Confessions of an Online-Mac-aholic

My name is Anastasia.... *deep breath*.... an I'm an online shopaholic.... No I really am! 75% of my shopping related activity takes place via my laptop. Its just a real convenience, sometimes elements of my day to day life don't allow me the time to get to the stores I want to go to. But that doesn't mean I don't know what I want. Like for instance I'm sure the Assistants at my local Mac are missing me. But even still I thought absence would make their hearts grow fonder, as I decided against the trek down there and opted for sitting on my bum and ordering some lovely items online. With the recent "summer" down pour who can blame a girl!

(left to right) Rimmel Nude Delight, MAC's Shy Girl

My fav foundation is the Pro Long wear NC42, and as I mentioned in an earlier post I had run out and had to replace this as soon as I could. The lipstick Shy Girl has been one that I've thought about getting every now and again. Its a lovely soft coral, nude, amazing as a warmer nude lip for the summer. I think its so similar to Rimmels Nude Delight but with slight pinky-coral undertones. Trace Gold has been a blush I've been brooding over for a while. I actually did a wish list post a while ago declaring my love. Now its mine *Golem voice* my precious! It is a gorgeous rose gold that honestly the swatch above doesn't do any justice to. Its packed with shimmer, not the usual blush I opt for but hey I personally think its the perfect shade to attempt that Beyonce diva glow... who run the world??!!

I hope you guys enjoyed this post? What are your opinions of the products mentioned? Yes I am 100% lazy as an avid online shopper any other lazy bones out there enjoy the convenience of shopping online?

Thank you all for having a read

xoxo

FOTD Using MAC Morange

Hello darlings! A few posts ago I let you guys know of my purchase of MAC's lovely lippy in Morange. Silly old me forgot to swatch it to show you all how "pow" of a colour it is.

Morange is definitely a lipstick meant for the brave! The colour is a beautiful orange shade with red undertones and I'm so in love with orange and coral this season, but I'm not altogether sure how well of a job I do at pulling it off. I'm such a natural introvert, in the way that I cannot stand anything that forces an "all-eyes-on me" reaction. But saying that the British public did seem quite kind. I didnt get any "what was she thinking" or "who does she think she is" stares... well none that I noticed, bear in mind I am short sighted :(

Products Used:

Face

Mac Pro Longwear Foundation NC42

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer
Mac Mineralise Skin Finish Naturals Medium/Darl
Illamasqua Bronzer Burinish
Mac Powder Blush Gingerly

Eyes

Mac Woodwinked e/s
Sleek Storm Palette (matte dark brown + metallic bronze)
Me me me Eyeliner Pen Black
Mac Kohl Teddy
Chantechaille Faux Ciles Mascara Noir
Lips

MAC Morange Lipstick

What do you think of Morange? Or bright lipsticks in general? What have been your fav lip colours of the season?

Hope you enjoyed dolls

xoxo

Nivea Cocoa Butter Range

I know dont about you guys but when it comes to body skincare I am very much all over the place. I like to sample the goods and see whats out there, mostly I care to go for body butters, that offer a longevity of moisture yet does'nt form a layer of grease over the skin (hard to find). One of my favs in that department, that I actually happened to discover last year is the Nivea Cocoa Butter Body Butter. The smell has a gorgeous sweet nutty aroma, I found it much more subtle compared to the smell you'd get with Palmer's or The Body Shop's Body Butter which can actually be quite sickly. And it allowed that sensuous moisturising feeling, without that feeling of uncomfortable oiliness. I had spotted it on a shelf at a friends house, before then I didn't even realise Nivea even had a cocoa butter range to its name, which I think is probably the case for many others. So when I was asked by to review their Cocoa Butter range I couldn't say no.

Body Care

Alas I didn't receive my much desired body butter, but instead I was sent their Deep Conditioning Body Lotion and their Vitalising Gel Body Oil which seemed like quite an interesting product. And I was right, after having another glance at this I either predicted it to be ridiculously oily or totally thin and drying. The actual result was something in between, when rubbed between the hands and applied it feels very much like any other body oil (I am not a fan of body oils at all). But one thing I will give this is that it does absorb into the skin much quicker than any oil I've ever tried, after about half an hour my skin didn't necessarily feel basted and ready to be fried. I've applied it once or twice on my legs, where I have much more dry areas of skin and it did leave them feeling quite soft and quite glowy. All in all I'd say anyone suffering from dry skin around their body especially during the summer should definitely give this a try, though I personally wouldn't take it any higher than my legs.

The lotion was pretty basic, much like a watered down simulation of the Body Butter. Having said that I didn't see a too much of a difference in either product in terms of the results they each had on my more normal areas of skin. Even though the lotion has a much thinner formula it still left my skin on my arms and other areas of my body very moisturised. But with dryer areas on my legs I'd much prefer the Body Butter or maybe even the gel for much more moisture.

Lip Care

The Cocoa Butter Lip Care was nothing to write home about if I'm honest the same old petroleum jelly formula that often leaves my lips extremely greasy. If you remember in my favourites post I referred to the Vaseline Lip Care with Rose and Almond Oil, I much prefer this version as it has a much thinner formula, absorbs better and to be honest I only truly use it once in the morning whilst doing my make up. I could easily use either but I think I'm sticking with red instead of brown for now.

I'm not really a lip balm fan so the Lip Care in the Stick packaging went way over my head, I haven't bought a lip balm as such since secondary school. But I have been putting this one on before bed time and my lips feel amazing in the morning. I have found as well that its perfect over lipstick for neutralising an overpowering colour. Its much more thick than the petroleum jelly and sinks into your lips better as opposed to leaving a greasy layer over them.

All in all I love the fact that Nivea has introduced this range; cocoa butter has much more intensive moisturising properties and for dry skin sufferers I think these products would be amazing. The smell as well is positively delicious, sweet but not sickly, warm but not overpowering. The Body Butter is still my most favourite and after enjoying the lovely scent in this line I think I'm going to pop down to Asda tonight and pick up a tub!

Have a lovely day folks
xoxo

Products I've Finished

Hello Guys! This is a little random and some may even call it rubbish... hehe geddit... *coughs* I've realised this week that I've actually found myself in need to get down to the shops as I seem to have run out of quite alot. So I thought I'd share with you a few beauty products that I've found myself short of this month.

• Botanics Heat Protection Spray I will definitely be repurchasing this as its one of few heat protection sprays that doesn't leave my hair feeling dry or crispy afterwards. The smell is delightful, and I cant quite recall the exact price of this but I'm pretty sure it was around a fiver.
• Mac's Pro Long wear Foundation NC42 you may recognize this foundation from my June favourites post and another one of these bad boys is well on its way to being delivered to me. I love it! I managed to struggle through a week without this foundation and finally caved in today. If you have normal/combination skin I'd definitely recommend checking this out.
• Superdrug Pore Strips I do suffer with an oily t-zone and huge pores around my nose so I try and incorporate pore strips as part of my home spa routine (skin care post to come). I've used Biore' strips since my teens but they are a tad pricey at around £10, whereas again I cant remember the full price of these Superdrug ones, but I'd say around or under a fiver. They work just as well if not better than the Biore', they might be a tad on the strong side, but that's the strength I personally look for.
• Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise EDP I have actually repurchased this fragrance about three times since I turned sixteen. Its such a musky floral fragrance that just screams summer evening! I first stole this from my mum, and when I discovered how many compliments wearing this fragrance had earned me I decided from there on out that this was a must have in my collection. I will probably get this back in my life within the next few weeks but I'm undecided about purchasing this one or trying out another summer fragrance heavyweight (suggestions welcome). Needless to say I'll be having a play in Boots perfume aisle whilst making my decision. 

And whilst we're on the subject of things I love. I thought I'd share with you guys two of my guilty pleasures at the moment. Firstly

Image from Google Images

I am obsessed with pretty little liars! I totally HAVE to watch it once a week, in silence, with a mug of hot chocolate! Please don't ask why, I really do not know... maybe its the immaculate make up, or the ominous story lines, but anyway I am tuned into MTV Shows weekly for this! If anyone knows info about any box sets please get at me!

Image from Google images

Secondly Salt & Vinegar Snack-a-jacks... let me explain. After realising that being in my early 20's is not a period in my life that I need spend unhappy about my weight I have decided to take action. I am NOT striving to be skinny I'd be happy with losing a stone maybe a bit more. Anyway I'm NOT dieting but I have altered my diet, incorporating in foods lower in fat, I've swapped white bread and chips for wholemeal pitta bread. I'm not going to lie it sucks! I can eat all the fruit in the world but none of it tastes like chocolate! But on the plus side, my savory taste buds (which are addicted to salt & vinegar crisps) have fallen in love with snack-a-jacks. I'm actually really glad I like them, as a 22g bag only has 1.6 grams of fat as opposed to a bag of walkers that contains 8.3grams. Winning me-thinks!

Hope you guys found this post useful, if you have any products you've found yourself repurchasing please share? And if you have any questions about the products featured above please don't hesitate to ask

Have a nice day loves
xoxo

My First Favs June 2011

Heya loves!!! I'm so excited to do my first ever favourites post! I'm so sorry this is definitely later than I wanted to put this up. I love reading the list of fav's on my fav bloggers posts and it really helps me think of products I could also incorporate into my day to day routines. So without further delay

Hair & Skincare

One of the main products I have been excited about using in my hair has been the most hyped Moroccan Oil. I personally use this as part of my leave in conditioning routine whilst my hair is still damp, and after day to day styling. This leaves my hair baby soft! They say if it ain't broke don't fix it and this seems to be my skin care moto of the month. And Neutrogenas Visibly Clear 2-in-1 Wash and Mask which has never hurt me has definitely stayed firm as part of my cleansing routine, I'm not a general fan of the mask though but as a wash it works quite well.

Face

My got to foundation and maybe my HG foundation has to be the MAC Pro Long wear Foundation NC42, I always feel a little boring when saluting MAC products but this foundation gives me everything I ask for. An even medium base, works well to even my skin tone with a finish that I wouldn't necessarily describe as matte because it doesn't leave my face taught or dry. But matte enough and long wearing on my combination skin. I'm actually set to repurchase another bottle as mine has just finished. And I also want to give a brief shout out to my Mac MSFN in medium dark, which is a dream to set my foundation with! It melts seamlessly into the skin, refusing to show up cakey or ashy at all! Loves! Another great find of the month has been Collection 2000's Lasting Perfecting concealer in 04 Deep. This concealer actually applies beautifully, giving full coverage for my dark circles and lasts a substantial amount of time, for £4.19 its more than worth it.

Cheek

I've kind of been all over the place in terms of contouring. Its been a showdown between my Illamasqua bronzer in Burnish; which gives a nice healthy sun kissed glow, to the point where I've received compliments from other people as to how healthy I look with this on. Another is the Barry M Dazzle its a lovely mauve-brown with the faintest hint of shimmer, which works nicely for a healthier contour. For my cheeks I've been loving Mac's Creme Blend blush in Lady blush, its a lovely pink, very suitable for all skin tones, whilst the creme blend formula gives you a healthiness to your face. Another fav I've dug out of the back is my Creme Colour Base in Virgin Isle, those that are familiar with this product will know how shocking it is the very first time you work with it. This needs a very light hand to apply, and leaves a gorgeous coral flush on the cheeks. Another massive product has been Mac's Peach twist Blush, its an absolutely gorgeous deeper peach colour packed with shimmer. Definitely one to use without a highlighter!

Eyes

My eye routine has totally switched up in the past few weeks or so, I've given up my usual smokey crease look for either a whole wash of gold on the lid such as Mac's Wood winked (a bronze-gold). Or I've been leaving my lid totally bare with just a touch of gold like Mac's Creme Colour base in Pearl; in the tear duct to open up the eye. My mascara routine has been its usual fully loaded self! I've been piling on my favourite mascara Loreals Volume Millions in extra black but on top I've also been adding Collection 2000's Big Fake Lash mascara as a top coat. Unlike the volume millions this mascara does nothing for my lashes on its own, but when layered on top it does give that extra touch of pow! On top of that its also waterproof, great for non smudging! With the current bi-polar weather we're experiencing in London its probably safe to know that any dark eye products, would work best if waterproof, and with being a winged liner addict I turned to Lord & Berry's Waterproof Liquid Liner in black. This has a great applicator, very easy to work with and it doesn't budge.

Lips

I'm a big loather of my lips left bare, leaving them naked just wont do. So I do usually prefer lipsticks over glosses. But the Revlon Colour Burst lip gloss in Peony is a dream. Its a thick, non-sticky gloss with with a few particles of glitter in the formula, the colour has a hint of deep rose and it last for ages on the lips. Nars Turkish Delight is an odd favourite for me as for the longest time this gloss was my deepest regret, the colour was just to pale on me and I saw very little solution. But for the moment I'm loving pairing this with deeper lipstick shades. Plus I cant fault the formula on Nars Lipgloss's their damn near perfect I also love the Vaseline Lip care with Rose and Almond Oil, its the same petroleum Jelly formula but much better tailored for the lips, I apply it before I begin my make up routine and it sinks perfectly into my lips when I get to them. I don't know if the has something to do with the added oils but I'm very pleased. For my lipstick loves I have to firstly praise one of my favourite lipsticks whatever the weather or season Revlon's Matte lipstick in Mauve It Over. This is a gorgeous pastel, mauve-pink, even though the formula is matte it does glide on with a creamy matte finish. My other lippy love has to be Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine in Evasion, this is a lovely balmy lipstick that requires no gloss, the colour is slightly peachy, which I think would suit many. And Last but not least Mac's Creme Cup is another winner, I'd describe the colour as a softer version of Angel, in a lovely creme sheen formula.

Do You Know/Are You A Heidi

Hello dolls! I actually have a very different post for you guys today. I do study Journalism because I have a passion for writing. But one other quality I feel like I have a passion for is analysing behaviour in people. I am so interested in psychology, why we are the way we are and why we do the things we do. And because of this I am known a little bit as the advice giver amongst most my friends. I thought I'd share with you guys a little of my opinions about certain issues, (much like my post about "Women In Support Of Women") and try and post these "true to life" topics on a Sunday as often as I can. Lets begin :)

 I am a massive fan of The Hills (sans Kristen Cavallari). I love reality tv because I love the aspect of getting attached to and analysing the behaviour of characters that are actual people (questionable I know hehe). I especially love Lauren Conrad, not just because of her sweet LA girl style but also because, I felt more attached to her as a character because her friendship values matched my own. I too prefer to have a connection to people I can call "best friends" rather than be that collector of people. The only thing that maybe I dont agree with is her pushiness. I have best friends that play different roles in my life, that all represent different aspects of my personality. I have a friends that will always sit and listen to my drama and actually be interested (Whitney's), friends that I've known for years that I'm very similar to (Lo's), friends that I share my emotions with and we'd both drop what we're doing to be there in times of need (Audrina's). And then I started to think... do I have any Heidi's?

Image sourced from Goole Images

We've all at some point known that girl that has abandoned or fallen out with her friends or changed dramatically as a person after entering into a new relationship. Some of us have even been that girl. Don't get me wrong when you get into a relationship, especially one that becomes serious, I do accept the fact that the loss of a few friendships here and there on both sides does tend to occur. Especially if you feel as if you're around people that don't respect your change in circumstances or have malicious feelings towards your relationship. But when choosing to distance yourself from true friends, as a girl, you have to make sure you are benefiting more from the loss in comparison to what you're losing.

Images from "The Hollywood Gossip"

As The Hills fans would have remembered once Heidi entered into her new relationship Lauren wasn't immediately negative towards the blossoming romance. It was only once Lauren saw Spencer's lack of morality is where she made the "mistake" of being honest with her best friend about her feelings for her new beau. Heidi herself seemed to be swept up in a whirlwind that many women do when dating a guy with a usual reputation for being a player. She begun to feel special that the "former" Lothario was concentrating his efforts on her as opposed to every women in LA. Despite issues that arose between her and friend Audrina about where Spencer's affections lay, and actually catching him in action flirting whilst presuming she was out of LA. Heidi still allowed herself to become susceptible to Spencer's charms.

Images from tonicgossip.com

Heidi then begun to become confused by Spencer's "us against the world" attitude in regards to their relationship. She started to believe that everyone around her was conspiring to rip apart her perfect relationship with a man who made her feel special, and to quote Rhianna, like the only girl in the world. You can psycho analyse this and blame it on a lack of confidence on Heidi's part, a lack of fulfillment within herself which allowed her to feed off the boosts in confidence she received from Spencer. Along with that Spencer then proceeded to cement the end of her relationship with Lauren and any other friends within that circle by pushing Heidi into a living arrangement she may not have been ready for. And then further damaging things by creating a rumour about her former bff, which was the last  straw for Lauren who famously told Heidi "I want to forgive you, and I want to forget you".

Image from refolis.com

Once the finality of the friendship became apparent, Spencer then begun to exercise his control over Heidi within her job, her family and within her appearance. If you notice, even before Heidi's famous 10 operations in 24 hours, her image had already taken a drastic change to the Heidi known before. She had less of a fresh beachy look, that incorporated very little make up and shoulder length tousled hair. Then all of a sudden it was hair extensions, false lashes, heavy bronzer and Chanel bags. Not that any of those are a bad thing, but they were a far cry from humble Heidi from Colorado, in fact that Heidi seemed to have been buried by what looked like Heidi the playmate... which coincidentally is the look Spencer was most attracted to in the start of his romance with Heidi.

Images from Google

Anyway before I bore you all with anymore Hills trivia, my point wasn't to review series one to five of the tv show. It was actually to point out key blind spots most girls don't see when slowly alienating their good friendships for the sake of a new romance.

• Point One:

• Point Two: If you are dating someone with a reputation of being a ladies man, by being aware of this reputation and continuing on with the relationship you are whole heartily taking a risk with your heart. I am not saying that a man with a previous history of not taking other women seriously cannot change dependant on the feelings he has for you. But be aware that his reformation will be a constant test of your security within your relationship, and as a woman. Don't be naive, if you are constantly being made aware of his defects in character regarding fidelity by different sources, then they cant all be out to sabotage your relationship. Maybe you are being warned because most people recognize that you shouldn't be in a relationship with this person. And most importantly please believe, most times than not there is no smoke without fire. If it seems dodgy and feels dodgy than its quite possible that you've got a dog on your hands. And if you don't realise its time to leave, that's your business. But please don't allow yourself any illusions that people are "hating on" or jealous of you when giving you information about your partners history or current antics. They are most likely filled with utter pity for you or are finding your resistance to see the truth laughable.

• Point Three: If you choose to be in a relationship with a man, by all means you should look up to him, respect him, and think beautiful lovely things about him. But you need to be aware that he is human and to the rest of us, just another guy. One of the mistakes some women make is to have false idolisation of their partner and think of their relationship as what defines them, to the point where they believe the rest of us do also. One thing a woman needs to be able to do if she is in fact a woman is to recognize and deal with the flaws of the person their involved with and to face and admit them. And to also understand that the rest of us aren't losing any sleep over what your man thinks or feels about us or life. Friends should always want to get to know and have some form of communication with someone who is a massive part in your life. But that is your life. I cant tell you the amount of moments I've encountered with people who don't seem to understand the insignificance their partner plays in the lives of others. Having a false sense of arrogance about your relationship is extremely unattractive and will push others away.

• Point Four: Control in a relationship is not necessary nor is it healthy. At some points we all experience the brunts of someones standards or insecurities, in regards to what they will and will not expect from their relationships. I understand that in many ways people will need to change habits and relations they have within their social lives and with people from the opposite sex. But as a person you should still be able to be a functional member of society whilst still maintaining a loving relationship. If at any point you feel as if you are having to give up alot of aspects to your life just to please your partner, you need to communicate to them that it isn't possible for you to stop living just to live up to their ideals. Someone who loves you, wants to see you happy and when taking you on they also take on those factors that make you happy. That includes your family, your goals and aspirations and your true friends. Someone who feels threatened by any of those things, is incredibly selfish and has no care for your feelings as a person let alone someone they are supposed to love.

• Point Five: This is my last and probably my most important point. If you at any point do not feel physically comfortable with your appearance because of your relationship, or if your partner is encouraging you to make drastic changes to how you look just to suit their own image ideals, then I can boldly tell you that you are in a bad relationship. As a woman you should never have to feel physically inadequate because of someone your dating, us girls are living in such an image conscious age that gives us enough pressure without the added misery of feeling ugly to the man in our lives. Or if the lack of  security in your relationship is causing you to feel physically unhappy with yourself and forcing you to consider altering your appearance then please try to confide in someone around you that you trust immediately. Failing that I urge you to speak to you GP or family doctor about any counselling available for you in your area. I have no issues with a woman giving herself an image revamp, or in fact considering cosmetic surgery, but I believe you should only do this when you are feeling secure and happy in every other aspect of your life.

I am in no way a counsellor nor am I a relationship expert as such. But one thing I have learnt to take extremely seriously in life is my friendships with my girl friends. My Mummy is a typical Virgo, shes definitely a woman's woman, supporting, encouraging, honest and forces you to see how incredible you are, and that's how I truly believe one woman should react towards another if they claim to be friends. I'm speaking as someone who has experienced being burnt by many close friends in the past, yet never once could I treat them with the same negativity they displayed to me. Like Lauren I'd rather just move on with my life and create a distance between myself and the person hurting me. Its very hard for me to engage in a slagging match with someone I was once close with. In the end I know I'd end up racked with guilt and would probably feel as if I was in the wrong instead. Friendships amongst women are increadibly important. They help stabalise us as people, to have a support network amongst people who understand exactly what you go through and why is an increadibly valuable thing. I believe we are credited with emotional intelligence for a reason and thats what enables us to be the type of friends we are. Romantic involvments are just as important, but a good relationship would never isolate or oppress you, and most importantly never cause the loss of the good people in your life.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post. I know its rather long so if you made it to here I'm very impressed. Please let me know your feelings and opinions on the points and issues raised in this post. And of course if you would like to talk further away from here please don't hesitate to email me beauty_stalker@hotmail.co.uk

Wishing all you beautiful ladies a fantastic day
xoxo

Shopbop Purchases

Hello my loves! Hope you've had a nice enough day. If your a Londoner like myself, then the conspiracy that this isn't really June, and that we've all been specially placed under some kind of coma, and its actually October; has run through your mind at some point. I know I complain about the weather alot but that's all part in parcel of reading the musings of a British person I'm afraid, at some point in the day we have to get one in about the weather. Its the law.

So whilst one is stuck indoors for fear of being rained on, the only only way one can possibly entertain one's self is to check out pretty things online. I know it can't just be me who online shops when I'm bored? Whilst browsing on one of my fave sites shopstyle.co.uk (an online directory for any item of clothing/accessories/shoes or any other fashion related items in any category possible), I came across a stunning little bag that I spent the rest of my evening convincing myself that I needed. And later purchased.

This gawj Marc by Marc Jacobs Nylon tote is soo much bigger than I expected it to be, which is a massive plus. They did have this exact back in leather aswell but my budget didnt justify being stretched that far. I think this will be great for when I go back to uni in Oct as its so wide and durable. And I didn't stop there. I can never help myself when it comes to having a further browse even after I've already decided on a purchase. My snooping took me into the sunglasses dept. where I found a pair that had me intrigued.

I'm not your usual Ray Ban fan, I love the way they look on celebs and other people. But with the size of my head I have to be very careful about what type of sunglasses I attempt to pull off. Not only is my head massive but my face shape is stuck somewhere between square and round, how that's even possible I don't know but it is what it is. But when I saw these Over sized Original Wayfarer's, I thought hmmm its the same style... only larger. That has to be a solution to my RayBan problem...

Its not that I don't like them on, as much as I really don't even know what my opinion is to be honest. I think I'll need to experiment more with hair styles and all of that before I know for sure if I'm happy or not. I really am this way about most sunglasses so no offence to these, I'm just neurotic.

I also have to comment on the Shopbop experience, as this was my first time purchasing anything from there. On the site delivery within three days was promised but in actual fact I felt as if I received a next day delivery service. I made my order on a Tuesday evening after 6pm, and I received my package on Thursday morning. Fastest delivery ever I'd say!

Also if you want to check out either of these beauts you can do so here:
Bag
http://www.shopbop.com/preppy-nylon-hayley-tote-marc/vp/v=1/845524441897241.htm?folderID=2534374302121072&colorId=12867&extid=affprg

RayBans
http://www.shopbop.com/outsiders-oversized-wayfarer-sunglasses-ray/vp/v=1/845524441851915.htm?folderID=2534374302029451&fm=other-shopbysize-viewall&colorId=12867


Have you guys made any rainy day purchases lately? Or have you ordered anything internationally and if so how was your experience? What are your preferences in terms of shades?

Have a lovely evening dolls
xoxo