The 7 stages of shopping online

''STOP. Step away from the laptop'' is something I wish someone would yell at me before I purchase my 65th perfume, 32nd blusher and replacement microwave I decided 10 minutes ago was a necessity. Yesterday I ordered a maxi dress knowing full well I won't be able to wear it till April next year at the earliest. Ridiculous. This is a familiar pattern for me, you'd only need to ask John the DHL guy or the miserable postman (Thursdays & Saturdays).  Given the general misery on the postman's face each day I highly doubt I'm the only one with such habits, so below I've listed the 7 stages I go through when shopping online in the vain hope that I'm not alone...

1) ''I'm just gonna look on ASOS but not buy anything'' said no one ever. This is virtually impossible. My dad once said ''you spend so much on ASOS you should be a shareholder'' and he's not wrong. But browsing ASOS or similar sites results in realising you need 10 items of clothing you didn't even know existed 10 minutes ago. At this point, all that matters is getting to the checkout before they sell out in your size. GO GO GO

2) Once you've placed your order self justification sounds something like ''but I really need that black pair of heels that are identical to my other 23 pairs of black heels!'' Whether you're justifying it to yourself or someone else you are guaranteed to find an excuse for ordering something you really, could live without need. This is a necessity. This pair of shoes/bra/blusher is going to change my life. Honest!

3) Immediate regret. After the initial adrenaline rush of ordering subsides you realise that actually, you probably don't need them and that £65 could have been better spent elsewhere. Oh and O2 has decided this is the optimal time to remind you that  you haven't paid your phone bill yet. Bugger. Oh well. Those shoes were an investment and you'll definitely have an excuse to wear them eventually.
e.g. when you're taken to court for not paying your phone bill

4) The anticipation whilst waiting for a delivery is intense. You watch the clock. You tweet about it. You stand and look out the window waiting for the postman to turn up. You tweet about it again. It's all very exciting and probably the best part of online shopping. It's almost as if everyday is like Christmas right? If you're like me and you order in such a mad frenzy you forget half of what you've bought until it arrives then it really is like a present to yourself.

5) It's arrived! You rip it out of the packaging with such velocity several nails are broken by the end but it's ok. You've got your 24th pair of black heels so all is well with the world. The postman is now your best mate and you're in a good mood for the rest of the day. God bless the internet.

This emoji is used a lot during the 5th stage. She's got her shit together. She knows. 

6)The inevitable Instagram post. If you don't Instagram about a new outfit/product you've bought it may as well not exist. It's the female equivalent to the male ''killer gym session brah'' brag status. If your friends and the 40 randomers that follow you don't know about it, it didn't happen. (#shopaholicproblems - for bonus points)

 7) It's the end of an era. The shoes have arrived. You've calmed down. The vicious cycle has come full circle finally. The shoes have been worn round the flat long enough for the novelty to have worn off and for them to be tidied away with your 23 other pairs.

Until next time ASOS, until next time. 

7 mysteries of the beauty universe

As great as makeup and cosmetics are there are a few unanswered questions you probably ponder every day. Why does my eyeliner never match? Why do I always run of conditioner before shampoo? Illuminati.  In this post I'm going to try and shed some light on some possible causes..

1)Where the hell do hair ties and grips go? Buying a pack of 60 means you'll be able to tie or pin your hair up at leisure for 3 weeks maximum - before they've all seemingly disappeared. Where do they go? Do they disintegrate after one use? Is my boyfriend stealing them? It's some kind of conspiracy to try get us to buy more I'm convinced. Even aiming to keep them in the same place doesn't help they still grow legs and go missing. Very odd. It's not even like they're really that expensive to replace but it's a real pain in the arse having to hunt around for hair stuff knowing you only bought them a week ago. 

2)Now I realise scientists definitely have bigger fish to fry and more important issues to tackle but why hasn't anyone invented a semi-permanent fake tan? Having to re-do it every week can be quite time consuming. Inventing some kind of semi-permanent product that lasts a month instead of a week would be a cosmetics miracle as far as I'm concerned. Plus I'm sure if there was a more semi-permanent solution more people would opt for the bottle instead of the sunbed, in turn reducing skin cancer numbers etc. Definite lifesaver. 

3)This one won't be applicable to those who don't wear false eyelashes but I'll throw it in anyway. I always seem to notice one end of an eyelash becoming unglued/loose when I'm in a situation where there's nothing I can do about it. Bugger. This never seems to happen when I've got time and equipment on my side to render the situation but always just before a date/interview/important meeting. This is an example of when cosmetics definitely isn't on my side. It's the best confidence boost ever when you're already shitting yourself for a job interview to then have the added worry of your eyelashes leaping off your face and landing on the table like a centipede. 

4)I say this 400 times a day but I really do love perfume. In the past 3 days alone I've bought 3 new bottles. But have you ever smelt someone else's perfume which smells gorgeous, gone to buy it yourself and it smells disgusting? Yep. Thierry Mugler Angel seems to smell amazing on everyone else but the second I apply it to my skin it smells like I've aged 50 years and had a fight with a cheap air freshener can. Yuck, I got a large bottle for Christmas 2 years ago and it still remains untouched.Obviously the whole thing about perfumery is about creating unique scents for different people and their skin chemistry etc etc I get that. But the difference in smell can be so vast between two people it always leaves me puzzled and a bit gutted my skin chemistry rejects ones that smell so good on others.

5)Shampoo and conditioner are definitely considered a necessity in this day and age and part of every person's beauty/hygiene routine (or I should hope so anyway) so I don't feel indulgent mentioning it. But why do we never run out of them at the same time? There's always some shampoo left when I chuck the matching conditioner bottle out. It seems obvious. ''It's because we typically use more conditioner per shower than shampoo'' but that isn't always true. On occasions where money has been tight I've tried to balance out how much I use and I still need to buy new conditioner before shampoo. This is not a coincidence there is a higher power at work here. Definitely not a coincidence. Nope. 

6)On the subject of hair - after a haircut why can we never get the style to look as good as when the hairstylist did it? Obviously hairstylists are professional and know what they're doing more so than me but after a new haircut I can never get it to look as good as the first styling before I walk out the salon. Even using the same products as the professional doesn't seem to help and I spend ages trying to emulate what they've done to no avail. One day I hope to earn enough to warrant having an on-call hair stylist but until then I'll just struggle on and deal with regular bad hair days. 

7)Saved the best 'til last. The biggest mystery of all. Eyeliner. There is a quote that goes something like ''never ask a girl with winged eyeliner why she's late'' and it's true. When applying eyeliner one eye always seems to go perfectly and how you want the other to look but despite using the exact same method the second eye never ever looks the same. This is a very lengthy process. Using the same products, application and doing them 2 minutes apart doesn't make a difference they still won't match. If anyone has found a solution to this royal pain in the arse I'd be truly grateful.

7 things more embarrassing than getting lipstick on your teeth

Although very quickly rectified, there's no denying the 3 second mortification associated with being told you have lipstick on your teeth. This is like the female equivalent of a bloke walking out the toilet with toilet roll on his shoe. But have some perspective. I think there are probably a few things that are equally - if not more embarrassing that happen in every day life that I've listed below to remind you that next time a complete stranger is staring at your mouth scrubbing their teeth with their finger - things could be worse.

Accidentally liking a tweet/Instagram post whilst stalking someone. Not bothered what anyone says on the contrary - everyone likes to have a little snoop on their exes/enemies now and again it's one of the benefits of social media. But accidentally favouriting something you shouldn't really be looking at in the first place is by far the worst thing that can possibly happen, ever. Knowing full well that regardless of how quickly you 'unlike' the post that person is gonna get a notification and know you've been snooping and you have to live with it. They've won that round!
Given that as previously mentioned I constantly have bits of plastic stuck to the end of my nails you can only imagine how many times this has happened to me...

Feeling smug in a new pair of shoes you've worn all day to then realise you haven't removed the annoying white sticker on the sole and now everyone knows you shop at Primark (no judgement). Manufacturers really ought to rethink their sticker placement because those stickers are impossible to remove and are a definite fashion faux pas.

Being caught taking a selfie isn't going to be considered embarrassing by a lot of people as these days it's considered the norm. But I personally try avoid snapchatting/selfie taking unless in the privacy of my own home as there's a definite 'self absorbed' connotation associated with openly taking photos of oneself in public...unless you're with another person in which case you share the embarrassment and it's totally fine. But sitting on a train and thinking you're alone to then realise there's a group of people sat 4 rows away that are watching you is always a massive cringe.

Causing a scene at self-checkouts. I HATE self-checkouts but I hate human interaction more so I always go to the self-checkout machine in a supermarket knowing full well it'll take twice as long, involve a lot of swearing and ''please place item in bagging area'' over and over again. Very rarely do I use a self-checkout without causing a scene and requiring assistance at least twice. This invention reassures me computers aren't really that intelligent and robots taking over the world is still a long way off.

Being told you look tired is basically being told you look like crap isn't it? Crawling into work to be greeted with ''awh you look knackered'' is not exactly a confidence boost. You spend the rest of the day paranoid about how you look overdosing on coffee to try look less ''knackered''. I'm not even sure what the correct response is to this so I avoid it as best I can with layers and layers of concealer. (All hail Mac Studio Fix concealer!)

Tripping over in public. This is a bit of an obvious one and has been depicted in cartoons (think slipping on banana skins) for as long as I can remember. But walking along feeling good with your iPod on to then trip over is always embarrassing. The immediate ''did anyone see that?'' thought process is always great fun too. Followed by a less than subtle scan of the area to see if anyone did in fact see. Due to the less than sensible choice of footwear I endure this happens to me a lot but only once have I legit fallen face flat. I never ever wore those shoes again. They were ridiculous wedges (which is largely why I think this whole thing about wedges being a 'better for your feet' alternative to heels is a load of rubbish) that we now utilise by using them as a hammer.

I have an iPhone permanently attached to my hand so I'm always pressing buttons by accident. And due to my exceptional taste in music on more occasions than I care to mention I've accidentally played music in a quiet room for everyone to turn around and wonder what's causing the noise. The only thing more embarrassing than that is the actual music playing. For me it always seems to be Backstreet Boys. I love me some Backstreet Boys but I realise it is actually 2014 and complete strangers in the hospital waiting room don't need to know that..

So next time someone brings your lipstick teeth to your attention remember it could be worse and they've probably got white stickers stuck to their shoes anyway.

7 things I couldn't wait to do when I was a kid that is now a pain in the arse

My childhood was short lived. By the age of 10 I was chasing boys and obsessed with reading about ''pop stars'' in Smash Hits magazine (shout out to all the nineties kids!) As early as I can remember I was wishing I was older, wanting to wear nicer clothes and be what I considered a proper adult. But with getting older comes a huge amount of responsibility not to mention an entirely new beauty routine.

Below are 7 things I couldn't wait to do as a girl that I now, for the most part resent.

Picking out my own clothes
In fairness to my parents I was always allowed a degree of control over what I wore. But there's no denying that phase of childhood where parents parade you around in some of the most horrific clothes imaginable. I remember as a child always being excited at the prospect of buying my own clothes and being able to completely avoid horrendous getups like this...

but it's bloody expensive. Clothes are easily my biggest expense and as much as I love them reverting back to a time where what I wear didn't matter would be nice - even if only for a day.

Shaving
This is a bit weird. Not entirely sure why but from an early age I couldn't wait to be old enough to be allowed to shave my legs. In fact in hindsight I went behind my dad's back and started doing it at about 10/11 regardless of whether or not I had permission. Shaving is a massive commitment. It's a part time job in itself, keeping on top of all the areas that need upkeep not to mention the cost associated with buying razors, shaving gel and the like. Now I'm in a position where its no longer a choice but a necessity I wish I hadn't started so young.

Plucking my eyebrows
From 2003 - 2009 I didn't really have any. Due to massive over plucking as a teen my eyebrows are almost none existent even today. (Thank god for eyebrow pencils!) Everyone warned me ''once you start you won't be able to stop'' and man were they right. Having to keep on top of eyebrow grooming is the thing I resent most on this list and find the most tedious. It takes bloody ages to get eyebrows back into an acceptable shape with very little reward. When was the last time someone complimented how well you've plucked your eyebrows? Exactly.

Wearing a bra
I have vivid memories of stuffing my bra with socks as a girl. I wanted boobs more than anything. Again, not entirely sure why. In retrospect I WISH I'd made the most of my 11 year old boy's figure, being able to sleep on my stomach comfortably, run around without being in pain etc. Wearing a bra is often uncomfortable and nowadays there's no greater feeling than taking your bra off after a long day.

Dying and cutting my hair
When I was 13 I dyed my hair red in a pub toilet. Since then my hair has gone from the blackest of blacks (epic life fail) to blonde and various shades in between. As I entered my teens my hair got darker and I couldn't wait to be able to dye it. Now it's an expensive pain in the arse. Blonde hair needs retouching every 6 weeks to avoid looking like a hood rat and it ain't cheap! If I could tell my 13 year old self something it would be leave your hair alone! (and for the love of god step away from the black dye)

Getting my nails done
I used to love having my nails painted as a kid and couldn't wait to be old enough to warrant getting a professional manicure. In fact I haven't not had my nails done in about 6 years. I love having neat nails and regardless of the annoyance they sometimes cause and how impossible they make texting I'll continue to get them done. However, there's no disputing the fact that when you think about it, paying 35 quid to have a complete stranger glue bits of plastic to your finger tips is actually quite extortionate.

Wearing heels
I love love love heels. If there's one thing I think is always a sound investment it's a nice pair of heels. I was stumbling around in my mum's shoes as soon as I could walk. I LOVED them. Something about them being exclusively for women and very girly meant I couldn't wait to wear them all the time! To a degree this is still true. I have more pairs of heels than I do friends and I'm ok with that. But there's no denying they aren't always the most comfortable footwear. Definitely designed by a man high heels can be borderline crippling and as much as it is individual choice to wear them once you've set yourself that standard it's hard to stop. I should have eased myself into it and learned to walk before I could run.

Overall as much as I absolutely adore 'embracing my femininity' I wish I hadn't wished it upon myself so young. I'll never get those boob-free years back and my eyebrows are still paying the price.

The importance of cosmetics

There's often a 'vanity obsessed' connotation associated with talking about a passion for makeup. People making the assumption that anyone that cares that much about what they look like must be superficial, often considered unintelligent and ''scared to break a nail!'' I can't even tell you how often people have assumed I'm stupid because of the way I look. But do I change how much makeup I wear? Not a chance.

Cosmetics is more than just putting some products on your face. Cosmetics is about enhancing what you've got and putting your best face forward. It's about adding confidence and perhaps disguising parts of your face you aren't crazy about. This shouldn't be seen as a negative thing. A bit of mascara or a face full of makeup can make the world of difference to a woman's confidence and allow them to face the day feeling good about themselves. It's about self expression and given that we are lucky enough to live in a society where women can make their own choices about the way they look I say embrace it.

 On occasion I've overheard people describe how much makeup a girl wears as ''false advertising'' and that they wouldn't pursue her because of it. That just makes me question their own superficiality if anything. Beneath the makeup is still a real person. Loads of makeup doesn't automatically equal a rubbish personality. If anything it's these judgemental people that give makeup and cosmetics a bad name. Just because someone chooses to wake up an hour earlier so they can leave the house feeling good about themselves is their own damn choice. Not everyone is comfortable with ''embracing their natural beauty'' and that should be down to their own discretion to decide. For every person that tells me I wear too much makeup I reapply lipgloss an extra time that day. Society wouldn't publicly bash women who don't wear makeup so why should it be acceptable to bash those that do?

There's always the ever present argument about how much money is an acceptable amount to spend on cosmetics. I recently visited The Mona Lisa in Paris and have never been so disappointed in my life. That painting is worth approximately 1.5 billion dollars (according to Wiki) and is so underwhelming. People will pay unbelievable amounts of money for art/cars/fashion so why should spending money on cosmetics be frowned upon? Surely how women spend their own disposable income is their own choice? And I personally believe if Mona Lisa was painted today Da Vinci would definitely have whacked some false eyelashes on her I'm just saying...

Feeling pride in one's appearance is not a crime and if applying makeup makes you feel better about yourself go right ahead. I always get satisfaction out of surpassing people's expectations they've made based on how much makeup I've got on. Society shouldn't be so quick to dismiss a face full of makeup as vanity. It is so much more than that.

Fashion lessons I learnt from watching chick flicks

Partial to a chick flick I've been watching them for as long as I can remember. A lot of them have been an integral part of me growing up and below are a few fashion lessons they taught me:

Clueless - Now it don't get any more nineties than Clueless. Who didn't want to be Cher?! Ever so slightly before my time (I was 3 when it came out) I have since watched it thousands of times. And there's one Clueless trend that has seen a massive comeback this year - coordinates. 4 years ago I'd have laughed in the face at the prospect of wearing an outfit that entirely matches. And now I wouldn't think twice. I love them.  I'm so fancy

Mean Girls - the most quotable film of all time bar none. This film actually taught me a lot and I think they should make all girls watch this before going to High School just as a heads up. But the fashion lesson I learned was wearing pink on Wednesdays should totally be like, the law. Pink is awesome and by Wednesday the weekend is in sight so knock yourself out and wear pink. I'd wear it everyday if I had enough pink clothes.

Bridget Jones -  I too have ''eaten entire contents of one's fridge'' and gone out dressed entirely in a bunny outfit. I think what Bridget Jones did for the ''control pants'' market is unprecedented. Everyone from Kim Kardashian to JLo have been snapped wearing them and you know what? That's ok. Bridget Jones brought light to the issue that actually we don't all have perfect figures and sometimes an extra layer of support/sucking in/pushing up can make an outfit look 100 times better and thus make us feel better about ourselves. Which really is the whole point of getting all dressed up. And unless you're being paid to endorse weight loss supplements (cough Kardashian cough) there's no shame in it. Spanx the shit out of yourself if it makes you feel better.

Sex and the City - Totally side stepping the fact it's financially impossible for Carrie to have lived the lavish lifestyle she led on a writer's wage I love love love SATC more than any other show. Obsesssssssed. If I was a sensible person what I should have taken from this show is how not to spend money. But unfortunately for my credit rating it taught me that if you like a dress/pair of shoes/ring - BUY IT. Probably the most financially irresponsible person alive it's easy for me to say but if you like something and it's within your means - buy it. Worry about the repercussions later.

Grease - Ha. A bit of a controversial one and I don't advocate dressing like a slut to get the bloke you like but hey, it worked for Sandy right? SO I guess the lesson to be had here is if the guy you like isn't paying you enough attention chuck on some skin tight disco pants, some red lipstick and he'll literally be crawling after you.

The 7 stages of getting ready for a night out

It's Saturday night. You've been looking forward to it all week and finally its here. The weekend!

For me, on more occasions than I'd like to admit getting ready for a night out has actually been the best part. But the question always remains - why does it take us so long to get ready? Blokes stereotypically moan about how long it takes so calling on my own experience I've whittled the military operation down into 7 stages: (don't worry if you don't experience each stage clearly you've just got your shit together) to try and shed some light on this weekly issue.

1)The ''fresh from the shower, lets sit in our towel for an hour and a half'' phase which I'm definitely guilty of. No idea why I do it, but I do. My brother's friends once asked if I actually own clothes due to them only ever seeing me in a dressing gown.

2)The ''I've got ages before I need to go out so I'm just gonna potter about'' phase where I've been known to alphabetise DVDs, organise my makeup drawer etc. Basically doing everything except anything productive. Overestimating how long I've got to get ready always leaves me in a mad panic 5 minutes before I need to be out the door.

3) Makeup. I'm sure the vast majority of humanity aren't as accident prone as me but doing my makeup for a night out always ends in powder, fake tan and just about everything else going everywhere. I've ruined several carpets in my time just by getting ready on them. Spillages a plenty the applying makeup phase is my favourite part of getting ready but definitely the messiest.

4) Once the face and hair is done its onto the ''but I have nothing to wear!'' panic attack whilst staring at a wardrobe rammed with clothes. We currently live in a culture where (rightly or wrongly) wearing the same thing more than once in a short space of time is frowned upon by Facebook/Instagram stalkers who will notice. My adherence to this definitely keeps ASOS in business.

5) Once the ''time to put some clothes on'' phase commences I change my outfit about 4 times before just putting back on what I originally chose. This particular phase annoys me the most - what was once a tidy wardrobe now looks like Primark on Boxing Day. Piles of clothes everywhere organising and tidying them up is definitely how you wanted to spend your Sunday morning hangover isn't it?

6) Perfume. Good grief. I love the stuff but before a night out you can smell my perfume application from about 3 doors down. There's something about going to a bar/club that warrants 4 times the recommended/socially acceptable amount of perfume. After the initial 10 minute spritz attack the bedroom is off limits to anyone who doesn't want to go out smelling like a baby prostitute  flower.

7) #SELFIE! Whether you post it or not is irrelevant - we all take selfies before we go out and finding the perfect lighting/pose means the taxi driver is sat outside waiting with the meter running but by 3 pre drinks down you don't even notice.

bareMinerals bareSkin Review

In all honesty up until recently I haven't had much experience with mineral makeup. I've always preferred the ''look how much makeup I'm wearing and I'm damn proud of it - girlpower'' look as opposed to anything remotely natural. 'Drug store' brands had sufficed in providing what I thought was good coverage, affordable, easily available etc.. That was until my whole world makeup bag changed.

bareMinerals are currently running a promotional campaign for their new liquid foundation bareSkin and I got myself a couple of samples to play around with. Oh my god. Everything I thought I knew about foundation was completely disregarded and I am now a devout believer in foundations that not only provide great coverage but are also kind to skin.

Because of my (less than subtle) tendency to fake tan I picked up bareSkin in the shade bareNatural which is from their medium shade range. It has changed my life. The formula appears quite watery (when not shaken properly)  but a tiny bit goes a long way. Just 4  tiny drops covers my entire face to a medium/full coverage and leaves skin looking dewy and hydrated. The foundation itself contains a serum which means theoretically it should be benefiting skin while you wear it - bonus.

Overall I abso-bloody-lutely love this foundation. I've read other reviews that have been mixed but for my skin it covers, hydrates and sits well all day with minimal retouching. In fact I wouldn't even say it 'sits well' as it doesn't feel like I'm wearing anything at all. If you use foundations like MAC Studio Fix or anything heavy like that this will be a welcome holiday for your skin.

 To use it to its full potential I highly recommend investing in the specially developed Perfecting Face  brush which comes with a 'dip' in the middle designed to hold the product and make blending easier. This brush is the softest foundation brush I have ever used!

 Give the bottle a good shake before applying to the brush to ensure the foundation and serum are equally mixed and boom! Beautiful skin that literally takes about 5 seconds to apply.

The brush retails for £24 and is available here
The foundation retails for £26 and is available here - I definitely recommend getting colour matched at a bareMinerals counter to ensure you get the most out of this product! There's a huge range of shades sure to match any skin tone. 

Fake it till you make it honey

FAKE TAN. Oh fake tan.  How I love thee. Providing me an alternative to milk bottle living/sun damage I could not live without you.

Now, I am the first to admit I have by no means 'always got it right' and have at times been renowned for my questionable skin tone...but regardless of my poor efforts I think there's gotta be more appreciation for this miracle product that in the event of wanting a tan could literally save lives. A much much much less damaging alternative to sunbeds/sun tanning and all the other scary lengths people will go to for a tan these bottles provide me year round colour. At times verging on orange a bit over the top (ahem) 8 hours of sleeping with this stuff on I awake a bronzed goddess. (I use the word goddess lightly)

People are always like ''but what about the smell? Don't you smell like biscuits?'' YES but I'd rather that than smell like burning pork after getting out a sunbed. Besides you wash it off as soon as you wake up so its hardly offensive. My solution to the fake tan smell is simply - put it on before bed and then its nobody else's business. And get dark bed sheets. Boyfriends may moan but I'm sure they'd rather one night of sleeping with a Hobnob than any of the potentially scary side effects of sun tanning...

My personal favourite product is without doubt St,Moriz. My god. 100% cheaper than its more expensive competitor this stuff is incredible. When it comes to most beauty products I can be a bit judgemental in regards to the price - but this stuff is just as good as the more expensive brands so don't let that fool you.

Due to work commitments I'm having to edge away from the 'dark' shade and settle for medium - but the colour still develops into a lovely golden shade. I do sometimes find the mousse not to be very moisturising so when applying I mix it with a gradual tan lotion to cover both bases*. My gradual tan of choice is either Dove Summer Skin or Garnier Summer Body. Both great, both affordable, both very biscuity. But as mentioned above the smell is only temporary and you kind of get used to it. 

I could probably talk about fake tan till I'm blue in the face and if there's one beauty product I couldn't live without besides mascara it would be this stuff. If I could encourage just one person to stop using sunbeds in favour of fake tan I would feel my job here is done. Sunbeds really are the devil. I'm all for a good tan but looking a bit browner ain't worth your health honey. 

*For the love of god always apply any mousse with a mitt/glove or else your hands will be an entirely different race as the product is dark when pumped out the bottle.

An Orgasm worth paying for

Blusher. A staple part of many a makeup routine. Regardless of your skin tone, skin type or style the likelihood is you will want a pop of colour on your cheeks over foundation to finish off your look. I have tried so many brands and shades of blusher, powder and cream formulas and there is one particular blush that stands the test of time and that I always repurchase - NARS Orgasm. Once you get over the tongue in cheek name you realise how pigmented, silky & shimmery this blusher is.

The shade itself is a peachy pink shade with a slight shimmer which leaves cheeks looking polished when the light hits them (and not remotely like you've dragged glitter over your cheeks circa school disco 1999).  The compact itself is strong and completely protects the product from handbag accidents. It also comes with a mirror which makes applying on the go a breeze - and I am notorious for touch ups throughout the day so this is a major selling point for me. It may look small but believe me a lot goes along way and it'll last you ages.

It retails at £22.50 and is worth.every.penny.

The start of something beautiful

My name is Natassia A. Richardson (NAR) and I love makeup. The notion that looking good on the outside affects how we feel about ourselves on the inside has always hit home to me and there's no denying that the right lipstick or a good hair day definitely make us feel better.

  As an avid shopper and makeup enthusiast it became apparent at a very early age that the beauty industry was my calling. From a 7 year old Natassia begging my mum to let me wear her lipstick to a party to then bankrupting myself on the latest beauty gadget I have always been enthralled by cosmetics and its ability to immediately boost my mood. So naturally, overtime it became obvious that pursuing a career in this industry would be incredible and a bit of a no brainer. Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life right? And just like that BelleObsession was born.

The name BelleObsession is derived from two things - my obvious beauty obsession and my love of Paris. (Plus everything sounds good in French.) My beauty obsession knows no bounds - so whether you enjoy products that enhance your natural beauty or products that give you a really bold look I'm sure me and my shopping addiction will have something for all to enjoy.

Natassia | 23 | Marketing Student/Beauty Ambassador