Honey Got A Problem

 song of the day - Slow Down by Brand Nubian

I've been trying to stay away from slogan tees, because they just remind of the stuff I'd wear for home clothes day at secondary school. I have not succeeded. Primark do slogan tees so well, and I just can't resist. Today while in town I ended up buying 2. I tried on a few other none-slogan items as well, but they just didn't suit me.
The Dory tee above cost £6, such a bargain. As soon as I saw it I wanted it. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a bad memory, thankfully it's not as bad as Dory's. Yet.

I have finally accepted that I am a Muggle. It's taken a while, but at 23 I'm not going to be getting a (very late) Hogwarts letter. Sob. This sleeveless number was £5. I can't wait to wear it with my Deathly Hallows necklace, and a pair of jeans. Expect an OOTD before the months end.

The only other purchase I made today (that was not food related) was the book Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I've heard such good things about it, and it was only £1.20 in Cancer Research UK.
Have you made any good Primark purchases recently? Or found any hidden gems in charity shops?
Rubi
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There's No Way I Could Pay You Back

song of the day - Dear Mama by 2Pac

gift bag bought from Card Factory

With mothers day so close I thought I'd join the hoards of bloggers doing gift guides by doing one myself. This is pretty much what I've bought my mum for mothers day either this year, or in previous years.

For the bast 5 years I've bought my mum flowers from Bunches for different occasions (mainly mothers days and birthdays), and they have never let me down. The above bouquet is called the Damson Delight XL, which I bought for mum last year. The bouquets are long lasting (over 2 weeks), and well put together. In 2012 I bought my mum a Peace Lily from this website, and it's still going strong.

This year I wanted to go with something a bit more personal for my mum. So, after sorting through my photographs I put together a photo book for her. It has photos of me and my three siblings, as well as a few flowers. There are plenty of websites out there that will produce these, and I went with Boots. I can't wait to see my mums face when she sees the book. Thankfully mum doesn't read my blog, so she can't sneak a peek on here.

Chocolate always makes a great gift in my family. As my mum loves coconut too I bought her some Coconut Bombes from Hotel Chocolat, as well as some Shortbread Cookie Caramels.

A few other gift ideas include candles, bath smellies, and a nice day out. Mums always seem to appreciate spending a nice day with their kids.

What have you bought your mum for Mothers day? Do you have any other good gift ideas for mums?

Rubi
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Step Out Tonight

song of the day - Step Out by Oasis

A few weeks ago MAC released a new collection (as they constantly seem to do) designed in collaboration with Isabel and Ruben Toledo. I've been waiting for this collection since I saw the promo photos on Temptalia's blog in January. The main reason I was attracted to this collection was because of the blush ombre's, they look so pretty. Sadly the shade I wanted was sold out. I did manage to get one of the lipsticks though.

I went for Oxblood, which contrary to the name is a nude. This seems to be the most popular colour from the collection, and it's sold out on the majority of websites. If you can find it I'd definitely recommend buying it. It's paler/more peachy on the lips, than it is in the bullet.

Oxblood is a matte, and described on the MAC website as a light peach nude, which it is. This is the type of colour that I would wear to work, because it's not in your face but still very pretty. As you can see in the picture above it's a very natural colour.

I'm not the biggest fan of MAC's matte formula, but with a hydrating lip balm underneath this colour goes on very smoothly. It lasts an alright amount of time (over 3 hours), and the pigmentation is pretty good. Then again, mattes usually are.
Have you made any purchases from any of the recent MAC collections? Are you a nude or bold (lipstick) kind of person?
Rubi
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You Used To Be My Romeo

song of the day - Romeo by Basement Jaxx

I don't do very girly often, maybe a few times a year. I'm usually not attracted to florals, but I honestly couldn't resist this dress. The mix of colours is just perfect, they actually reminds me of a sunset. I bought this dress in the sales last year, and I've only worn it a handful of times (if that). It is stunning, but a bit too formal for my usual everyday wardrobe.
I love the structure of this dress, the lines and pleats are perfection (gum would be perfection).
The only down side to this dress is that the zip is in the back. Seriously, you should have seen my try to do it up by myself. I was tempted to do a Phoebe and go out with it down until I saw someone who could zip me up.

dress - Warehouse. leggings - Primark.

(yes, I'm using this photo again)

Do you prefer bright floral prints or monochrome? Have you ever been bested by a zip (please let me not be the only one!)?
Rubi
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You've Got To Make It Hot

song of the day - Gimme All Your Lovin' by ZZ Top

Last year to celebrate Nars' 20th anniversary a collection of 40 lipsticks was released. The line is described on the Nars website as "Modern lipstick so shamelessly seductive in touch and texture the sensation is audacious. Unadulterated luxury glides on like satin across skin with single-stroke coverage. A spectrum of 40 shades for unstoppable impact". The collection is permanent, but a few of the shades are exclusive to Selfridges and the Nars website.

I currently own two lipsticks from the line; Claudia and Dominique. Both of the colours look so much more vibrant in the bullet than on the lips, but I prefer the colour on the lips.

Claudia is a cool toned pink, and probably the most Barbie pink I have in my lipstick collection. This was my first Nars lipstick so I wanted something different to what I normally go for. I tend to rock this when I'm feeling very girly.

Dominique is one of the exclusive to Selfridges shades. I swatched this shade back in December and fell in love. At the time though Selfridges was sold out. Last week I noticed that it was back in stock on the Selfridges website and so of course I had to go and buy it. It's a very unique Lavender shade, which is why I was drawn to it in the first place. I feel like I need to be careful with this shade though, because on a grey day it may make me look a little dead.

Review in short: Both shades are fully opaque, smooth to apply, and long lasting. They have a matte finish, but don't make the lips feel dry. Nars really know how to make a good lipstick! If only they didn't cost so much.

Have you tried an Audacious lipstick? Are you a fan of Nars?
Rubi
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I Know I Can

song of the day - I can by Nas

Hello March, how nice of you to join us.

This month I'm going to be doing a photography challenge of sorts. I bought my DSLR 3 years ago and I still don't know what half the buttons do. To try and get to know my camera a little better this month I'm going to take a photo a day using just manual settings. No more auto for me! At least not for 31 days. Auto-focus shall only be used if I take a self portrait. There won't really be a theme to the photos, they'll just be of whatever takes my fancy.

canon 550D - 18-55mm lens - 1/125 - f4.5

I'm going to try and post the photos every day on Instagram. Then at the beginning of next month I'll do a round up post, showing a few of my favourites from the month. Hopefully this will go well and I don't give up half way through the month.

Do you enjoy taking photographs? Are you an auto or manual kind of person? Let me know below!

Rubi

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I Sit Back And Wonder

song of the day - Don't Push Me by 50 Cent

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on my makeup storage, and I showed you my Muji 5 drawer. Today I thought I'd let you have a nose of what's inside, and how I lay everything out.

I try not to buy more makeup than what will fit into this box. Except for lipsticks. I can't stop myself when lip products are concerned.

Up top is my favourite drawer. Full or lip glosses and lip pencils, it's the drawer I go into the most. I've been loving wearing the small Buxom gloss (in White Russian) over matte colours to give them a pearly sheen.

Here is the face drawer. If I'm being honest I don't often keep my foundation and MSF natural in this drawer, it's usually just on my desk so it's within easy reach. Which isn't a great idea, because at the moment I seem to have misplaced my foundation. Whoops. Maybe I should start putting it away.

Ah, eyeshadow, I have such a love/hate relationship with you. I love to wear you, but I hate to actually spend the time use you.

I may own quite a few mascaras, but not all of them are open. I actually need to sort through these soon, and maybe repurchase one or two.
Are you a makeup hoarder (like me)? Or do prefer just to have a few bits? Let me know below.
Rubi
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