Valentine's Day | OOTN

Ignore my reflection in the Naked palette packaging.. oops!

Hey, I know it's now the 28th of February so a post about my Valentines Day out fit seems a bit odd however I figured better late than never. Being the naughty blogger that I am, I forgot to take some photos on the actual date so that's why the second photo is laid out like this and for the first one I actually got dressed into the outfit I wore! Valentines Day was quite eventful as after the usual boring college stuff, I went into town and didn't return till around 3:30 (which is what time Joe finishes at). Me and Joe had agreed to exchange cards after college and as I got home slightly earlier, I'd arranged his things out along with some donuts and some paracetamol for his mouth ulcer (ha!). When he got home, he gave me a beautiful red rose and some Oreo chocolate (my favourite) then told me to go upstairs. There, he presented me with a Milk Tray, a huuuuuge card, some maltesers and Urban Decay's Naked palette. He knew I'd been lusting after one ever since seeing Gabbie's one in real life and falling in love. Honestly, I am in love. Ever since receiving it 2 weeks ago, I haven't stopped using it. Oh, and if I'm not using it I'm staring at it! It also came with a sample size bottle of their infamous Primer Potion which I love. Expect a review in the near future! After receiving my lovely gifts, I then gave Joe his which he appeared to be made up with so I'm happy about that as I really put a lot of effort into thinking of them. Anyway, enough about gifts.. I had originally wanted to book the resaurant for 7:30pm so me and Joe had it all planned out and we were going to get the train around 6:45/7:00pm which we were on time for. Whilst I was doing my makeup, a light bulb went off in my head and I'd realized the resaurant was booked for 7:00pm instead! What a moron.. I told Joe and it all went a bit chaotic. I was putting on my eyelashes and rushing to plait my hair! I then had to choose an outfit. Oh the stress! After trying on a few things, I decided on this outfit. The shoes scare me. Honestly, they terrify me! I've never been one for heels but I figured why not get some after a shoe-related disaster at a friend's 18th birthday. I was scared to move in the restaurant as the toilets were down some stairs, not good! I'd survived going the toilet however as we were leaving, the worst happened; I fell down the stairs. It was only a few but it wasn't good considering there was a bar full of people watching me. Red faced, I tried to leave only to find my arm had gotten caught in the heart shaped balloons that lined the stairs. Total embarrassment! I fell because of the shoes not because of the ONE cocktail I had drunk mother!

After what seems like the longest intro in the history of the Blogging world, onto my outfit! As I was in a massive rush, I decided on this beautiful emerald green dress from Forever 21. It was a bargain at only £12.00 and its in my favourite material - velvet! I decided on this in the end as I know it fits well and makes me feel somewhat okay with myself. Its not too short so there's no bum flashing here as well as being not too low cut so no tiny-boob display either. Overall, its a really great dress and I would highly recommend getting one!

I paired my lovely dress with this beautiful bag I recently got. I'd been after a clutch bag and that exact reason was why I went to town on Valentine's day in the first place. I was instantly drawn to it as the size, colour and pattern appealed to me. It was from Primark's Limited Edition collection meaning it was slightly expensive for Primark at £10.00 but still a bargain when compared to the likes of Topshop and Zara. When going out, I'm more drawn to gold colours so the gold detailing on this bag is just perfect for me. I can see myself getting quite a bit of wear out of this beauty and I already have a pretty outfit planned with it.

For accessories, I chose quite a few considering my dress is quite simple. It's a classic shape and all one colour so I wanted to spice things up a bit and make it a bit more interesting. I chose my River Island belt as to be honest, I've never not got this belt on. It fits me perfectly around the waist and goes with anything; love! I actually have two (which I'm not complaining about!) as I bought two pairs of trousers from RI both of which came with this belt. In terms of jewellry, I',m not a massive bracelet person so I chose to not add in any and just keep it simple with my Pandora bracelet that I received as an 18th birthday gift of Joe's dad and step-mum. It has no charms on which I like as I'm not really into them too much as well as being a super pretty light pink colour. Thinking about my Pandora makes me sad as about a week ago, it ever so sadly got  flushed down the toilet :'( I take it off when going in the bath, and afterwards I was picking it off the window ledge whilst the toilet was flushing and now sadly it is no more. *sobs* For necklaces, I chose this one as I absolutely love it. It's a mixture of gold and silver which makes it extremely versatile and I thought that the jewel-toned blue ribbon running through it complimented the jewel-like colour of my dress.

In terms of shoes, I wore these scary things! At 6", they're not low which is a bit terrifying to a heel-novice like me and as you can tell from my story, they didn't go too well. Hey ho, they're pretty and I like them so who cares! They're a classic and I can tell we are going to be with each other for a long long time. 

I also chose to wear my absolutely gorgeous coat that Joe got me for my birthday as lets face it, I live in England! It was freezing and I was made up to have this pretty little thing wrapped around me. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of it but the coat is designed in the style of a classic biker coat however the material, fur and gold detailing make it feel more sophisticated and way more luxurious that it's £34.99 price tag! Definite bargain.

So, we're at the end of this extremely long post! I hope you enjoyed reading it :)

Megan xx

Seven Deadly Sins | Tag

When I was thinking about my next blog post, I thought that I haven't really done any posts about me and my life. I love lifestyle-type posts as I enjoy a blog so much more when I feel like I really know the person 'talking' to me. With this in mind, I thought it would be fun to do a tag post! I've never done one so I'm quite excited. I chose the 'Seven Deadly Sins' tag as it seemed like a quite an interesting one. I'm starting to blabber now so on we go..

1. GREED: What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive?

I have quite a lot inexpensive ones as I love a good beauty bargain but a few of my favourites include anything MUA (not really a product but I couldn't choose between their lipsticks, palettes and single eye shadows!), my Natural Collection blush/mascara (both of which are £1.99) and my Rimmel Stay Matte powder. For most expensive, it would have to be the Vice 2 palette or my Naked palette both by Urban Decay. The Vice 2 costs £42.00 and the Naked costs £37.00 so usually, I would never be able to afford them however I was fortunate enough to receive one as a birthday gift and the other as a Valentines Day gift and I am in love with both.

2. WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What product has been the hardest to get?

For my love/hate item, it would have to be lipstick! I absolutely love walking into a beauty shop and seeing all of the pretty colours and seeing lovely lipstick collections on Youtube (I mean you Gabriella!) but whenever I try on a lipstick, they just don't seem to look right. I've been on a two year long search for the perfect one but still, no luck! They also make me feel extremely self-conscious as I feel like people are looking at me or it's a smudgy mess. I also have quite dry lips so even the most moisturising of lipsticks make my lips feel dry and cracked. They also last not even an hour and I'm too lazy to be topping up all of the time so in the end I've just given up! As for the product that was the hardest to get hold of, it would be the MUA undressed palette. This palette is the most perfect Urban Decay Naked dupe and at only £4.00 its easy to see why they're always sold out. Eventually, I bought it and I couldn't be happier (well I could if the packaging was prettier but at that price I can't really complain!).

3. GLUTTONY: What are your most delicious beauty products?

I'm guessing this means smell as I don't generally tend to eat my beauty products :') It would have to be the Soap and Glory Sugar Crush range. They're not really mine as I bought them for my mum as a birthday gift but I've used them and they're my favourite anyway. I have done a review post on the collection so if you want to read about them then you can here. Out of the three items, the body wash is my favourite! As for the smell, it's absolutely ah-ma-zing! It's a mixture of lime, brown sugar and cocoa butter and is absolutely, well delicious!

4. SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness?

In all honesty, it would have to be makeup remover. I'm not too bad of a morning but of a night, its far too much effort to be stood over a sink for 20 minutes. I know it makes a massive difference to your skin however I am just far too lazy!

7. ENVY: What items would you most like to receive as a gift?

I wouldn't particularly want to receive these as a gift as they're quite inexpensive but I do have my eye on some Rimmel Apocolips. They're currently on 3FOR2 on the Superdrug website and I'm quite intrigued by 'celestial' and 'apocoliptic' - plus I'd get a third colour free! As for a gift, I just love the packaging of the YSL Rouge Volupte lipsticks and, from what I've read, the formula is just as beautiful. I find it quite funny how in number 2 I was ranting about how much lipsticks annoy me and yet these are both lip products! I think the product I would love to receive them most is probably a MAC Pro Palette, I absolutely love the idea of creating your own palette as you'd get exactly what you want however I could never justify spending £176.00 on one.

I hope you've enjoyed reading this as I've quite a bit of fun writing it! Whilst writing it, I've noticed that I seem to do far too many exclamation marks but hey ho(!!!). Instead of tagging individual people, I tag everyone to do this as I think it's a great one!

Megan xx

Happy Light Matte Serum | Bourjois

Hey, so today I have a review of one of the the things I've been loving recently. I've never seen the point in primers as I figured they were just a bit pointless.. Oh, how I was wrong! After my foundation wasn't lasting as long as I was hoping for, I was recommended this by the lovely Abbey on Instagram so when I was in superdrug. I also bought a super pretty pomegranate cream shadow but more about that on a different day! 

In the morning, I wash my face in the bath, use a cleanser and toner, apply moisturizer then put this on my nose, my cheek/nose bit (what's that area called?!) and some on my forehead once the moisturizer has sunk in. 

Packaging -  I quite like this packaging as it looks quite luxurious due to the bottle being glass. This obviously isn't the most practical thing but ah well, it looks good! The clear glass bottle is also brilliant in that you can see how much you have left. I also love the shiny green writing as the colour/finish is slightly unusual but very pretty. This primer has a pump applicator which I like as it stops it from going everywhere whist dispensing the perfect amount from your face. I very much dislike the idea of dipping my hand in a pot for face things as I find it all a little bit unhygienic so I really do like the pump.

Application - The first thing I noticed when using this is how lovely it makes your skin feel. You know when you put a matte lipstick on and your lips feel soft and almost like velvet? Well my skin feels exactly like that after I've applied this. It sinks in super fast so there's no waiting around before you can put on your makeup which is brilliant for me as I'm forever in a rush. As the name suggests, the primer is super lightweight so I can barely feel it on my skin. Overall, this product goes on like a dream; its silky smooth, sinks in fast and you don't even know you're wearing it, perfect! 

Results - At first, I was a bit skeptical about whether this would actually work but I can safely say that I have been proven wrong. After a few hours without a primer, I was noticing that the oil in my skin was separating the foundation around my nose making it appear patchy but now I don't seem to have that problem. Today, my foundation even survived a sweaty 2 hour gym session and when I looked in the mirror afterwards, I was expecting an uneven blotchy mess on my face but instead I found my foundation was looking nearly as well as it did in the morning. Whereas previously, my foundation would last 3/4 hours it now last between 9 and 10 hours which I think is brilliant. 

Price - This product is currently priced at £10.99 which I think is fairly reasonable. It's not ideal but considering Smashbox's infamous primers cost a ridiculous £27.00 and MAC's Prep + Prime range costs upwards of £20.00, the Bourjois option is quite a bit cheaper. I've had my current bottle for around a month now and as you can see from the (not very good!) photos, I've only used about a quarter and that's with everyday use. At first, it may seem slightly expensive but trust me, its worth it and over time it's very good value for money. I mean, what's the point in spending £20.00 on a foundation if without a primer it doesn't last?

In Bourjois' ranger of primers there is this matte primer as well as an illuminating one. The matte one aims to mattify skin as well as refining pores (which I believe it does!) and is for normal, combination and oily skin whereas the luminous one is for normal to dry skin and aims to hydrate and illuminate skin. As you can see, I love this product dearly! I would definitely recommend it and will certainly be repurchasing when I run out :) 

Megan xx

Makeup Favourites | Drugstore

Hey, today I have my favourite drugstore products in a kind of 'makeup for beginners' kind of guide. I have another part to this post which will be more about makeup brushes but you will just have to wait for that one.  I'm not an expert but these are just products I've bought, loved and wanted to share with you guys. They're all relatively cheap too which is a bonus as I love a good bargain in regards to makeup. There's quite a lot here but it's just things I really love and hope you will too.

Foundation: For foundation, I chose my second favourite after my MAC Studio Fix, the Rimmel Match Perfection. I remember falling in love with this foundation as its the first one I've tried that really matched my skin tone. I have the shade 010 Porcelain which is the lightest shade they do. This foundation is super lightweight with not much coverage but a bit of concealer will sort it no problem. Rimmel is currently on 3FOR2 at Superdrug which I love. I mean, who doesn't love free makeup?!

Concealer: This is my everyday concealer and I absolutely love it! It's thick but doesn't cake so is perfect for spots. It also works a treat on under eye circles. The colour I have - 01 Fair - is perfectly matched to the foundation.

Powder: I use Rimmel Stay Matte in Peach Glow every single day as it stops any shine coming through and just generally keeps my makeup looking as best it possibly could.

Blusher: I understand you can't really see this blush in the pictures above but it is in there I promise! I remember buying this blusher as I was in desperate need of one and this particular one instantly caught my eye.  The baby pink colour appealed to me as it's quite girly and I think it would be perfect for spring with some pastel clothing. I also like the fact that it''s not super pigmented either as I have a tendency to get carried away but this blush keeps me from looking a bit clown-like.

Eye shadow: For eye shadow, I chose three different ones but I love them all. The single ones are from MUA and are extremely pigmented and blend-able for their £1.00 price tag. They also do a great bow shade for brunettes called '19 - matte' which can also works brilliantly as a crease colour. I also chose the Maybelline Colour Tattoos as well basically, I'm in love. They're also quite cheap at  £4.99 each. Finally, the loose GOSH pigments. For a while, I was lusting after MAC's Copper Sparkle pigment however I just couldn't justify spending £17.00 on one then whilst looking for an eyeliner in my makeup box, I found these two beauties. They were originally my mum's however she doesn't wear makeup so I now have them and I am in love. Only downside is they get everywhere but that can be solved with a tissue and a wet brush.

Palettes: Another eye product but I thought I would do them separately. The two I have chose are the MUA undressed palettes. They're perfect UD Naked dupes and at only £4.00, they're £33.00 cheaper! They're perfect for an everyday neutral eye however they can also be used to create a more intense smokey look for going out. They both have a brow colour in too which makes them perfect for travelling. Favourite? The original I think however it's pretty close!

Mascara: Another one of my everyday products.. I normally use these two together however they're both brilliant on their own. I've just realized that in these photos I forgot add a brow product, however the MUA shade I mentioned earlier is great and so is Rimmel's Brow pencil, I use the shade 'dark brown'.

Lipstick: I have chosen three lipsticks to show you as I love them all equally. I'm not to good with describing the colours of products so bear with me! The white tubed one is by Natural Collection and is a lovely bright pink with a slight hint of red. The one in the black tube is by MUA and is a deep dark (it looks so bright in the photo though!) red. Finally, the pink tubed one is by Barry M and is sort of a dark red/pink/purple if y'get me? Barry M is on 3FOR2 in Superdrug at the moment which is always great as it means free makeup! 

1. (L-R) Natural Collection Blusher in 'Pink Cloud' (£1.99), Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in '01 Fair' (£4.19) and Rimmel Match Perfection in '010 Porcelain' (£6.99).

2. (L-R) Shade 12 from the MUA Undressed palette (£4.00), shade 11 from the MUA Undressed Too palette (£4.00), Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze (£4.99), MUA single shadow in number 28 (£1.00), MUA single shadow in number 24 (£1.00), GOSH loose eye shadow in 'sunstone' (£6.50) and finally GOSH loose eye shadow in 'copper' (£6.60) (you can't see this swatch due to the light sorry! I couldn't find the GOSH eye shadows on the Superdrug website so I don't know on the exact price. It would be a shame if they're discontinued as I love them!).

3. Natural Collection Lipstick in Crimson (£1.99), MUA lipstick in '01' (£1.00) and Barry M lipstick in 'Cranberry Red 162' (£4.49).

Writing this post just made me realize that I really am a drugstore girl at heart. As much as I lust over all of the fancy products in Beauty Bizarre and Debenhams, I really  do love finding a beauty bargain!

I'm very sorry that all my posts are extremely text heavy! I intend on writing a short little sentance about everything but then I get carried away and it turns out like this! I plan on trying to fix this and mix it up a bit as I know posts with lots of texts can get so dull. I also apologize for the dodgy photos, my camera had a tendency to over expose things and the natural lighting in my room isn't great but when my phone charger gets fixed the photos should improve! :)

Megan xx

Valentine's Day | Polyvore

Valentine's Day by meganboileauxblog

Nasty Gal dress
nastygal.com

Dress
$150 - nelly.de

Christian Louboutin platform pumps
christianlouboutin.com

Oasis reversible belt
$28 - oasis-stores.com

Lips makeup
etsy.com

NARS Cosmetics red lipstick
net-a-porter.com

MAC Cosmetics lipstick
bloomingdales.com

Waterproof eyeliner
eyeslipsface.com

Nars cosmetic
sephora.com

With Valentines Day almost upon us, I thought I would make a post containing some fashion ideas for any of you stuck on what to wear. This year, Valentines Day is on a Friday so me and my boyfriend are going out for a meal and drinks in town - how posh! Anyway, booking the restaurant got me thinking about what I'm going to wear. At first, I had no idea but then I decided to take a little trip onto Polyvore (I made it yesterday and already I'm in love!) to look for some inspiration. 

Red Roses - A classic sign of Valentines Day and one I find simply beautiful. I'm not a massive fan of how roses smell, in fact them dodgy pale pink  rose scented body care sets you get in places like M&S make me feel physically sick, but in terms of how they look, roses are beautiful. I really love this photos, its so simple and yet its stunning which gave me some inspiration for a potential outfit.

Sweetheart neckline dress // nelly.de & Nasty Gal // £91.00 & £42.00 - doesn't the name of these dresses just make you think of the day of romance? I was instantly drawn to them as I'm quite a fan of classic black dress and figured it would be perfect for a romantic date due to it's simple but sexy qualities. The neckline is slightly revealing without looking slutty and the colour keeps it looking classic and timeless, basically I'm in love. For me, the best way to wear this dress would be to play up the timeless feel to it with some simple jewellery, a beautiful smokey eye and some classic black courts.

Red platform pumps // Christian Louboutin // £660.00 - Even though I just said that this dress would look beautiful with some black courts, why not add a bit of spice with some sky-high red pumps? It is Valentines Day after all..

Black and gold belt // Oasis // £28.00 - I added in this belt but now I'm starting to think these dresses may not even need it. I originally put it in to tie in with the gold of the necklace the lady on the right is wearing and also because belts are extremely flattering on figures however I'm now thinking it may look better without. I still think it's a lovely belt though.

Red lips photo - I knew with it being Valentines Day and to go with those fabulous pumps, I wanted to add in a red lip. They're such an icon and it's not hard to see why. They instantly make an outfit appear more glamourous and much more polished. Perfect if your going for that sophisticated look.

Semi matte lipstick in Jungle Red // NARS // £16.00 - Speaking of the perfect red lip, I think NARS may have found the answer!  In this picture this lipstick seems like the perfect lipstick to really get that classic (I say that word too much!) red colour however after googling swatches, it seems like slightly too orange toned  to really be what I was after. Even though the colour may not be exactly was I wanted, the finish sounds perfect. To me, 'semi matte' implies that it has the staying power of a matte lipstick (perfect for eating, drinking and dancing all night!) without the drying effect that the finish can have. Dry lips with lipstick sitting in the cracks on a first date, not a good look. I'm quite curious about this finish now so next time I'm in Beauty Bizarre, I may have to try one on, although I won't be buying one as I can't really justify spending £16.00 on a lipstick when I don't wear them too often.

Viva glam Rihanna lipstick // MAC // £15.00 - Once again, I google some swatches and this seems to me more of what I was after. I absolutely love the packaging and from what I've heard (I don't own a MAC lipstick *cries*) the formula is brilliant too. Also, doesn't the money raised from the Viva Glam range go to charity anyway? Doing a good deed whilst getting a free lipstick, perfect.

Eyeliner // eyeslipsface.com // £1.50 - I added in this mainly because I like the look of the image but also I find that a feline flick of eyeliner is really complimentry to a classic outfit and a sultry red lip. If worn right, it really opens up the eyes making them appear sexy and feline-like which I think would be lovely for a date. Eyeliner is also a must when wearing false lashes as it hides those terrible bands.

The NARSissist cheek kit // NARS // £30.00 - This little kit contains a highlighting blush called Devotee as well as two of NARS' most infamous products: orgasm blusher and laguna bronzer. I added this in mainly for the blush. Although I've never tried it, I figured it would create a lovely flush of colour that wasn't too in your face and just looked like you were in love. 

That's the end of this extremely long post! I hope it helped some of you decide to wear on the day :) 

On Valentines Day, I will be sure to take some outfit photos so y'all can have a nosy at what I decided to wear. I would love for it to be this outfit however I can't afford it right now so I will just have to apply a little imagination to my wardrobe. What are your plans for Valentines Day?

Megan xx

CLEANING MY MAKEUP BRUSHES

Hey, when I'm on Instagram and browsing at pretty makeup brush photos, one comment that seems to pop up a lot is 'how do you clean your brushes?' Some people are worried about washing their brushes as they're worried they will shed, the dye will run or they will loose their softness; I know, I used to be one of them. I think that recently, I have discovered the perfect way of washing them including a handy super cheap too. In my '18th birthday haul' post, you may remember that I said I would reveal all soon, well today is that day.

Firstly, the things you will need to get prior to washing your brushes are: two clean towels, johnsons baby shampoo (any gentle shampoo will work just as well), some dirty makeup brushes and a 'top and tail' bowl.

To get these things you may have to take a trip to mothercare or somewhere similar. If you look around where the bath things are then you will find this little bowl that's split into two. They're used for separately washing a baby's face and bum however they're also great for washing makeup brushes too! You don't necessarily need this as you could just use two separate bowls but I find that it makes the next couple of steps easier. You can buy a 'top and tail' bowl here.

1. Lay out one of the clean towels on the floor; I use this to sit on and avoid making a mess.

Steps 1 & 2

2. Fill both sides of the bowl with luke-warm water and add a small amount of baby shampoo to one side of the bowl only.

3. Using either a dirty brush or your finger, swirl the water around to make a bubbly foam.

4. When washing your makeup brushes, its important to keep the base where the bristles come out of away from the water. This prevents damaging the glue causing the brush to shed.

Steps 5, 6 & 8

5. Dip your dirty brush in the soapy water until its wet right through. Next, add a small drop of baby shampoo into the connecting middle section of the bowl.

6. Gently rub your brush in the shampoo until a foam is make and you can see the make up coming out. This middle section should be slightly bumpy meaning it will get the old makeup out a lot easier. Repeat this step until the brush looks clean.

7. You may want to wipe the middle section every couple of brushes as I find it can get quite clogged up with the removed makeup to effectively clean brushes.

8. This step is optional as I don't normally do it but if you want, you can rub your brush against the palm of your hand to create a foam. This step is good for extremely dense brushes or bushes containing a lot of quite thick product like foundation ones.

Steps  9, 10 & 11

9. If you think your brush is clean, dip the brush in the clean water to remove any excess soap. If the brush isn't clean, swirl it in the soapy water and repeat step 7 until it is.

10. Place the brush under cold running water to make sure all of the soap has completely been removed.

11. Take the other clean towel and roll up one end to make an elevated section. Put the handle end on this section and leave the brush to dry; this will prevent any water damaging the glue.

12. Larger brushes or ones with a specific shape may need their bristles moving back into place. Swirling the brush on the back of your hand will disturb the bushes new shape then gently push the brush into its original shape.

14. Move all of your cleaned brushes of the bathroom floor and put them somewhere safe. I decided to use the bath as then the excess water could drip into the bath and avoid making a mess.

 So, that's the end of how I clean my makeup brushes! This method may seem really long and quite expensive however, in total, to clean all of the above makeup brushes, it took me about half an hour which isn't too long and it cost me around £6.50 which I believe to be extremely reasonable considering the MAC brush cleanser is £10.00 and can only be used for spot cleaning. I like to do this once a week otherwise the brushes can get a bit too clogged up meaning makeup application is slower and less effective. I hope you enjoyed this post, I realize this method may not be for everyone as we all have our own way but this is just what works for me personally.

Megan xx