5 Lipsticks for Autumn

 It's that time of the year again, when the pretty pinks and corals go into storage and the deep jewel tones come into play. We are now in my favourite half of the year. I just love all the signs of the new season, the colder weather, the leaves are falling, cosy evenings amd hot chocolates. 

To kick of the season I thought I'd write about my 5 top lipsticks for Autumn. 

NYX soft matte cream lip in Copenhagen £6.00

This bright berry liquid lip has a lovely light weight feeling. Because it's a soft matte lip cream it hugs lips and to be honest I forget I'm wearing it most of the time! It stays on through drinking and eating. If I reapply at all then it's once a day and this is mostly for my peace of mind, This matte marvel is a red toned purple making is suitable for nearly every skin tone! 

Tanya Burr Cosmetics lipstick in Pink Cocoa £6.99

Tanya Burr cosmetics have bought out some real gems this year. I've loved using this shade, it's pinky nude soft matte finish has a cream lip texture which is nice and comfy. I love the packaging for these lip colours, the gorgeous gold case feels super luxe. This lipstick doesn't have the staying power of some of the other brands in this post but it's so easy to apply that it's instantly forgiven. Two strokes and you're done (waheyy!). 

Illamasqua Matte lipstick in Salacious £20.00

I love an Illamasqua lipstick and when I saw this shade I fell head over heels. Salacious is a super matte dusky dark pink that feels easy and elegant. This stays on a long time but is harder to apply, due to it's highly pigmented matte formulation it can drag slightly- not Ruby Woo drag mind you but it's totally worth it for the colour pay off. 

LUSH Black Rose lip tint £6.50

Lush are famous for their clever pigmentation this intriguing black bullet has a fabulous secret. Once applied it comes out a fabulous magenta pink. Despite it being called a tint I'd treat this as a stain as once it's on, it's staying on! Some friends have even had it last overnight. This shade also comes in a Naked lip tint meaning it's packaging free; this would be great for keeping on your dressing table as it has a beautiful design however for on the go top ups I would go for the handbag friendly tube. The tube also counts towards your 5 black pots, so once you've used it up save it for a free face mask. 

Urban Decay Vice lipstick in Rock Steady £15.50

Last on my list is a classic cream formulation red by Urban Decay. Part of the Gwen Stefani range this blue toned red is great as a transitional shade from autumn into the holiday season and is a great one to keep in your handbag for any parties that might come your way. This lipstick has a great colour pay off and it's cream formulation is super nourishing- great for cracked winter lips! 

Top tip! 

Use a lip exfoliator (my favourite is chocolate lip scrub by lush) and a lip balm before you start your makeup. This way it has time to work it's magic before you add your chosen lip colour. 

What are your favourite Autumnal lip colours? If you have any suggestions then please let me know in the comments below! 

TTFN 

Lucy x

LUSH Review! Hair Doctor solid hair and scalp treatment.

Ok so as I said in a previous post, I've had a lot of life stuff going on for a few months. As a result my scalp has freaked the flip out! It's become everything I don't want, flaky, sore and the worst part, itchy!

I've been trying so many  different things, different hair masks, different shampoo (lush or otherwise). Back in december I was kindly gifted this brand new treatment but Lex for my birthday. I've always sworn by Hair Doctor. It was always one of my favourite fresh masks that lush sold. If I'd had a bad scalp in the past then that treatment is where I'd head to time and time again.

Then it was gone, sent for retesting, it was gone for months. Then one day it re-ermegered  fresh and new, only to be removed two weeks later.

So imagine my delight when I was given this brand new way of using hair doctor. As if I blamed the product for leaving  it lingered in my box of hair products

Until my scalp hated me so much that I dug it out. Boy, am I glad I did!

This hit treatment works just like the tangled, damaged and kinky hot oil treatments.

Step 1. Pop it in a mug

Step 2. Add hot water

Step 3. Mix

Step 4. Leave for 5 minutes

Step 5. Mix and apply.

I have to say this hair mask applied so well, with the old one it quite often had a jelly like quality which could be hard to  stick to the hair and it would sometimes ball up and fall off. I just used to persevere because I loved it so much. 

The texture is fairly smooth, my partner and I joked that it looked like super thick gravy. One of the only things I didn't like was that the seaweed on top wasn't  super pleasant once I popped it on, it wasn't great on the wash out either as I kept finding little bits in my hair. 

This product washed out fairly easily and I have to say the itching stopped for the rest of the night! It wasn't until mid morning when it started to cheep back in. In spite of being itchy, my scalp had calmed down a lot with no new breakouts or redness. Just left calm dry skin. That, I can deal with! 

This hair treatment has a lovely earthy minty scent which feels as if it's really doing you some good! 

If you've tried this treatment or any lush treatments, I'd love to know your thoughts and favourites! 

TTFN

Lucy x 

'David Bowie and I' Exhibition 2017

It's been a while since I've posted. I have many things to update you on but I'll save that for another post. 

Before I get into all that, I want to share some pictures from The 'David and I' exhibition.  This exhibition was created by the wonderful people at the Off Beat lounge and features a range of photographs taken by Denis O'Regan on tour with David Bowie throughout the 80's and the early 90's. 

Candid photography is one of my favourite forms of art, it takes an extraordinary eye to do it. It's not just about being in the right place at the right time (although it helps) but also about having the talent of quickly judging composition and taking chances when you get them. It's about being gutsy and not pandering to the subjects wants. It's knowing that the negative spaces can shout the loudest. 

I'll leave you to the photographs now, my apologies for all the fluorescent lighting bouncing off the glass. Hopefully you'll be able to still get a sense and a feel for these wonderful art pieces.  

All photographs ©Denis O'Regan

TTFN

Lucy ♥

Brighton Trip 2017

This Valentine's day Chris and I decided that instead of just having a rushed and tired Tuesday night dinner, we would take the day off and go somewhere we haven't been together since 2010- Brighton!

We went to lots of places we'd been before and a couple we hadn't, Snoopers Paradise is always a firm favourite as we love having a good old look around vintage items, We went to Bluebird tea, Oliver Bonas and of course, the Sea front.

This time I filmed a couple of bits and made a short Vlog, I'll link that below and a couple of pictures of then and now for nostalgic goodness!

2010 before the i360

2010 1year 8Months ♥

Baby Faces 2010

2017 Caffeine dependant

2017 fine wines

2017 dramatic clouds

love of my life 2017

TTFN!

X

Valentine's Day 2017

Just a little post say that I've uploaded a video, this one is a Valentine's day Q&A. you can find it here

Also this year as Valentine's Day is on a Tuesday this year, how rubbish is that, everyone is going to be working or tired or both! To compensate for this Chris and I have taken Friday off work and we are going to Brighton. We've been before and loved it so expect lots of photos and a blog post about it next Sunday! I'm very excited  I'm hopeful to get a vlog out of it too but Chris isn't a super keen bean when it comes to those so I might just keep it light and romantic! 

Have a fabulous Valentine's Day wherever you are and whomever you're with!

♥ TTFN ♥

New Year's "resolutions"

Happy New Year!

♥

Yes I know it's the 16th January but never too late to say it. 

I've decided this year that I want to set goals that will eventually just become part of my everyday life. So here they are.

1. Start having one to two main veggie meals every week.

I've wanted to do this for a while and this year I would really love to get back into the crazy world of  meal planning. It's going to be better for us economically speaking long term as well as being better health wise. There are loads of recipes online and I have a lot of Vegetarian and Vegan friends so there are loads of places for me to to find tips, tricks and inspiration from. 

2. Try to exercise once or twice a week.

Ok, so this one is a total cliché, I've had this one in the past and I've never stuck to it. Recently,however, a crazy idea has struck me that exercising doesn't always mean getting up at the crack of dawn or going to the big scary gym or investing in lots of equipment. I've been seeking out YouTube tutorials that make it nice and easy for a real beginner like me. I'm incredibly unfit and don't have a lot of confidence when it comes to exercising outside the home. At the end of January I'm hoping to join a gym near work with a friend, but for now this is perfect.

3. Incorporate more vintage elements into my style.

I used to wear a lot more vintage and vintage inspired clothes. I especially used to be into 1940's-50's fashions and dress in a rockabilly style. I still love the look and follow countless insta accounts on the subject. Over the years it's just gotten a bit lost and has been pushed to the back a bit. I want to use this year to rediscover what I love so much about this genre starting with make-up, hair and then move onto clothes (once goal one and two are in effect!).

So there we have it, vague things to try and accomplish in the coming year.

Do you have any resolutions? let me know in the comments or you can find me on twitter @lulabellemua.

TTYL

Lucy x

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Have an amazing time, don't drink to much in front of the relatives, remember to play games and watch a lot of television (call the midwife Christmas special, hello!).

 I'm so looking forward to just spend some quality time with Chris and the famalam. The run up to Christmas is always so hectic for me where I work in retail that I'm going  to really relish Christmas day and boxing day. 

I'm going to leave you guys with some pictures that really summed up this Christmas for me. I'm sure I'll be writing in the new year, even if it's just to say a formal goodbye and a heavy sigh of relief to 2016. It's really been one for drama hasn't it!?

The Good Food show at Hampton Court Palace

Chris and I at Winchester Christmas market

Our Christmas tree

Housemate Christmas Dinner

Like a Child!

Making the Christmas Pudding with Rosie

On the carousel at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

L-R Me,Sam,Kevin and Lex at our staff christmas dinner

Have a very happy time, lots of love and thank you so much for reading,

Lucy 

X