Run Through The Jungle

Denim Tie-Up Jacket: OASAP | Purple Animal Print Maxi: Primark | Skull Necklace: JewelRhi

I've wanted a denim jacket/shirt for a while now, and ordered one a while back but it's just too big for me, and gets quite hot (not great when I'd been planning to wear it on warm summer days). So I've been on the hunt for a better one ever since. I came across this one in OASAP and ordered it straight away. It was £18.20, which is so much cheaper than the other one I wasted money on. Plus it's nice and thin, like a denim shirt, so it's perfect to wear if you want to cover up, but keep cool at the same time.

I decided to wear the jacket on top of my favourite maxi dress to make a more colourful outfit than I would usually wear (you may have guessed by now that black is my go-to colour!). I got this dress a couple of years ago from Primark, and I'm really hoping they bring it back again at some point - I'll be so upset when this one starts to fall apart! The necklace I'm wearing is from JewelRhi, a cute online jewellery shop run by Rhi from The Other Side of Cool. I bought this a while ago, and I love it! Its so cute and delicate, despite the fact that it's a necklace full of skulls!

So that's today's outfit!
I decided to try a little bouffant thing with my hair today, but not quite sure what I think of it. At least it makes a nice change to my usual boring hair style, just need to find a way to make it bigger!

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BeauBronz: Abi O Bronzed Goddess Dark Tanning Mousse Review*

I was recently sent a self tanner to try by Abi O, which is a new range from the House of BeauBronz. I chose to try the Bronzed Goddess Dark Tanning Mousse. Even though I am quite pale I went for the dark one because I want to achieve a deep colour. 

When I was offered the chance to try a product from the new Abi O range, I jumped at the chance as all of the products contain natural and certified organic ingredients, they are paraben free, and best of all cruelty free! This particular product from their range is fragrance free too. 

What BeauBronz say about this product:

"This couture tanning product contains 100% natural active ingredients and is completely fragrance and alcohol free.

-EcoCert approved DHA provides a more natural & eco-friendly self-tan.

-Natural amino acid derivatives boost the foam without need for harsh foaming agents.

-Bioactive Aloe Vera

-Organic Cucumber Extract to sooth and moisturise.

-Organic Quinoa protein rich in amino acids to help develop a deeper and more natural tan.

-Fragrance free

-Paraben free"

Before

Above is my leg before using the tanner. You can probably tell I'd badly applied a self tanner previously, which was a bit streaky, and this is how it looks after desperately scrubbing in the shower. Not very glamorous, and still quite pasty. Well... nothing much left to say about my leg!

Application

As you can see this self tanning mousse has a colour guide, which I love, and the mousse has quite a nice consistency. This applies really nicely and evenly, and has a very subtle, almost non-existent scent - so no worrying about stinking of fake tan! (Though I don't mind the smell of fake tan, I don't want it to be too obvious that I've used any.)

After

I took this photo immediately after applications, and I'm very impressed with the after results of this self tanner! The streaks you can see are from my failed attempts with a previous tanner (I am hopeless), but I experienced no streaks with this one. (If it looks more streaked, it's literally because the 'after' photo shows more of my leg. I feel a bit embarrassed letting you see just how bad my last attempt was!)

It dries very quickly, and once dry the scent doesn't develop (as some do) but stays very subtle/almost non-existent. The finish is a lovely bronzed finish, as the name promised, and there is no orange-ness at all. Usually, after using some fake tans, my tanning mitt is left looking a bit green, but I'm happy to report there is no hint of green at all with this tanner!

Quick Comparison

Before | After

As well as the Dark Tanning Mousse, the Abi O range also sells a Gradual Tanner, Shimmer Tan Boost, a Medium Tanner for fair skin, a Body Wash and a Creamy Exfoliating Scrub.
   

Ingredients:

aqua, dihydroxyacetone, glycerin, sodium cocoyl glutamate, sodium cocoyl rice amino acids, sodium cocoyl hydrolyzed amaranth protein, polysorbate 20, phenoxyethanol, propylene glycol, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, cucumis sativus fruit extract, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, benzoic acid, chenopodium quinoa seed, alcohol, citric acid, Cl 16035, Cl 19140, Cl 42090

Scent: 5/5

This has almost no scent. I can only really smell this product if I put my nose right up against my skin, and even then its very faint!

Effectiveness: 5/5 

The colour guide is very helpful for me, and this appllies really well. I was a little worried that this dark tanner might come out a bit weird on my pasty skin, but it's made me look quite tanned, and not at all orange or patchy. It dries very quickly too, which is great as I usually get so bored waiting for tanners dry!

Added bonuses: 

Cruelty-free, Eco friendly, Uses natural and certified organic ingredients, fragrance-free, and paraben-free.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Overall I am seriously impressed with this tanner!
The Bronzed Goddess Dark Tanning Mousse retails at £26 for 200ml, and can be purchased here.

P.S. There is a 25% off code on Pampered Prince's blog (which I'd seriously suggest you check out if you haven't seen it already!), and he's kindly let me share it with you all! You can find the code here.

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*These products were sent to me for review purposes, but all views are honest and my own.

Lipstick Storage & Overview

When it comes to storage, I am a bit of a freak. I personally love seeing how others store their products, and I change my set up pretty much every month. For now I'm quite happy with my storage (which I'm sure won't last), so I thought I'd show you how I'm storing my lipsticks at the moment!

I store them in this set of drawers next to my windowsill, and my lipsticks take up the bottom two drawers:

1st Drawer

Within the drawers I've made these dividers so I can stand the lipsticks up so I can see their colours/names without having to rummage.

In the left and middle boxes are my NYX lipsticks, and one random Estee Lauder lipstick.

In the right box are all of my MAC lipsticks, and at the front are my 3 YSL lipsticks.

I organise the colours from lightest to darkest, and within their own brands.

2nd Drawer

In the bottom drawer I keep my MUA lipsticks in a box (sadly, yes I do own them all -minus the lipbooms- but they're £1 each, so I pretty much used that price to justify buying them all! I have a problem haha), and I have miscellaneous high street lipsticks kind of scattered around it. To the side of the MUA lipsticks is a 'Famous' lip pallette. I don't really like this drawer as its not as organised as the other, but I ran out of boxes!

The Boxes 

These boxes are basically what my iphone came in, and I've used the boxes my sister's and my iphone came in. I was originally storing my MAC lipsticks like the top left photo, but it was getting annoying having to hunt for the colour I wanted, so I made these dividers using Enkore's youtube tutorial, and not I can see what colours I have easily.

I know I have way too many lipsticks, but a few years ago I wouldn't wear any lipsticks, they were completely out of my comfort zone, but I forced myself out of it and ended up a bit lipstick crazy! I think I'm pretty much set for lipsticks now, so probably wont be buying any more for a while. For those wondering, all of these lipsticks were bought by myself, or given as gifts from friends/family. I wish that wasn't true though as it would make me feel a lot less guilty!

I'm thinking of doing swatches of individual lipsticks within each brand (each brand would get its own post). 
Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing this?
Also, feel free to link your storage posts at the end of your comment so I can have a nose!

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Fashion Haul

Last week I had money for the first time in I don't know how long, so I went into town with the sole purpose of buying some tops and jeans/trousers as I'm seriously lacking them in my wardrobe. 

Annoyingly I was a big failure, and came back with jackets and dresses! For years I've failed to buy a jacket with a hood, and when I got home I realised I had again bought hood-less jackets. So I pretty much suck!

But I'm still really happy with my purchases, and as hauls are such a rare thing for me at them moment, I thought I'd share this one with you. I figured I'd start buying for autumn/winter, but I'd say they're also pretty much wearable now:

H&M

H&M | Black Imitation Leather Jacket: £29.99 

Although I do have a leather jacket, it used to be my sisters but she gave it to me as it doesnt really fit her any more. It's a little big for me, and probably not the best style of jacket for my shape. This one fit me perfectly, and I figured £30 was a bargain as most retail at around £50+.

I love the quilting detail at the shoulders, and the belt at the bottom. I think I'm going to stud the hand-me-down one, so I'll get some wear out of both of them still.

H&M | Tan Imitation Suede Jacket: £29.99 

This jacket I saw a girl wearing at uni, and I asked her where it was from as I thought it looked amazing on her, and she said she got it from H&M a few years ago. I was so happy when I walked into the shop and saw they'd brought it back! I'm assuming there are some changes to the cut and detailing of it since then, but I still love it and had to buy it! Not convinced it suits my skin tone, but I could always whack on a bit fake tan. The cut and style of this fits my shape at least, plus it gives the illusion that I have a chest, so I'm definitely not complaining!

Topshop

Topshop | Blue/Purple Skater Dress: £20 

This dress looks more purple in real life, but it photographed blue. Also on their website its listed as both blue and purple so it's obviously having a bit of an identity crisis.
I've had a £20 gift voucher for topshop since my birthday in April, and its been burning a hole in my pocket ever since, but I just haven't seen anything I liked. I did think maybe I should buy some jewellery, but all they seem to sell is gold, and I dont like to wear gold jewellery. I really don't know why, I like it on others, I'm just a freak I guess!

Any way, I saw this dress, and as I love purple (a colour I'm excited to see is going to be a big trend for A/W) and find skater styles are quite flattering, I figured I'd get it. The fact that it was exactly £20 helped convince me too! But I can pretty much bet that now I've spent that voucher, Topshop are going to start selling things I actually like.

New Look

New Look | Black Mesh Insert Dress: £22.99

Finally, the last shop I went to was New Look. I had plans to go out at the weekend, so went to look for a dress to wear for it. I finally caved in to the whole 'black bodycon mesh instert dress' look, and I actually quite liked it on. Its not that I don't like the style, it's just I didn't think it would suit me.

I'll admit I mostly like this dress because it has princess seams (if you don't know what they are, you can kind of see in the close up that the seam comes from the armpit, over the bust, and then straight down), and I personally think they're the most flattering kind of seams on anyone. I also love the bold zip at the back of the dress. I'm sure not everyone likes visible zips, but I'm a bit of a sucker for them at the moment.

New Look | Coral Cross-Body Bag: £12.99

Lastly I got this coral bag to go with the black dress. My boyfriend hates it when I wear black, so I thought I'd try and bring some kind of colour into the outfit. I do like this bag, but it really doesn't fit a lot in it, and the magnetic clasp it a bit dodgy so you really can't get away with trying to over stuff it. If you can get away with bringing only the barest essentials, then I'd recommend it. Though I'm used to carrying small bags and not carrying a lot, and I still struggled a bit with this and ended up having to leave my phone at home.

So that's my entire haul. It's not as impressive as some peoples, but I'm broke and definitely probably spent more than I should have!
Have you started shopping for autumn, or are you just trying not to think about it?

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