is finally on its way and I for one am welcoming it with open arms! I love everything about Autumn and Winter, from the colder weather, candlelit evenings and numerous opportunities for celebrating (my birthday, Halloween, Bonfire Night, Yule, Christmas, New Year) to the snug jim jams and warm winter coats. I'm an Autumn gal through and through and am actually very happy to wave goodbye to summer, as lovely as it was! 

My love for all things Autumnal extends to makeup and beauty, of course, and yesterday I had a rummage through my makeup collection and gathered together my favourite Autumnal lip products. Reds, berries and grapes... I can't resist a strong lip during the colder months! Here are my faves, left to right.

1 ~ Bourjois Rouge Edition 04 Rose Tweed (£7.99)

This is my current favourite nude, as it's not too brown nor too pink and it has a depth to it that other nudes sometimes lack. The formula is super creamy and comfortable on the lips, and the lasting power is pretty good too at around three-four hours minus eating/drinking. The only slight bug bear I have is the shape of the lipstick bullet, as it's quite large and 'flat' on one side, making it difficult to apply neatly to my small-ish lips! I tend to turn it upside down and use the underside to line my lips before slicking it on that way, which works really well. 

2 ~ Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate 05 (£5.49)

I really like Kate's capsule collection, although the scent of these lippies is really, REALLY strong. Sort of a sweet herbal smell, I find it a little overwhelming but don't notice it too much once applied, thankfully. 05 is a gorgeous light berry colour with pink tones and it makes a brilliant transitional shade as the weather starts to get colder. Easy to apply and long lasting, I've been reaching for this throughout the summer and know I'll continue to do so as an everyday lipstick now it's September. 

3 ~ Revlon Lip Butter Berry Smoothie (£7.99)

I'm a bit of a Lip Butter fanatic, it has to be said. I love the smooth texture and glossy finish of Berry Smoothie and the slight silver toned shimmer running throughout. This instantly brightens up my face and completes my look, and it works for both daytime and nighttime. As you can see, this bullet has been well used! A firm favourite. 

4 ~ Soap & Glory Lipstick Man Trap (£9)

I find shopping for red lipstick quite tricky as I'm very pale and some shades can look really stark and strange on me! But this little beauty is a wearable muted red with slight yellow undertones that looks very polished and neat when applied. It smells exactly like MAC lipstick. As in, EXACTLY the same, which is brilliant as I love MAC's sweet vanilla scent! The formula feels very high quality. Moisturising and not all drying, this is one I reach for as an evening lippie, although it would be perfectly suited to daytime as well. 

5 ~ MAC Matte Lipstick Russian Red (£15)

My holy grail red! This is hands down the greatest red I have ever used. It has blue undertones, meaning my teeth look instantly three shades whiter, and it really suits my pale skin tone. Even though it's quite a bright, daring shade it doesn't look at all overwhelming once on, and the matte finish ensures it looks classic and timeless. Plus, it doesn't budge once applied, which is what I always worry about when wearing a strong lip! I pair this with MAC lipliner in Brick and they're a great team. Russian Red is my partner in crime for various winter festivities; I predict it will be making a regular appearance over the next few months!

6 ~ Estee Lauder Pure Color 36 Cherry Fever (Shimmer) (£18 full size, not sure if this shade was limited edition)

I got this last Christmas as part of an amazing Estee Lauder Christmas gift set and it's a lovely berry with gold shimmer running throughout. Perfect for the festive season! Texture wise it's extremely moisturising and not too sticky (come on, all lipglosses are sort of sticky! But this one is a smooth sort of sticky rather than glue-y sticky!) It has a lovely fruity scent and gives a gorgeous wash of berry colour. 

7 ~ Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick 'Plum Jam' (£8)

Soap & Glory's Gloss Sticks are the best lip crayons on the market, in my humble opinion! They have a really glossy finish and feel so moisturising and comfortable, and the colour range is impressive. Plum Jam is my favourite for Autumn as it's a beautiful plum red gloss that's actually a little brighter than how it appears in the bullet. It smells so vanilla-y which I love and for a gloss it has really good lasting power. I put it through a burger and chips lunch yesterday and while it did fade it didn't disappear completely! This is another product that really helps brighten my complexion and sets off my pale skin perfectly. 

8 ~ Topshop Lips Beguiled (£8)

This is the only really dark, 'vampy' lipstick in my collection. Beguiled is a beautiful and very striking red wine colour. I'm a little shy with my makeup; it took me until last year to finally rock a strong red lip! So I've been quite cautious about wearing Beguiled, and yet when I do I always really like how intense it looks. I'm definitely going to make an effort to wear deeper shades like this throughout Autumn and Winter, and I've got my eye on MAC's Rebel as my next purchase! 

What are your favourite lip products for Autumn/Winter? Do you switch up your makeup depending on season or do you rock the same shades all year around? I'd love to hear what you think!

Baci e abbracci,

                                                        

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Instagram

Tarot | Weekly Draw | The High Priestess

The High Priestess from the Robin Wood tarot

Tarot Weekly Draw is a one card approach to exploring the tarot. Every Monday morning I shuffle my cards, cut the pile three times, reshuffle and choose the card on the top of the pile. The card that comes up contains a message or energy for the week ahead. 

The High Priestess

When the High Priestess makes an appearance in my personal readings I often smile, as I know she most likely indicates hidden answers that I need to discover and understand in my own time. Rather than give the game away she prompts me to look within myself and take responsibility for the path I am on and the choices I am contemplating. 

In the traditional Rider-Waite tarot deck The High Priestess holds a scroll containing our life stories, our paths. Yet at that moment we may not be able to 'see' our path laid out in front of us quite so easily. The High Priestess represents intuition and wisdom; she encourages contemplation and the importance of listening to our inner voice in order to understand the mystery of whatever it is we are struggling to understand at that moment. She is a reassuring card in that she confirms we are capable of self discovery. We can find strength within ourselves on our journey. 

More often than not we know the answer to our questions, yet for various reasons we can't quite accept them or process them yet. The High Priestess reminds us that we have the information and guidance within, and so it is wise to pay attention to our intuitive voice. Self discovery is often a gradual process and it's OK to take our time. She represents the ineffable, the answers we can sense rather than put into words. There is a beauty in her stillness and in the stillness she encourages. 

As part of the Major Arcana, the High Priestess represents an important stage of our individual journey. Each Major Arcana cards relates to a lesson or experience that carries deeper meaning than how it may at first appear on the surface. When the High Priestess is present in a reading we can be sure that there are wider life lessons to be learned, lessons that spread far beyond the boundaries of the situation we are consulting the cards on. She may, for example, appear in relation to a problem you are experiencing in a way that indicates there is a level of hidden superficial knowledge yet to be revealed that will aid our understanding at a later date. While the situation may not necessarily be one predominantly of personal growth or major life change, the lessons learned by the experience of The High Priestess can have a greater effect in time. 

I must admit, the High Priestess is one of my favourite cards! She has helped me look within myself over the past ten months or so and begin the sometimes difficult journey of healing from anxiety. When I was frantically searching for answers, pleading with the world to send me a 'hint' or a 'confirmation' of what I should be doing, she made an appearance time and time again, forcing me to look within myself and make the switch from 'I am lost' thinking to 'I am found'.

What do you see in The High Priestess?

 

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Instagram

Review | Lush Amandopondo Bubble Bar

Pinch, punch, first of the month! Can you believe it's September already? I'm a huge fan of Autumn and Winter so I'm quite excited to wave summer goodbye and dig out my woolly jumpers and cosy jim jams. A hot bath is a necessity for chilly evenings, and Lush's Amandopondo Bubble Bar (£2.75) is just the ticket for a relaxing soak in the tub. 

I have such fond memories of Lush! I always used to get a few Lush goodies for Christmas when I was younger, including a snowman shaped bath bomb which was awesome! The smell of Lush stores is totally intoxicating and although I haven't used their products in a while I was drawn in when passing by at the beginning of the week and had to step inside to take a peek at some goodies. 

I've used plenty of Lush Bath Bombs before (who isn't a fan of the fizz?!) but this is my first Bubble Bar experience and I think I actually prefer it to the bath bombs, if push comes to shove!  Doesn't it look like a little cake? Or a hunk of cheese? The rose bud detailing is super cute, and most Lush products are very easy on the eye. Plus, it smells delicious! Amandopondo contains Rose Absolute for relaxation and Lemon Oil for an instant uplift. I love the description Lush gives on their website: 'A beautiful rose and lemon bath, for when life is being a bitch'. That pretty much sums up when to reach for Amandopondo! 

The smell is seriously incredible. I only used half of the bar in my bath as I like to prolong Lush goodies for as long as possible, and the other half is currently wrapped up on my desk. The scent is filling my room and it's divine! The rose lemon mixture is so soothing and really does help lift my mood.

The texture of Amandopondo is a funny one, as it does sort of feel like a cake. Mmm. You basically break off however much you want to use (you can use the whole Bubble Bar in one bath for extra thick bubbles!) and crumble it gently into your bath water. It feels really quite satisfying to be honest, crumbling away at the soft bar and watching it melt. The sweet smell is instantly amplified and it bubbles up immediately, creating mountains of soft bubbles and super soft bath water. As soon as I stepped into the bath I could feel how 'moisturising' the water felt. It had a creamy texture to it that I knew was working wonders on my ever so slightly parched skin. 

This is definitely a Bubble Bar for wallowing! I didn't want to get out as the scent was so relaxing and the water felt so soothing. Grab a stack of magazines, slap on a face mask and settle down for the evening!

After drying off with a fluffy towel my skin felt so soft and nourished to the point that I didn't need to slather on body lotion afterwards. The scent doesn't cling to the skin when dry, although if it did I wouldn't complain as it smells, well... Lush! (Gah, I know, I know... Sorry!)

Amandopondo is preservative free and Vegan, making it a fab option for an even wider audience. 

I picked up a few other treats alongside Amandopondo that I can't wait to review as they're all brilliant and well worth the splurge.

Are you a fan of Lush? Share your product recommendations below! 

Browse Lush products here

Baci e abbracci, 

    

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Instagram