style | Topshop BRIGHTON boots

So another winter season calls for another new pair of boots.

Last year's black pair from New Look are still going strong, but their small heel means I don't really like wearing them sometimes - especially if I'm in a rush and need to get a quick walk on!

I saw these on a recent trip to Topshop and went home to order them online after giving it a lot of thought - at £40 they aren't the cheapest so I wanted to make sure I really wanted and needed them.

I think these boots are just the right amount of ugly - they're quite masculine and butch but I think all the details on them really make them more fashionable - like the buckles and detail on the soles.

I quite like how they have both laces and buckles - although it makes putting them on take at least twice as long! - and the slight heel. They also have cleated soles and a lovely texture on the material. The insides also have a nice bit of padding inside so they are pretty comfy - although they do take a few days to wear them in.

Overall I'm pretty happy with these boots - they look great with jeans, dresses, tights or no tights, and I think they'll last the length of winter well.

The Topshop Brighton boots cost £40 and can be bought here - and they even come in white.

Do you like these boots?

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beauty | Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless mascara

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can never find a holy grail for mascara. I try a new one out every couple of months and I've never found one I'm head over heels for.

On a recent trip to Asda, I saw they were doing all mascaras for £5, so decided to snap up this one from Rimmel. It promises a 'grow lash complex' and 'fibres mascara' - meaning that using it will make lashes grow and add fibres to the lashes to make them appear longer.

The brush is my favourite kind of brush - synthetic, the same size all along and straight. It makes applying mascara so much easier and I'm able to get every lash. I also like how the brush comes out with the right amount of product on it - there's nothing more annoying that mascara that covers the brush and ends up all over my face. I have barely any clear-up from this mascara which saves so much time every morning!

Now onto the formula.. I've been using this mascara for around two weeks now and can confirm it's made no difference at all to the length of my natural lashes - so the 'grow lash complex' is a bit of a fail for me. On the other hand, I can easily recognise the fibres within the mascara and how they coat my lashes to make them look longer. The mascara coats every lash and builds around them to add not only length, but a bit of volume too. 

It makes my lashes look separated and much longer than they naturally are - and so far I've found the mascara holds a curl pretty well. The only annoying thing about it is that it smudges easily - I've found myself with panda eyes every now and again if I've worn it for a considerable amount of time or have gotten a sweat on (LOVELY!). But I guess that's just my fault - I usually buy waterproof mascara but I don't think this mascara comes in waterproof which is a huge downside.

What do you think? Have you tried this mascara?

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beauty | the Body Shop all-in-one BB cream

The Body Shop BB cream has taken the blogger world by storm - along with the Insta Blur primer. I decided to get this at Duty Free on my way home from my holiday - I'd run out of my trusty Garnier BB cream and wanted to try out something new.

This BB cream is a colour-adapting one; it goes on white and adapts to the colour of your skin - which is all well and good but I sometimes think it's just a bit of a plug and isn't really necessary.

I got mine in the shade 01 - the second lightest in the range (I'm pretty certain there's only four shades in the collection which is pretty small so it's a definite downside!). When it comes out of the tube, the substance is a white cream with little beads of colour through it - you can see it in the picture above.

When blended into the skin, it disappears to a sheer coverage and adds just a tint of colour. On the pictures above there seems to be an orange tinge but this really isn't noticeable on the skin in real life.

I just dot the product around my face and then blend it in using my fingers. It's quite a gritty texture as you blend it in - it's probably the small beads of colour that I explained before. From the pictures above you can see that the BB cream evens out my skin and gives a lovely amount of coverage. It's really light on the skin though and dries so quickly.

However, I would say that you definitely need to powder using this BB cream - or at least I do - as it seems to make my skin quite shiny and a little too luminescent. But I powder every day anyway so this is no fuss for me!

Overall, I do really like this BB cream. Although it's got a few downsides - such as the shiny-ness and it has quite a weird smell - I love the way it applies and the coverage it gives me.

Have you tried this BB cream? What do you think?

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beauty | FOTD

The Body Shop all-in-one BB cream in 01

Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer

Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Transparent

Soap & Glory Archery brow pencil in Brownie Points

Urban Decay Naked palette in Sin and Naked

Soap & Glory Supercat eyeliner in Black

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless mascara in Black

Revlon Colourburst Matte lip colour in Audacious

Super quick and simple make up look today - with all the attention on the lips. 

For my skin I used my new BB cream, which is colour adapting so very cool indeed. It goes on white and then blends out to the right colour for your skintone. So far I'm liking using it and hopefully a review will be up soon! Then I finished it off with my standard under eye concealer and powder.

I'm never one to wear eyeshadow during the day but I decided to wear Sin from the Naked palette over the lids and blended it out with Naked. Just a slick of eyeliner and a few coats of a new mascara I'm trying out - so far I'm impressed but I'll give it a little longer to really test it out!

And then with the lips I went for Revlon's matte lip colour for a pop - I'm wearing a monotone outfit so wanted a colour pop to brighten it all up. I love this colour but I find it seeping into dry spots if you don't prep with lip balm first!

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