THE BEAUTY EDIT: May Favourites!

Technically it is the last day of May, but that just means this post will be a really accurate measure of my May favourites! With finishing university, moving home and the quarter life crisis I seem to be going through, Culture Wonder has been neglected. Now I have plenty of free time to spend browsing Boots buying beauty products I don't need! And with that...

This months beauty picks come in a collection of five very different products. The first favourite has been coveted by so many beauty bloggers it seemed ridiculous not to pick some up myself, and I have to say, the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (£4.99) did not disappoint. The cleansing, soothing make up remover is a must, and is even suitable for ridiculously sensitive skin - an all-round goodie! 

With the small glimpse of summer we had in the UK last week and the many hours I spent hiding in my room finishing my final major project for university, my make-up routine was cut right down to basics. I picked up the L'Oreal Paris Nude Magique CC Cream Anti- Fatigue (£9.99) about a week ago to step away from my high coverage foundation and get something lighter for summer. It's a great CC cream that can take a little blending if you're extremely pale like me, but gives my skin a great glow! Definitely a keeper for this summer. 

Speaking of blending, after reading lots of mixed reviews I decided to take the plunge and pick up a Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge (£5.99) during the 3-for-2 offer in Boots and I was not disappointed! The three edges help blend make up all over the face, and with the masses of concealer I've been wearing the past few weeks, this Miracle Complexion Sponge has been my saviour. 

Moving onto haircare, I could blame my laziness with my hair on my last few weeks of uni, but let's face it I've always been a minimalist - that's the word I'm going with, not lazy - when it comes to styling my hair. If you're like me and want to keep your hair routine as simple but effective as possible, I have the product for you. The Bumble & Bumble Thickening Blow Dry Spray (£21.50) is my go-to volume product, a couple of pumps into your hair and this spray gives all the oomph and takes away none of the shine or texture. Result. 

And my final beauty favourite this month has to be the Bourgois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick in 03 Hot Pepper (£8.99) The liquid lipstick has been causing quite a stir with the range of statement long lasting shades. I picked up the matte finish lip product in Hot Pepper - and I might have found my perfect red lip product (I'm sorry MAC, Chili still has a special place in my heart.)

Let me know what products you've been coveting this month. Thanks for reading! xo 

THE BEAUTY EDIT: Urban Veda

This week I got the opportunity to try some natural skincare products from the much-talked-about brand Urban Veda. The philosophy behind Urban Veda is simple, 'The urbanveda range has been formulated using natural ingredients and the principles of Ayurveda in a relevant way for 21st century skin care complaints to ‘pollution proof’ skin leaving it less vulnerable to the environment.'

With the all natural message behind this brand, I was excited to try these products for myself. I decided to test them after a day of wearing full make-up and errand running, so my face was feeling suitably worse-for-wear and in need of some loving. 

Neem + Botanics Daily Purifying Facial Wash was the first stop after taking off my make-up. This purifying facial wash promises to mattify and refine pores. And it completely worked - my face felt so much cleaner and clearer after using this - amazingly minty - face wash alone. I moved onto the Neem + Botanics Purifying Exfoliating Facial Polish next, and fell in love. This polish is a wonder product for £8.99 - exfoliating without causing redness or irritation, it left my skin silky smooth and brought a mattified natural feel back to my face. To finish off my little pamper evening, Turmeric + Botanics Radiance Day Cream replenished and moisturised my skin back to a healthy state. 

As my skin tends to be on the oily side, the Purifying range from Urban Veda is perfect for me, but with three other ranges for specialist skin - Radiance with Turmeric, Soothing with Sandalwood and Reviving with Rose, there's a Ayurveda range made to bring your skin back to life. 

THE BEAUTY EDIT: Orange, orange everywhere.

Spring is the perfect time of year to reinvent yourself and try something new - and this week I've found my new thing! And yes, I might've gone a little overboard in Boots this week... 

A university assignment had me needing a new beauty trend to write about, and some Pinterest procrastination, hello Rag & Bone SS14, gave me not only a feature piece but four new lip products and a whole new Spring look. If there's anything I learnt from my fashion degree, it's how to justify clothes, make-up and shoe purchases! 

This is of course the beauty trend for Spring I am referring to: the orange lip. A statement look not for the fainthearted, the high street is full of products to help you achieve all your tangerine dreams. And the best bit, I've found five of the best for you. 

If you're after the bright and beautiful statement look Gucci Westman created for Rag & Bone, I'd suggest Topshop Lip Cream in ‘Pout’ for £7. The highly pigmented gloss is a bold statement not to be taken lightly - even I was a bit apprehensive about taking this out on Southampton High Street. If you want the most true-to-colour orange lip, Smashbox Mega Tint Long Wear Lip Colour in ‘Mimosa’ (£15.50) is the one for you. The subtle lip tint can be rocked in a day look, and the orange colour stays looking fresh for hours. For the matte lip lovers, Revlon is your answer. Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in ‘Audacious’ (£7.99) is possibly the perfect matte orange product, and again, not for the fainthearted. If you're feeling a bit shy about trying an orange lip, Laura Mercier Lipstick in ‘Roman Moon’ (£19.50) should be your go-to. The corally colour dips in the orange trend ever so slightly, and is a great starting point before you're on the Revlon! And possibly my favourite, the Topshop Lip Bullet in ‘Hearbeat’ (£8) is a must have to throw in your handbag and stick on when you need a little make-up pick-me-up! 

So there it is, your high street go-to to spice up your Spring make-up looks! Let me know how you're rocking yours! xo 

JULY BEAUTY FAVOURITES

Hey guys, I thought I'd share my Summer beauty favourites and some of my recent purchases with you, including my favourite perfume, some new nail varnish and some summer essentials!  

The perfect summery orange shade, Essie's Tart Deco is one of my latest purchases and I'm in love! Essie's seasonal shades never disappoint and this cute bright colour is top of my list! Available from Boots for £7.99.

After using and abusing my Mum's Sally Hansen Double Duty base and top coat, I decided it was time to invest in my own and picked up the Essie All in One polish! Also from Boots, this polish works as a base, top coat and strengthener! For only £7.99 from Boots, I'm sold. 

On these hot summery days foundation is the last thing you want to be covering your face with, right? Summer is all about tinted moisturiser and BB creams! My favourite has to be Benefit's You Rebel. With a SPF of 15, this tinted moisturiser provides light coverage and keeps your skin glowing! It also comes with a lighter colour version (You Rebel Lite) for paler skin and both are available from Benefit for £24.50!

Another summer essential - an anytime essential really - are good face wipes. Simple Kind to Skin Cleansing Facial Wipes is your go-to solution for a good face wipe that works for sensitive skin and still works like a treat! And for only £3.25! 

And lastly, one of my all time favourites, Vera Wang Princess. I've been using this on and off since my thirteenth birthday and always keep a bottle in my beauty box! The fruity floral perfume is perfect for summer rather than smokier heavier fragrances and always make me feel like a Princess ;) Pictured above is the 100ml bottle that sells for roughly £60.

What are your beauty favourites this month? 

Let me know! xo 

LONG HAIR DON'T CARE.

That's right. The week after I get my hair cut in a cute little bob I decide that what I really really love is long luscious wavy hair. High five to me for being an idiot. So I will be spending the rest of my summer eyeing up long hairstyles and willing my stupidly short hair to grow. 

(Yes, I have been chanting "It's just hair. Hair grows" to myself on a regular basis. And yes, I am being this shallow.) 

So here's some long hair inspiration from Tumblr, AW13 runway shows mixed with some celebrity faces that cause some major hair envy - see K. Middy - she JUST gave birth and she still managed to look that amazing, HOW does that happen?! 

Sidenote: this post was nearly just a dedication to Taylor Swift's RIDICULOUSLY PERFECT hair. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it, sorry not sorry.

What's your favourite hair look for summer? 
Who are your hair inspirations?

Let me know! xo 

 

CHALKBOARD NAILS?!

Nail trends have really picked up momentum in the past year, with DIY nail art and a huge range of nail effects on the market now it's super easy to experiment and have stand out nails. 

Honestly, I'm not very good at nail art. My hands are a bit shaky and the left hand never looks as good as the right, so what's the point? My fingers and nails are also on the smaller side so nail wraps are pretty much a disaster too. (Tried once, never again, I stuck my fingers together.)

Buuuuuuut, browsing the ASOS beauty page something stood out to me amongst the textured nail effects and various wraps: 

 CIATÉ CHALKBOARD MANICURE. 

Yep that's right, Ciaté has released a chalkboard manicure set complete with black chalkboard nail polish, liquid chalk nail pens (washable with water) and a Ciaté Mattnificent top coat to seal your design. 

I'm obsessed. Nail Art I can actually do!! I neeeeeeeed these. 

But first things first, what designs or cheeky words should I be drawing on them? Help! 

The Ciaté Chalkboard Manicure set is available from ASOS HERE!

Babyliss Volume Waves Review

I've been looking for something to spice up my standard hair and make up routine, and after looking into some other bloggers reviews of this curling iron, decided to invest in the Babyliss Volume Waves Hair Tong. 

The tong features a wide barrel of 38mm, perfect to get that lovely wave and movement in the hair without creating smaller ringlet curls like I've found common with other curlers. With the additional aid of the lever to hold the hair, it's seems like an instant success story for creating soft waves in my boring old straight hair. 

I picked the Volume Waves tong up from Argos for £19.99, a nice and affordable way to spice up your hair look,and this is how it looks! My hair doesn't take to curling too well, but I'm impressed with the movement it gives my hair and bounce it has!

 

The top picture is my hair straight after styling and the bottom is the end of that day (without hairspray), 

still loads of movement and volume going on!

What do you guys think? xo

What's in my...make up bag!

I really enjoyed getting to sort out my handbag and show you guys what I carried around with me all day, so I thought this would give me the perfect excuse to sort out my make up bag and share the make up I can't be without!

(I didn't think my blog would actually make me tidier, but apparently it does!)

I'm way too camera shy to do a daily make up vlog, so I thought I'd share with you like this!

 

So as a base, I use MAC Strobe Cream, £22.50. I'd heard loads of good reviews about the strobe cream so I popped into Selfridges and talked to the lovely people at the MAC counter and was recommended it and I fell in love. Perfect for a highlighted effect and giving luminance!

For Foundation, I swear by the Maxfactor Face Finity All Day 3 in 1 (£11.99.) I picked it up a few weeks ago and fell in love with the coverage it gives you that really does last all day.

Benefit is my go-to brand for powders, blushers and bronzers, with Dandelion and Hoola (both £23.50) being two of my favourites! Dandelion is great for creating a rosy look, while bronzing powder Hoola is my summer essential for a lovely golden glow. I just use a cheap H&M Kabuki brush that I got for £2.99, it does the job pretty well!

For nights out or just to spice up my make up, I use the Benefit Watt's Up (£24.50.) A really good soft highlighter that's super easy to just swish on and voila! The soft champagne colour gives the perfect luminance for my skin, it's a night out essential!

I know I'm on a bit of a Benefit hype at the moment, I'm going to keep that rolling with the Laugh With Me LeeLee miniature I got from a set a while back, but keep this in my make up bag as a little perfume top up throughout the day!

For my lips, I always keep a Palmer's Cocoa Formula lip balm (£2.99) to hand, they smell amazing and always save my chapped lips! I usually keep a lipstick in there as well, right now it's a matte finish pillarbox red Illamasqua Lipstick (£16.00) that is the perfect statement red lipstick for me.

For my eyes, I used a Maxfactor False Lash Effect mascara in Black (£10.99), it's a great mascara for really emphasising my eyes, which is the area I tend to focus on most, so is the perfect fit for me!

Eyeliner wise, I use the Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner (£7.99) and have done for a while now, it's a great colour and lasts all day, and is easy to put on, although I use a different brush to the one provided - my Ecotools Eyeliner (£4.99) brush is pictured below but I also use a MAC 201 Eyeliner brush for precision as it's much smaller.

 So that's it! That's the -weirdly for me- organised make up bag I have!

What make up essentials do you guys depend on?

Let me know! xo

To fringe or not to fringe?

Ugh.

That is the only thing I've been able to say when I look at my hair lately. I'm so bored of the annoying gray (?!?!) roots and awkward length and non structured fringe that it is just BLAH. My hair. And I'm supposed to be a beauty/fashion blogger...

So I decided to spice things up a bit after 6 months of not having my hair cut, I know, it's disgusting right? With much much deliberation and nervousness I chose to get my full fringe of the noughties put back in today! (Uh oh)

I had my hair done by the lovely Kerri at Cocoon on Cross Street in Reading (www.cocoon.co.uk) and had one of the best haircuts ever! The staff were so lovely, the treatments they used smelt AMAZING and my hair is now back to it's glorious shiny self after months of bad DIY dye jobs...but now with a fringe, aaaaah! 

So what do you guys think? (Please be gentle with me, I'm a fragile girl with a fringe okay?) xo

March Beauty Favourites!

I've clearly been watching waaaayyyy too many beauty bloggers on YouTube recently. 

I thought I'd share some of my must have beauty items for the past few weeks including some new things that I have fallen in love with! 

Firstly, I've blogged about this brand before but I am still completely in love with Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula products! I'm still using the moisturiser (whenever I actually remember to do it) and recently picked up the lip balm which is perfect for this awkward, rainy time of year when your lips are always chapped! I'd definitely recommend the lip balm if you have dry lips like me, mine have been so soft since I started using it! You can pick it up from any supermarkets or Boots/Superdrug etc for about £1.89! (I've lost it today which is why it's not pictured!)

Second product is the Percy & Reed Hair Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational Volumising No Oil Oil! (That's a bit of a mouthful.) This product is one of the free products with this months Glamour and I'm a killer for a free gift so I had to try this! I was really impressed with this, it's so easy to use, just rub a tiny bit through wet hair and boom! It's has no oil so it doesn't leave your hair greasy or tied down, and for a free gift I'm really impressed! You can buy the full size product directly from Percy & Reed for £14, but it's also available from Beautybay.com for £11.90 right now! I'll definitely be investing in some more of this!

My next product is another free gift (give me a break, I'm a poor student) from Marie Claire this time! This is from Neal's Yard Remedies and is the Bee Lovely Hand Cream  from their Save The Bees line. The hand cream usually sells for £10 for this size and smells ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. It's got organic honey that's blended with orange essential oil to "nourish the skin and lift the spirits." It definitely does what it says on the tin! I'm in love with this hand cream, I'm not usually a fan of hand cream but will keep this in my handbag to use more regularly!

Fiiiiiiiiinnnaaaaaaallllly is my NEW FAVOURITE LIPSTICK - I know I have one of these every month but bare with me. It's a Topshop lipstick called Innocent and is a purply/pink colour that I fell in love with a few weeks ago but they didn't have in stock, so I've been checking the store in Southampton every few days waiting for it to come back in stock and TODAY WAS THE DAY! Yay! This lipstick is £8, super soft & shiny, like all the Topshop lipsticks, so if you're a fan of them this one is a perfect Spring addition to your make up!

Let me know the products you love this month and any recommendations you have! xo

OMBRE? Okay!

I finally caved to the trend. I've wanted to dip dye my hair for what seems like forever and this weekend I actually did! 

After 5 months my relationship with my brown hair was starting to wither, so a spur of the moment trip to Boots could only mean one thing. Things were gonna change.

My hair is a little too dark to just go straight back to my previous golden blonde - I don't want to actually destroy my hair, you see - and I really am quite fond of being brunette, I just needed to spice things up a bit. 

This is why I found myself an hour or so later in my bedroom with my housemate covering my tips in the heavily advertised L'oréal Préference Wild Ombres dip dyes - I used No. 1 for 'dark brown hair'. 

I have to admit I absolutely love the effect, although it is hard to apply with the 'easy comb' brush - I found it much easier to use my fingers and blend it all - but the change totally put that spring back in my step.  

So here it is! My new blonde tipped hair is definitely brighter for Spring - whenever Spring would like to actually arrive, sooner rather than later please, it SNOWED yesterday - and although my Dad failed to notice it was any different (typical man thing though, right?) I love it!

Let me know what you guys think/if you still love the ombre trend!

THE ULTIMATE BEAUTY PRODUCT!

I've always heard SUCH good things about this product, but never actually got round to trying it myself. But you know, new year, new me and all that ;) 

Part of my new beauty regime includes daily moisturising as I have the driest skin ever and often suffer from (heat) rashes on my legs so my skin is easily irritated. Keeping up my new routine is a big deal for me, I am the laziest, most neglectful person when it comes to moisturising but hopefully that will change with my new products. I must've tried every single body moisturiser there is, most of them lacking a lasting result, others irritating my sensitive skin and some just basically being rubbish. So, I am too excited to have this new (for me) wonder product that has got my skin silky smooth and looking fantastic. And this wonder product? 

*drum roll* 

PALMER'S COCOA BUTTER FORMULA!

This is one of the most effective products I've ever used, you can definitely feel the softness right away. NOT TO MENTION THE SMELL. This product literally smells divine, I moisturise every night and wake up with my skin smelling so delicious, and remains soft for a few days time. As it says on the bottle it helps with marks and scars really well, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone with these as it really does work.

Luckily, this product is widely available from supermarkets to stores like Boots and Superdrug. Price-wise, isn't too expensive for how well it works - I bought it for £2.35 on offer, though it usually retails at £5.30. Palmer's also have a wide range of moisturising products available including Lip Butter, which I'm looking forward to trying after getting such good results with this product!

Let me know your favourite moisturising products and what you think of the Palmer's range! 

Any other recommendations would be appreciated! 

Illamasqua Sale Haul!

Sale time is my absolute favourite time! 

All the sales are starting to wind down now, with most of the good finds now gone, or so I thought. 

A Facebook notification late Friday night about cult British beauty brand Illamasqua, holding a SALE was pretty much the highlight of my weekend so far. Let me explain why. 

Usually a sale for brands as amazing as Illamasqua, it means hardly anything is taken off, and as a student I still can't afford anything. Cue the £5 items section! (There is also a £10 and £20 section for the big spenders out there ;) )

As a result of the massive reductions, I treated myself to some new make up bits, a little bit of everything, all for £5 each! 

I will more than likely be writing some reviews up of each of these products when they arrive, but I had to share these amazing savings with you guys! 

Let me know what you think and if you picked up any good beauty sale products this January!

Eye Bow Cake in Peak - A warm caramel eye brow colour usually priced at £14.50

Lipstick in Encounter - a brick red matte lip colour, usually priced at £16.00 - because who doesn't need another matte red lipstick in their lives!

Nail Varnish in Whack - a vivid tangerine orange colour, usually priced at £13.50

Intense Lipgloss in Facade, a grey pink lipgloss, usually priced at £14.00

Under Eye Concealer in 200 for medium skin with golden undertones - usually priced at £13.00

All products available from Illamasqua at http://www.illamasqua.com

Is Rapunzel my new hair icon?

Okay, so every little girl wanted to be a Disney Princess at the some point in their life - there is absolutely no denying it. From Cinders to Mulan there was a Princess for every little girl out there. I always considered myself an Aurora kinda girl - I promise to get off the Disney topic soon, bear with me - until I watched Tangled today and realised I am in fact, completely Rapunzel. 

Not in the whole locked in a tower singing with a lizard part, but for the past 18 years I of course had the beautiful long golden hair, and went through a rather dramatic change to a short brunette almost bob. That's it, I got my hair cut again, ridiculously short, almost the border of too short in fact but hair grows, you know? (Yes I have been chanting this at myself for the past few days but it is necessary when a haircut is this drastic.)

And then some late night lurking found me at this picture below of Keira Knightley from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this week. How ridiculously gorgeous does she look? Keira Knightley has a habit of either looking drop dead gorgeous or a complete Plain Jane, but she was absolutely glowing during her appearance in this green lace dress - I couldn't help but notice how lovely and stylish her messy shoulder length bob looked. And it totally reminded me of my favourite Autumn/Winter look courtesy of Rapunzel, and luckily enough (for myself) my new hair! What do you guys think?