Boots Haul from Ireland!

So basically, I have the best mother in the world and she brought me back some goodies from Boots during her trip to Ireland! I thought I would share with you all what they are, and my first impressions.

Firsty were these 5 ModelsOwn nail polishes! What an array of color she got me. I have only used the pink one so far but I can't wait to try out the others soon! In order from left to right they are Pastel Pink NP033, Snowflakes NP145, Purple Imperial NP131, Dancing Queen NP142, and lastly a hedkandi one in Hedonist HK05! What are your favorite colors of ModelsOwn polishes?

And some stuff from Soap & Glory! Now I know Sephora sells the body care line here in the US but it is significantly more expensive, and we don't have any of the cosmetics! I've really been wanting to try these products out since I've seen so many of you UK bloggers like milkteef and I think beautycrush mention them! The Pulp Friction body scrub smells delish and really foams up in the shower! I love exfoliating things so this was really a nice first experience with the shower scrubs.

SMOOCH OPERATOR Lip Butter is literally amazing. This is a nicely packaged lip butter with a smooth application and a phenomenal smell! It smells like coconuts and a tropical shower and like, vacation all in just one whiff. It isn't sticky, but remains on for a good period of time. Doesn't taste bad either! The flavor on the box says "Coconut Ice", and it contains wild mango, vitamin E & argan oil to really moisturize and protect your dry lips.

This GLOW JOB moisturizer is pretty amazing. It comes out of the bottle as a white lotion with tiny little beads in it. Once you begin massaging it into your face, the beads break into little bronzing spurts! You have to be careful to rub it in really thoroughly or you will end up with a brown streak on your skin, but it's still easily blended in even as an afterthought. For me, who has naturally pretty pale and freckled skin, this moisturizer is great so far! It gives me a nice glow without looking orange, and a good base for before I apply my makeup. The moisture level is light-weight so it does the trick fixing up my dry spots but doesn't feel heavy on my skin.

Lastly this KICK ASS CONCEALER was given to me! It has a 3 step packaging which is really clever and gorgeous if you ask me. My eyes would obviously be attracted to this in the shop.

Step one and two are the under-eye brightening concealer and Superwear face concealer, which are sealed lastly with step three,  Insta-fix sealing powder. I used this product on a cheek blemish this morning and it still is nicely covered about 4 hours later.. the concealers take a bit more careful blending than I need to do with my Lorac or Rimmel concealers, but the result is nice in the end.

So yes, thanks mom! Overall, I am super happy with these gifts and my first impressions. Any products from the UK or Europe you recommend?? *All these products were purchased by my mother for my personal use with no influence from the companies*

Nail of the Day! Pastel Pink

Here's today's nail of the day! My mom brought me back a few MODELSOWN nail polishes from Ireland as we don't have them anywhere here in NY as far as I know! I think they sold at U.O. for a little while but I haven't been able to find them in my area.. anyway! The first one I decided to try out was called Pastel Pink NP033. The color reminds me of Barbie or Nicki Minaj! It's so vibrant and pretty. It did require two coats to get the full coverage of color, but I normally do two anyway so I didn't mind. Now I know this isn't really a fall color but I don't care because it will brighten up my neutral/dark wardrobe. I'll update this post later in the week with details of it's wear time. The one thing that was strange to me was how strong the smell of nail varnish chemicals was. Way stronger than any polish I've used thus far. But again, not much of a problem for me.

Skin: Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

L'Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer

Revlon ColorStay Foundation in 240 Medium Beige

Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer in Light

Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

MAC The Perfect Cheek blush

Eyes: Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tough as Taupe

Urban Decay Naked 2 palette colors Foxy & Tease

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in 604 Milk

Lancome Le Crayon Poudre in Taupe (brows)

Kat Von D Autograph Eyeliner in Puro Amor

Ardell Lashes

Lips: NYX Lip Smacking Fun Colors in Pumpkin Pie 630

Soap & Glory Smooch Operator Lip Butter

Just Ride

i was in the winter of my life, and the men i met along the road were my only summer. at night i fell asleep with visions of myself dancing and laughing and crying with them. three years down the line of being on an endless world tour, and my memories of them were the only things that sustained me, and my only real happy times. i was a singer, not a very popular one. i once had dreams of becoming a beautiful poet, but upon an unfortunate series of events saw those dreams dashed and divided like a million stars in the night sky that i wished on over and over again, sparkling and broken. but i didn’t really mind because i knew that it takes getting everything you ever wanted and then losing it to know what true freedom is.
when the people i used to know found out what i had been doing, how i had been living, they asked me why. but there’s no use in talking to people who have a home. they have no idea what its like to seek safety in other people, for home to be wherever you lay your head.
i was always an unusual girl. my mother told me i had a chameleon soul. no moral compass pointing due north, no fixed personality. just an inner indecisiveness that was as wide and as wavering as the ocean. and if i said i didn’t plan for it to turn out this way i’d be lying, because i was born to be the other woman. i belonged to no one, who belonged to everyone. who had nothing, who wanted everything, with a fire for every experience and an obsession for freedom that terrified me to the point that i couldn’t even talk about it, and pushed me to a nomadic point of madness that both dazzled and dizzied me.
every night i used to pray that i’d find my people. and finally i did, on the open road. we had nothing to lose, nothing to gain, nothing we desired anymore, except to make our lives into a work of art. live fast - die young - be wild - and have fun.
i believe in the country america used to be. i believe in the person i want to become. i believe in the freedom of the open road. and that motto is the same as ever. “i believe in the kindness of strangers, and when i’m at war with myself, i ride, i just ride.”
who are you? are you in touch with all your darkest fantasies? have you created a life for yourself where you can experience them? i have. i am fucking crazy. but i. am. free.

 

 

My Week in Photos!!!

So here's a little update on my life this past week! I went to Oktoberfest for a night with a group of my friends for some fall fun and drinks. Here I am with my fabulous man Mitch and some of our pre-party cocktail choices. Cory (my boyfriend) and I decided to carve a pumpkin a bit early in the season.... but we really wanted the seeds! It was a lot of fun, and we made it into THE COON!! Southpark fans, anyone? Next up is a little sketch I did while watching The Vampire Diaries premiere!! (Also watched The Walking Dead premiere this week, and the new Dexter episode. Would anyone be interested in my thoughts on different series new episodes? I react quite outwardly on twitter about new eps! ) Perhaps I will start doing some posts.. Anyway, aren't those little rings so cute! Both of them were a total of $2.80 at Forever 21! Me wearing Charmed, I'm Sure MACxMarilyn collection lipstick, and a cute Popeye/Olive Oil shirt! Cory joined my family and I to go to the chilli fest sunday and there was a free photobooth we took silly pictures in, it was cute and fun but he HATES pictures, haha. Then we took our pitt Molson to the park where he practiced his dancing! He just can jump, like, really high. So yep, there's the fun parts of my week.. none of that stuff about WORK :( which I seem to be doing so much  of!! I need to crack down on getting some money saved up though... which means less hauling. Oh well. You can follow me on instagram @harlotstarlet

Steal My Style! #1

So I recently have been a bit naughty and have purchased way too many things for myself. But hey, I'm adding to my fall wardrobe, right? Plus I had a 20% off one item coupon to use at H&M... and uh.. uh.. that's really my only logical reasoning. So anyway, I thought maybe a few of you would be interested in some of my choices to add to your fall wardrobe!

So here are some instagram shots of my most recent purchases (like in the last week). The sheer peach/black blouse is from Forever 21, as is the necklace, the leather bomber jacket, and metallic powder blue sweater. The metallic gold shirt, the gloves and the hat are from H&M. I will do a seperate post reviewing and just crying over how beautiful and amazing my MAC x Marilyn Monroe Products are! But there's a quick snap of what I got.

 So online, I found the original link for the gloves and necklace I got, they're the exact items I have! I am sure these styles are everywhere though, so you can really vary where you get them. The wool/faux leather detailed gloves are warm enough for the chilly fall and chic enough to have me looking pretty and proper with those little bows and classic fit. I purchased them at H&M. To be honest, I really want to go back for the coral color too! Or green.. or camel.. or all of them. The necklace is an awesome arrangement of different size gold chains and a black satiny fabric woven through them from Forever 21. It's quite sturdy and heavy too, not cheap looking but very cheap in price! Although my hat is from H&M and has these lovely little gold leaf charms on it, there was a really similar one listed on Nasty Gal if you can't find it in stores yourself! Blogger Melanie from Style to Stage has a whole post with beautiful pictures of her wearing the hat here!! And finally my new OBSESSION is any knit with some metallics in it! Flecked, sewn, stitched, coated, I love me some sparkle. My sweater is from the Forever 21 Love 21 Contemporary section, but this amazing chunky, sandy colored one is by Rag & Bone. So there you have it! A start to my fall wardrobe selections... What are you counting on as your autumn wardrobe staples this year? And for good measure... here's two of my nails of the week shots! Follow me on instagram: harlotstarlet

Left is Revlon in Fearless and right is OPI "Get Me To The Taj On Time" with a layer of Essie "Stroke of Brilliance" over the top!

Skin Care I've Been Using Lately!!

 To be completely honest with you guys, I used to have HORRIBLE acne in my teens. Once I got to like, say, my senior year of high school it started to clear up, and got almost completely better by college. I accredit the clearing up of my skin a LOT to lifestyle changes... aka being healthier in my personal choices and also my eating habits. Drinking water a ton is great for your skin too! I try to drink at least 3-4L of water a day. Add lemon for flavor! I also try not to pick at my face or touch it a lot during the day. Taking time doing your makeup and using products you love sure helps with this issue, you don't want to mess up the perfect piece of art that is your face now do you?! If there is a particularly nasty zit that I need to get rid of in order to go in public without terrifying passerbys, I use a warm clean washcloth to do the trick. Basically, in the morning, I wash my face with the Best Face Forward Daily Cleanser (got this at Ulta) and moisturize with The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream, followed by my primer and then makeup for the day. At night, I remove my eyemakeup with Ponds Cold Cream, and then wash my face with either the cleanser, or with St Ives Apricot Scrub. I like this because it has all natural ingredients. *SALICYLIC ACID IS FOUND IN MOST FACE WASHES, AND IS A CHEMICAL THAT CAN SEVERELY DRY OUT YOUR SKIN, CAUSING IT TO PRODUCE MORE NATURAL OILS IN AN ATTEMPT TO STAY MOISTURIZED, WHICH LEADS TO MORE BREAKOUTS!* So if you are prone to oily skin, I don't care how shiny it is, you STILL need to moisturize! Then use a matte foundation or setting powder to take away that shine later. Your skin needs it! At night I use The Body Shop Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream. I have been having pore clogging and breakouts along my chin and lower cheeks lately, and I am starting to think it's from my MAC Studio Fix Powder, has anyone else had this reaction?? I am going to lay off it for a bit and see if that helps... About once a week I use the mud masque but it kind of really is TOO tingly I can't keep it on for too long! But my skin feels really pure and clean after I do use it, I usually paint my nails while I wear it around the house looking scary! I change up my routine about once a month and always like to try new products! What are your favorite skin care products?? Oh, Winnie wanted to get in on the picture taking ---> :)