Summer Lovin' Tag

Sorry, I'm slacking again! In the meantime, I've been tagged by the lovely Libby at blowofbubbles.blogspot.co.uk to do the Summer Lovin' Tag.. here goes!

Summer Lip?

This has to be the amazing No7 BB Lips I reviewed in my last post, especially the shade Geranium, the perfect sheer, summery coral!

Summer Nail Polish?

This is hard, as there's so many shades I love! When I'm at work, I usually have to wear No7 and I am so lucky, I am spoilt for choice when it comes to vibrant, summery shades! At the moment, I'm wearing a gradient nail of No7 Gel-Look Shine in Mint Treat and Stay Perfect in Cheeky Chops, which is a brilliant splash of colour. Saying that, I managed to snap up the Yellow shade from Seventeen's Juicy Neons collection, and I can't wait to wear this on holiday! 

Summer Starbucks Drink? 

I can't quite remember the name, but I remember that when I was travelling for work last summer, and it was a scorcher, both when I was in Lancaster and Carlisle I wound up in their Starbucks to order some Lime Cooler, perfectly refreshing and thirst-quenching when it's so hot! And I think it was low-cal too with no added sugar, bonus!

Summer Song?

There's so many, but at the moment I'm loving The Vamps' collaboration with Demi Lovato for their latest single, Somebody To You. Every time it comes on the radio when I'm driving, I just have to turn it up and sing along. It's even on my running playlist, and even though it's on shuffle it's come up a few times to spur me on when I need it most!

Summer Accessory?

Now that I'm driving, I have to have sunglasses to hand no matter what, even on hazy days when the sun's peeking through. Saying that the pair I've been using has been a good ol' Primark job I've had for a couple of years, they've served me so well that I've just invested in a second pair! I have such a small head I have to get small frames, not your fancy aviator or any other style and these do the job perfectly without swamping my face.

Summer Book?

I've read a fair few already this summer, with many more downloaded onto my Kindle ready for my holiday. I'm currently in the middle of The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes, one of my favourite authors, who you might of heard of for Me Before You, another awesome book! It's not exactly a light summer read, it's actually a story set in two periods of time: World War One and the present, and it's not your typical girly love story. I've just gotten to a very interesting part so I'm not going to give it away, but you should most definitely give it a read if you love a book you can't put down.

Most Excited for?

My holiday, isn't that obvious?! Only three weeks until I go too, I can't wait!

I tag any fellow bloggers reading this, after all it's just a little bit of fun :) 

And concerning my "concealer dilemma" I had the other day..I've tried something new with my current concealer and that seems to be doing the job, so it's back to the drawing board for my next post, due tomorrow I promise! Until then,

No7 BB Lips

*as promised, I'm back! And I'm back with a product I adore, especially at this time of year..*

It seems that every brand has put their stamp on the beauty market with their take on BB, CC and, soon, DD products. However, don't let this put you off the No7 BB Lips.

Before I became a No7 advisor, I had braces and felt as though I could never wear colour on my lips. Don't get me wrong, I actually loved my braces and I never hid them, I loved smiling away because that's just who I am..but I just didn't like wearing lipstick/lacquer, the furthest I ever got was a slick of tame lipgloss or lip balm. Now, I love the prospect of colour, and my face isn't complete without some form of colour-bursting lip product! 

Back to the BB Lips..these actually launched just over a year ago with six shades in the range, and Berry Rose caught my eye straight away.  

My selection of BB Lips, from left-right: Berry Rose, Geranium, Blink Pink, Blush Pink.

They are described as "an all-in-one lip balm that provides 3 lip-loving benefits of: beautiful colour, soothing nourishment and UV protection." As you can see, they are in a squeezy lipgloss style tube, with an angled applicator to go straight onto the lips, super easy.

As you can see from the swatch, the colour is very true to how it appears on the tube. I love how rich the colour is and is so wearable it can complement any look. The texture is thinner than that of a lipgloss, yet has the shine of a lipgloss, but not as sticky as a lipgloss..so an all-round winner in my opinion! 

A great big "tick" against beautiful colour that's for sure. In terms of moisturising, it is certainly a lightweight product - in my opinion, not as heavy as a lipgloss or lip lacquer, and I find that it definitely doesn't dry my lips out at all. Okay, so the product itself doesn't last all day, but what lip balm does? So yes, you do have to keep topping it up if you want the colour and shine to remain, (I'd say the shine lasts for around an hour, and the colour stains for a while before that wears off) but it still keeps your lips lovely and nourished: tick.

I love these so much, and it's clear that others do too, that No7 introduced a seventh colour to the range, as part of their "Summer Collection" this year: Geranium.

I'm not usually one for corals that sway on the orange side, as I can never find one that suits my skin tone..until now. This has become my favourite summer colour, I wear it pretty much every day! And I get so many compliments whilst wearing it, so it must be doing me a favour. ;) It's still so pigmented too, yet the sheer-ness takes away from the harsh bright orange that comes along with the original Gay Geranium lipstick from the No7 range.

I'm such a fan of this range, I also have two more colours! First up, Blush Pink, for a more natural look:

Finally, Blink Pink, which actually disappointed me a little:

As you can see in the swatch, a lovely bright baby pink, yet on the lips there's only a hint of colour, which I suppose isn't too bad on a minimal make-up day.

In terms of UV protection, I haven't quite managed to put this to a proper test yet: it states that it has an SPF of 15. Because of this, ideally, they'll make a great alternative to lipsticks when going abroad..and this is exactly what I plan to take out with me to Portugal when I go next month, so I'll be sure to report back on how they perform on that front. I'd still recommend to buy at least one..or two right now, as they're just brilliant, at just £9 each and they're on offer instore and online now at "buy one, get the second half price", which is across No7 cosmetics, why not?! (and if you happen to do any other shopping..yes, it's No7 voucher time again, which means you can get £3 off No7 make-up, and the best news is that it can be used with the "buy one, get the second half price" offer, winner!)

Coming up Friday..I have a concealer dilemma, and I need help!

SORRY!

What a slacker I am, taking a silly hiatus when life got a little bit busy..! But now I'm reading more blogs and I realise how much I miss blogging, especially with how much I love talking about beauty, my only other outlet is my job (my boyfriend doesn't appreciate it too much, and my friends don't have the same keen interest, unfortunately..!) 

So an update on my life since April.. My hours got increased at work, so I'm almost full-time now, yay! And to celebrate, I bought myself my very first car, only a mere three-and-a-half years after passing my driving test :') and oh my god, how much freedom I now have, I absolutely love it! (Apart from the dickhead drivers there seem to be on the roads..ah well!) I've also booked a trip abroad with two of my very good friends during August and I seriously cannot wait, it's been three years since I last went abroad, and I am most definitely a sun chaser, excited doesn't cover it!

Sadly, along with the good, the bad comes with it; my family receiving bad news in various aspects, but with that we must continue to live our lives to best we can. :) 

Now to get my grey matter into action and figure out some ideas for my next few blog posts, need to get back into the swing of things! I will try to post every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday; conveniently my next day off work is Wednesday, so I can get my act together for then! 

Until then..