Introducing Flatlays And Flowers

Although I haven’t been sharing posts on here as much as I would like to, I still love taking photos of my makeup collection. It’s taken a long time but I feel I am starting to really have my own style when it comes to creating my flatlays and I love sharing them when I do blog and over on my instagram page.

 

 

Blogging doesn’t come easily to me, the words are especially hard to find sometimes, which is the main reason I LOVE instagram. A picture says a thousand words after all!

I’ve been maintaining a sort of theme to my page for a while and a huge part of that is because of my love of makeup and now every other post is a flatlay I have created! In between flatlays I like sharing my love of vintage, photos of my whippets and anything else I like. I understand that those don’t appeal to a huge number of people though so I decided to create a hashtag for my flatlays so that anyone interested could see just those if they wanted to. Just search #FlatlaysandFlowers on instagram to see them all!

I am certainly no expert when it comes to creating the perfect content for social media but I definitely enjoy it and I hope that you like looking at it! Just head over to instagram to take a look!

Ra  ❤

Makeup Revolution: Renaissance Lipsticks

I’ve definitely been lacking on the blog front recently but I finally have another review for you! Today I’m talking about Makeup Revolution’s new Renaissance lipsticks in the shades Classic and Renew.

Makeup Revolution are really stepping up their game with their new products especially when it comes to packaging. These lipsticks are seriously glam with the rose gold and weighty feel. There’s definitely no need to worry about the lid coming off in your bag with these!

I’m always on the lookout for that perfect red lipstick and I think I may have found it with Classic. The formula is so buttery and soft. It goes on perfectly and feels moisturising even after a few hours, which I am extremely happy about as I find a lot of reds can be quite drying on the lips. The colour payoff is fantastic too, just one swipe and you are good to go.

Renew is a lovely dusky rose colour, perfect for every day wear. The formula, however, isn’t quite as good as Classic. It’s not bad in any way, but it does lean more towards a matte texture so isn’t as soft on the lips.

I’m so impressed with these lipsticks! And with the tiny price of £4 these are amazing value. There are 20 lipsticks in the Renaissance range. Most are nude or brown tones which aren’t really for me so I hope there are more to come! Ideally different shades of red!

Have you tried any of the Renaissance lipsticks?

Ra ❤

Book Review: Unlikely Friends

It’s not often I share anything other than makeup and nail posts but today I have something fun to share!

Unlikely Friends is a children’s book by David Dilsizian based on the friendship between the icon of the 1950’s, Marilyn Monroe, and jazz superstar, Ella Fitzgerald. As a huge Marilyn fan I was very happy to be sent a preview copy to share with you all.

I haven’t seen any other children’s stories about Marilyn so this seems very unique. The book is a sweet story of kindness and friendship, and a great read for little ones! The illustrations by Mykyta Harets are an adorable pairing too.

Back in the 1950s popular jazz club, the Mocambo, wouldn’t book Ella Fitzgerald to perform. Marilyn, who was a fan of Ella’s, stepped in to help her. In 1972 I believe, Ella said in an interview: “ I owe Marilyn a real debt. She personally called the owner of the Mocambo, and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him – and it was true, due to Marilyn’s superstar status – that the press would go wild. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard. After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. She was an unusual woman, a little ahead of her times, and she didn’t know it.”

A great story, I’m sure you will agree!

You can get your copy on amazon, just click the link: Unlikely Friends

You can also follow on instagram at @unlikely.friends.book and @daviddilsizian

Ra ❤

*This book was sent to me for review purposes. All opinions are honest and my own.

 

Nail Geek: Cool Nails Collection

Today I finally have more swatches of Makeup Revolution’s Nail Geek polishes for you!

The Cool Nails collection is made up of 5 beautiful blue tones including pastels and bolder shades making this a perfect collection for every season!

Peppermint is a lovely mint colour just as the name suggests. A must have for Spring/Summer!

 

Dreams is a classic pastel blue. So pretty!

 

Clear Skies is a lilac toned blue. Such a gorgeous colour!

 

Live Fearless is a stunning deep blue. It’s perfectly bold and would look amazing on all skin tones.

 

Inbetween is my favourite of the collection. This is a rich peacock teal and looks so beautiful!

 

Which of the Cool Nails collection is your favourite?

There are 45 fabulous Nail Geek shades that you can buy individually for £1.49 or in collections of 5 for just £5.96! Click the link to browse the full collection: Nail Geek.

Ra ❤

Nail Geek: Paints Collection

At the beginning of the week I shared my thoughts on Makeup Revolution’s newly released Nail Geek collection and today I have the first set of swatches for you!

The Paints collection is made up of 5 bold shades that would be perfect for summer or anyone that loves colourful fingertips. Each swatch is of two coats of polish, except for Holiday, and no top coat.

Holiday is a classic sunshine yellow. I found that three thin coats was best as it can be a little streaky, but that’s the case with every yellow polish I own!

Flare is an almost neon orange. Very bright but so beautiful!

Into The Night has a tinted formula that on the first coat looks like it will need a lot of layering but just two layers is enough for perfect coverage. This deep blue is my favourite of the collection.

Summer Lovin’ also has a tinted formula but unfortunately this one does stain a little so a good quality base coat is needed! This pink is gorgeous though and very glossy.

Refresher is a delightful apple green shade with a subtle gold and violet shimmer. Very pretty!

Which of the Nail Geek Paints collection is your favourite?

There are 45 fabulous Nail Geek shades that you can buy individually for £1.99 or in collections of 5 for just £7.95! Click the link to browse the full collection: Nail Geek.

Ra ❤

I ❤ Makeup: Nail Geek

Makeup Revolution have fast become one of the most talked about beauty brands with their incredible products and amazing prices. And their sister brand, I ❤ Makeup, is just as popular!

If you are a regular reader then you will know what a fan I am of their nail polish so when I was contacted recently about trying out their newly released Nail Geek collection I was so excited!

There are 45 fabulous new shades that you can buy individually for £1.99 or in collections of 5 for just £7.95!

As you can see the bottles are different to the original Makeup Revolution polishes. For me, the new square shape looks a lot better! The brush has also been updated and is now flat and wide which makes painting your nails much easier and quicker.

Makeup Revolution has really impressed me with this new collection! After trying out a few of the polishes it seems the new formula is really wonderful. The polish goes on smoothly and dries quickly to a glossy finish. From the polishes I have tried out the darker colours need only 1 or 2 coats for opaque and streak free colour but the lighter shades do need to be layered. I will, of course, let you know if this is not the case as I post swatches.

There are so many gorgeous new shades and I can’t wait to share them all with you. Check back soon as I will be posting swatches of the full Nail Geek polish collection!

Ra ❤

Born Pretty Store: Maple Leaf Sequins

I love using glitter, rhinestones and decals to create fun nail designs and Born Pretty Store have very kindly sent me some more wonderful products to show you all.

For today’s post I have a set of maple leaf sequins!

I chose to get the bronze set but these do come in 12 beautiful colours.

At 4mm these are quite big sequins really, so I kept my look simple with a single leaf on each nail.

This set is fantastic for creating autumnal nail designs! And at $2.53 (about £1.61) these are really good value.

You can find these sequins here: Maple Leaf Nail Sequins.

Born Pretty Store has everything you could need for gorgeous nail art. And you can use my discount code RARW10 for 10%  off your Born Pretty Store order!

Ra ❤

*These sequins were sent to me by Born Pretty Store for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed are honest and my own.