On a Cold and Frosty Morning: OOTD

I'm so lying to you right now.

It's not a cold and frosty morning.

It's not even morning, in fact yet again this post comes courtesy of some late night inspiration, stemming most likely from my first night sat doing naff all in weeks.

I mean seriously, the amount of free time I've had this evening borders on the cray-cray; I've painted my toenails after even having time to contemplate the various combinations of colours and designs I could use.

Then gave up and settled on my regulation Winter dark red.

I even decided what I'm going to wear tomorrow for work,

(I'm writing this on Thursday fyi...editing on Friday and very much looking forward to the weekend, therefore a day where I don't have to pre-select clothes!)

and I may even have time to change my mind...

:|

I don't know what to do with myself...I am literally sat here BLOGGING.

Blogging for oh, the second time in a week!

I know.

Actually.Frickin'.Blogging.

The only thing missing tonight is my onesie, which I can't wear simply because it has feet in...gahh!

Usually, this would be the best bit, and my tootsies would be all toasty and warm, snuggled in their leopard print goodness, however no.

Toenail painting sessions have their hazards...

My toes are tacky and therefore now susceptible to frostbite.

Cool.

In fact no, cold.

Just cold...

On the other hand, the day I wore this outfit, I felt not a single speck of icy air, not on me or my toes for that matter.

What I wore:

Dress: Missguided £7.49 

Cardigan: H&M £5

Cut out boots: River Island £38

Faux fur hairband: eBay £4.99

Necklace: River Island (Christmas Present)

So this outfit is undoubtedly one of my current faves!

Mostly because it's SOOOO SNUGGLY and waaaaaaaaaarrrrrm.

The dress is a piece of actual perfection from the perfectly priced 'Sweet Deal' section of Missguided, (which I believe come Summer I will own in its entirety...I'm an unstoppable Missguided machine!) and despite being only £7.49, is proper good stuff!

I swear they could stick a Topshop label on it, triple the price, and still call it a good value for money piece - Missy-G you little genius', you!!

As for the cardigan...well, that's a whole other story.

See, I choose to believe that this cardi is something of a soul mate of mine.

Too regularly, my friend and Lady Danger twin Lucy had been flaunting this awesome zebra-ness in front of my face in the form of wearing her own, and it was torture.

Like a bull to a red flag, I simply cannot control myself around animal print of any kind, and on a regular basis my subconscious would hatch evil clothes stealing plans in order to claim her cardigan as my own.

In all honesty though, I wouldn't have put it past myself to go all 'bull' on her and charge, knocking her to the ground and ragging it from her.

Poor girl.

My sneaky subconscious was even working on how to stretch it big enough to fit...and failing miserably.

I'd almost given up hope, until a random 'oh I'll just pop into H&M for a minute' decision was made...

Then it happened.

Oh my dayzzz - it's like mother nature herself directed me in there!!

There it was.

The last one.

All enticingly warm and zebra-like...

The last one.

In my size.

For a fiver.

A FIVER!!

Safe to say me and Lucy are now cardigan twins, and yes, the scenario where we did not pre-discuss outfits has happened, and we have spent an entire day in matching clothes.

It was a good day :)

On my face I was oh so adventurous and wore 'the usual'.

Boundaries were broken that day peeps, daring little so-and-so I am ey...

Oh but with added 'Lady Danger' lovelieness on my lips, because, well quite frankly I love and adore it, and feel it's a bit of a crime that my lips aren't naturally this colour.

Nuff said.

A moment for my new boots before I leave you...

How unbelievably flippin' sexy are these babies?!

Mmmm, my very own cut out boots!

Only two years too late on that one.

River Island served me well...it's been a long time since I have dared to cross their threshold, because, well...whenever I do, bad things happen, but on this occasion I needed new boots and I allowed myself a small moment of spending madness!

Not that £38 is unreasonable, but seriously, I've been confined to Shoe Zone for the last two years, so let's be real here, they're practically Louboutins.

Anyhoo you guys, I'm off, because despite my toenails now being all dark red and diva-ish, my fingernails are looking more than a little worse for wear, and it's not too long until I intend on trying to sleep.

We all know this isn't going to work, right?

But a girls gotta try...

Smudged, cotton-print-bed-sheet nails are totes my thing, and I intend to work it.

Yerr baby.

KIKO Colour Sphere 105: Review

You know all those adverts on telly, asking you to adopt a Panda, or warning of the huge decline in their numbers?

Well, they're lying to you.

Lying.

To us ALLLLL.

Pandas are no longer endangered you guys.

For there's one right here typing this to you.

Ladies, (and you sneaky gentlemen, you)

I am, indeed, a panda.

Yes, it's true.

The dark circles around my eyes have grown from smudged mascara to full on black hole sized in recent weeks, and yet I just cannot slow down.

My concealer usage has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous, and I've even contemplated actually spending money on decent skincare in a bid to fully remove it at the end of the day.

I did however give up, deciding that if there's any concealer left on there after double cleansing, it's probably a good thing.

I'll take clogged pores any day if it means looking slightly less like a Scream mask.

Of course though, this is me we're talking about, and naturally, in trying to look less like a left-over Halloween mask in Poundland's bargain bin on November 1st, I have of course got myself all excited and decided to smudge a shed-load of dark eyeshadow on.

It seems my subconscious is loving the Panda look.

(l) both colours applied wet, (r) both colours applied dry

Okay so what a lucky little so-and-so I am eyy?!

See my extremely talented and lovely friend Aїcha knows, (and shares) my magpie tendencies, and we've had several long discussions about sparkly stuff and all things make-up, and to my surprise she'd sent Santa my way with a little Christmas gift all the way from lands afar.

Lands which sell KIKO that is...

The first product in my little parcel of goodness was this rather gorgeous eyeshadow sphere in shade 105, containing a deep brown-black shot with microscopic silver glitter flecks, alongside a contrasting hot pink shot with golden glitter flecks.
Oh my lordy lord!

Okay so after lots of 'ooooh-ing' and 'ahhh-ing' I decided I just had to put my MAC palette down for a day, (or ten) and get this piece of goodness on my eyes.
Now I'm not gonna lie to you, I've been a little afraid of pink shadows in my time, but less so recently after the revelation that is MAC's 'Cranberry' and the rosy hues of the Naked 3 palette - I decided, well it can't be so bad, right?
RIGHT!

Despite looking so fabulously Barbie-esque in it's nicely packaged pot, the pink transfers a good deal paler than it is in the pan, meaning it's easy to use for a more subtle look, and definitely does not leave you looking like you've just had a good old cry.
As for the darker shade, (totes brown but it took me a few different lighting variations to decide) again it's pigmented but not too overpowering to be worn during the day, (although like, what I wear in the day is probably more than most of you want or need even on a night...bad times) I love how this colour looks alone, when worn with a neutral matte shade on the lid, it's buildable and easy to blend with my old faithful cheapo brush, and/or my finger.
Yezzurr.
Together, the two colours beautifully complement each other; the pink shade warms up the brown-black shade beautifully when blended together through the edge of the lid and crease, and creates a look I've been really enjoying.
The glitter is equally subtle, meaning it's perfect for daily wear, and the fallout is minor. I really like how one shade has silver glitter and the other has gold. Now, normally my OCD would be screaming 'HELLLLLL TO ZE FRICKIN' NO', but on this occasion I quite like the contrast; it's not too obvious on the eyes and, well, it's just pure prettiness!
The packaging tells us that the shadow can also be used wet, and while this makes very little difference to the colour, the glitter seems to double in impact and sheen, and really dazzles!
Longevity-wise, this lasted all day including a gym session on my eyes, and while the pink faded slightly, the darker colour stayed put and perfect all day, 5km run in the rain included!
Reeeeeeesult.

Overall, I'm so happy with my first KIKO product, and guess what you little lovelies?
THERE'S PLENTY MORE WHERE THIS CAME FROM!!
Oooh, the suspense, I can hear your little hearts racing in anticipation...

I don't blame you, mine would be too.

Anyhoo, all racing hearts aside, it's now getting on for my bedtime.
Yet again I'm up all late and busy, making my black holes even larger and more pronounced.
I apologise in advance if the weather is especially naff tomorrow.
It's highly likely that my black holes, (of the none-pretty-eyeshadow variety) will have grown so large they will have become self-aware, Terminator style, therefore gaining the sense of hunger and swallowing up our sun, solar system, and almost certainly terminating what is left of the panda population.

I shall be a lone panda.
All alone.

Probably locked up in a zoo, being paraded to the world as a star attraction, given no more than one stick of bamboo a day, and most likely not being provided with any KIKO goodness to at least beautify my darkened eyes...
If I'm not swallowed up myself that is.

Leopards wouldn't have this problem now would they?
Damn.

MAC 'Lady Danger': Review

One, Two, Three.

Hit it.

"Shock shock,

Horror horror,

Shock shock

Horror.

I've got a new red lipstick, and it's extra gorgeous.

The red shades of the species are more deadly than the nudes."

:|

Okay so that was bad, really bad.

I should really give up trying to alter song lyrics to suit my blogging mood.

Especially 90's jam's which are just tooooo good to ever be vandalised in such a crude and ludicrous way.

On this occasion however, I just can't help myself.

My new lipstick is holding my sanity hostage and I've fallen head over heels.

It seems, old Thatcher was wrong.

This lady has been turned.

Or more, the Lady has turned me?

 'But Holly, who is she?' I hear you ask.

'Who is the darling who has stolen your heart?'

('And who is looking like having you appearing on one of those freakish TV shows where people have disturbing relationships with like cars and stuff'')

Well allow me to explain and you'll soon understand,

Just one wear and then you'll be at her command,

She's small, smooth, sleek and all suited up in black,

She is 'Lady Danger' and she is from MAC...

Oh my gawdddd.

Christmas Day was a good day you guys, I mean not only did I sample copious amounts of my grandmas awesome culinary skills, but something of a small dream of mine came true.

See for the last few months years, I've had a lipstick craving so large it could conquer the Boots counter...

Shay from 'What's on the Blog' knows this; I think I stalked her Instagram account to the point where she was probably worried for the safety of her lipstick.

Granted, she was right, I'd contemplated fashioning some kind of fishing rod long enough to stretch half the length of the country in a bid to uhh, shall we say 're-home'(?) her cunning lip companion and envelop into my own collection.

Or in a cage, in case anyone else tried to play me at my own game...

Muhahahaa.

Santa though, clearly hadn't cottoned on to my devilish little plan, and believing me deserving of a place on the nice list, he sent my friend Lucy, his little, (yes, really little haha) helper to make my lipstick dreams come true...

Just kidding Lucy, you're the bestest, good things come in small packages, MAC or otherwise, lol.

Thank you so SOOO much!!

MAC's 'Lady Danger' is, well BEAUTIFUL!!

It's just the most perfect tomato red - so perfect that it can be worn with anything, and at any time of year, thanks to the subtle orange tones which distinguish it from its blue toned 'Ruby Woo' and 'Russian Red' counterparts. 

It gets better.

'Lady Danger' is a matte formula, but is creamy and non-drying, (although I always apply lip balm first regardless) meaning it's so comfortable to wear - I barely notice it's there, and I barely need to reapply.

Oh yes 'Lady Danger' is VERY long lasting, as you'd expect with a matte lipstick, but I genuinely feel that it outlasts my good old 'Ruby Woo'; it survived Christmas dinner with barely a smudge!

AAAAND I had drinks with no straw that day :O.

I think in the few times I've worn this so far, I've only reapplied once, on just one of those days - I'd say I got a solid five to six hours of wear, which is pretty incredible!

The smell too is incredible, but hey it's MAC and y'all know that subtle vanilla scent is good enough to be an actual perfume...

*MAC, if ever you do just that, I want 75% of the profits, or at least a lifetime of 'Lady Danger's for when my one inevitably meets its maker*

At £15 it's no steal, but oh my, this shade truly is one of a kind, and therefore I genuinely believe it to be worth it. I'm always up for a good dupe, but this is so unique, with amazing colour and lasting power, that sometimes only the real thing will do.

Aside from that...well, just you TRY and get it off my lips.

In all this excitement, I've forgotten to go to bed...but now I shall do so humming this awesome 90's tuneage, and attempting to sing the real words as opposed to my, erm, altered version.

I blame this dangerous lady and her siren like, sophisticated redness...

God help me and my attraction to inanimate (beauty related) objects, and freakish ability to believe they're real people.
I watched 'Castaway' last week and feel as though my beauty products will be my own personal 'Wilson', despite being neither Tom Hanks, nor marooned on a desert island with isolation being the excuse to go slightly insane.

(RIP Wilson.)

Hopefully I won't lose it, 'Wilson' style, 'extended fishing rod' style, or otherwise.
See 'Lady Danger' is a foxy red; her sly vixen ways mean she's wanted by many...

And we all know the red shades of the lipstick species are are more deadly than the nudes.