APRIL FAVOURITES

Hello!

It's been a while since my last monthly favourite's post, and since I've had a lot of favourite's for April I thought it was a good time to post them-especially as we've just started May. Also, this will be my 2nd April Favourite's post since I started my blog!

I haven't been loving many beauty items as I haven't really discovered many, however I have discovered new foods, and hobbies!

1. Barry M Nail Varnish in "Huckleberry"

I'm a massive fan of the "Hi-shine" Barry M range anyway, however this colour attracts me to them so much more. Huckleberry is a very subtle, sky blue which is perfect for Spring time. I've worn this constantly ever-since I got it because it goes with everything as it's so subtle, but also dries incredibly quickly, and only requires one coat because of the thick, but not gloopy, consistency. This is a must have for Spring!
 

2. Seventeen "Stay time long wear" Primer

I've never been a massive fan of primer because I never thought it worked, and was always a waste of time. However, after using my Urban Decay primer on my eyes and realizing how good it is, I thought it'd be a good idea to get a primer for my face as my make-up comes off in the heat! Anyway, I opted for a cheap one to test out, and I'm surprisingly really liking this one. It's not incredibly sticky, but enough to keep the make-up on, it also helps my make-up stay on for a lot longer than it used too. As this was cheap it obviously isn't amazing, but for something so inexpensive I'm really liking using this.
 

3. Model CO Fibre Lashxtend mascara

 My last beauty favourite was discovered after receiving it from Glamour magazine, and it's a fibre mascara. I first thought this was an everyday, normal mascara, however it's not. Fibre mascaras contain tiny fibres in the mascara fluid, so when you apply this on top of normal mascara the fibres transfer onto your lashes, and lengthen them out. This makes a massive, noticeable difference to my eyes, and I will definitely be making investments in other mascaras.
  

4. Dumbbells

 These are an odd thing to have in a favourites post, however I've been really into eating healthily and exercise at the minute, and recently found these dumbbells in my house. After some research I found some exercises I could do with these, and I've been loving it! After a workout with dumbbells I immediately feel a difference, but also feel a lot better about myself. Dumbbells are pretty expensive, however going down to a local gym may be more worthwhile.

5. Sushi

As you can see this packet is currently empty as I've eaten it, but I didn't have any other sushi to show! Anyway, carrying on with the 'being healthy' regime, I've been eating a lot more sushi lately. I've always liked sushi, however I'm eating it more than ever, and loving it more than ever! After eating some I feel incredibly refreshed and energized, as well as lively because of how healthy sushi is. I don't prefer any particular sushi brand over another because sushi is all the same, however I much prefer fish filled sushi to vegetable (I've said sushi way too much).

6. Prestat Red Velvet truffles

These red velvet truffles are the nicest tasting truffles ever. Words cannot describe how much I love these, they are so incredibly delicious. Red velvet truffles consist of an icing encased in milk chocolate, and dusted with crushed raspberries. I thought these would be unbearably sweet, however the light dust of raspberries really helps sharpen out the sweetness, and add some fruity-ness that really changes the whole truffle. Unfortunately, these are £11.50 per pack for 6 truffles, however every penny is worth it if you're a chocolate lover like me.

7. Scrunchies

My last favourite's for April are Scrunchies. These have been making their way into fashion a lot more recently, and I've been loving them. These 2 particular ones are from American Apparel and were £6 each which is reasonable for a very good quality velvet scrunchie, anyway, I love these because they're incredibly handy for tying up hair in emergencies, or in general. As they're so big, they add a lot of volume and lift to your hair which is what I need because my hair is quite fine. Also, they look extremely cute, and also look nice on your wrist as an accessory, but also necessity!

MAC LIPSTICK AND LIPGLASS REVIEW

Hello!

I got these 2 products for my birthday in November and have been wanting to review them for a while, but have never got round to it, so today I shall be reviewing both.

The two Mac products I will be reviewing is the 'Nice Buzz' lipglass, and 'Creme D'Nude' Cremesheen lipstick.

The two products look like this:

 Like I said, I got these 2 for my birthday back in November, however I've only just recently started using them this month, and I'm glad I did! Both products are incredibly good quality which is what I expected as they were from Mac, however I don't think the lipstick is as moisturizing as it claims to be. If I don't use a lip-balm before applying the lipstick my lips look very chapped, and creased, which is not the look I want. But, the lipglass is surprisingly not sticky at all! I thought it would be considering it's formulated like an ordinary lipgloss, however this one glides along the lips nicely without feeling like you've just applied glue to your lips.

 

 As you can see, both products are very nude, and subtle. This is not my usual lip colour at all, I prefer bright colours and have been wearing bright colours for a very long time, but as the weather is getting warmer I wanted something a bit more natural-these 2 are perfect for that. Creme D'Nude is a peachy nude that leaves a glossy sheen after applying-this is what differentiates a foundation-lip looking lipstick, to a cool, natural lip. The lipglass is a lighter, softer peach with gold reflexes that give a juicy look to the lipglass on your lips.

 The packaging is very plain like all Mac product packaging is-unless it's limited edition, and this makes the products look a lot more sophisticated and high-end rather than packaging like '17' which doesn't sell things in boxes, or a harder wearing plastic. There are quite a few drugstore brands that try to copy Mac with the simple style packaging, but it doesn't work or look right; Mac does the best with matte black packaging, and managing to pull it off without looking cheap or rubbish.

I love wearing these 2 products together as they create such a lovely nude colour which is perfect for daytime, and nighttime. The Creme D'Nude lipstick almost looks like Kylie Jenner's lip colour here:

However my lipstick has a more glossy finish, but the similarity is very close!

As these were both presents for my birthday I don't know the pricing, but I think they'd be sold at a reasonable price for such brilliant lip products.

A DAY OUT IN LONDON: AFTERNOON TEA AND JEAN PAUL GAULTIER VIEWING

Hello!

Yesterday I went out to London with my; Step-mother, Stepsister, Aunty, and friend Jennifer. We first met and did some brief shopping and nosing around, then went for a unique style afternoon tea, and after that we had tickets to go to a Jean Paul Gaultier fashion showing room! The day was so lovely, and a very memorable trip.

When we arrived in London we first went to Oxford Street and had a nose around a few shops. I wanted to check out AA because I love everything in there, and thankfully came out with 2 scrunchies for my hair which is what I wanted. They're both velvet, but one is black, and the other a pale lilac/pink. I love them soo much, but they did however cost £6 each!

After a mooch around we went out for our Afternoon Tea at a place called "BRGR" in London Soho. This afternoon tea wasn't your traditional tea & scones tea, it was almost like an American Diner style afternoon tea, however the food was served in small portions and all on one dinner tray:

 We got our food placed on a very 60's style tray with checkered grease paper which adds to the theme of American Diner, and it's the small touches like that which make a place so special. Anyway, for mains there was a small portion of fries, and a selection 3 burgers; one was Lobster, one was Chicken, and one Beef-these were all so lovely, but the Lobster was my favourite as it was the most refreshing. For dessert there was a mini brownie, doughnut (which we can't see), cheesecake with a raspberry coulis on top, and a vanilla milkshake. I loved all the desserts, but they were incredibly filling even though the meal was only small!

After lunch we then went on to the Jean Paul Gaultier show room, which was phenomenal. I was so thankful to have the opportunity to look at some of his pieces up close, and really take in all the detail and effort.

JPG is a French Haute Couture and Pret-A-Porter fashion designer, he not only does garments, but also fragrances which are famous for being in the shape of a body.

Walking into his showroom was amazing, the first thing we saw was this:

Which explained everything about the World of JPG, his background, and about what the exhibition will contain which was useful to know, however I didn't read it all, I mostly scanned it.

As you walk in there were multiple rooms showcasing his different collections, the first collection was this one:

I'm unsure as to what this collection was called, but it contained religious, Egyptian style designs? The dress at the front has a blue panel which contained a photo of what I think was a lady holding a baby/cherub, but I'm not 100% sure because I cannot remember everything as there was so much to take in!

We then carried on into the main, biggest room containing  all these collections (as well as a few more):

In this room there were collections such as a;
Denim style:

JPG modified everyday clothing into denim clothes, and made everything more extravagant and unique then they would be in shops.

Camouflage/Army style:

As you can see, the first dress was worn by Sarah Jessica Parker at the MTV awards, it was mind-blowing to think that I was that close to an original JPG dress worn by such an iconic person.

High-Tech/Punk range:

I found the High-Tech dress so interesting, and especially unique considering it was made from recyclable and old materials, yet he made the outfit still look wearable and designer!

We then carried on walking around the show rooms, and we came across a lot of individual framed pictures of: celebrities oil painted, designs, and his clothes being modeled.

The photo on the far left in the middle is my favourite photo ever. I love the way the model angles her body to look so irregular and abnormal, especially in a simple black dress outlining all the curves, and positioning of her body.

As we carried on more, and more beautiful, and wacky collections were in sight, including this one:

 In the photo on the right, the things above the model's head is their hair. I couldn't believe that their hair was used to create such weird sculptures and shapes! The piece on the left is a boudoir style outfit which looks like something Dita Vonteese would wear with the very revealing, lace body.

 Tribute To Africa Collection:

 I personally wouldn't wear the wedding gown for my wedding-it's a tad non-traditional, however it definitely stands out in the unique side. Just by first glance you can see how much detail and effort has been put in to the gown, and it certainly looks 140 hours worth of work with all the layers on the skirt, and bead/chains on the top to fit and make a bodess. The face-mask dress is incredibly creepy, but also very creative as well! It looks like a face that would be on a totem pole in a tribe, which may be where some inspiration came from.

Random Pieces:

One of my most favourite pieces of the show was the leopard style dress. The leopard is made out of extremely tiny beads all hand-sewn on to form the illusion that a fabric was used to make it. In photo's the dress doesn't look so impressive, but in person it's breath-taking at the amount of tiny detail put in to the dress which would take someone years to do! The first outfit looks quite zombie-like and almost as if a dress has been shredded to pieces, and the last is a very vamped up army style 2 piece, and makes army clothing look fashionable.

 In one room there was a theater bit that you could watch some JPG runway shows, and as the chairs were so stylish, and designer I couldn't not have my photo taken in one. 

When you leave the show there's a bit outside that Jean Paul Gaultier himself has signed, and also left 'The Frog!' written as he is known as the 'French Frog' because he's French, and French people are known for eating frog legs.

Details:

These are from a pirate style dress, and you can see how many tiny, individual beads are sewn on, and how every inch of the dress is covered in minor details to make the piece a one-off thing that couldn't be re-creacted by anyone.

I admire JPG and all his pieces for being so innovative, and something that only someone with a very creative, and special mind could create.