2 Affordable Everyday Nude Lips

I'm not a major lip product person. I've found it super difficult to find what works for me, and it's only recently I've began to delve a little more into what actually suits me. I suit neutral browny pinks, with either a shimmer or glossy finish. I really don't suit matte, unless I am wearing super high-coverage foundation, which I don't tend to go for anymore on the daily. In the past month I have found not one but two of my everyday go-to lip products which are both from Italian origins incidentally!

Kiko Milano Pencil Lip Gloss (£3.90)

I love Kiko, I find that it is one of the few stores that actually sell more quality items on the high-street for an affordable price. This find is no exception as it delivers on every aspect. The pigmentation is great, it's not too intense that you have to use a mirror to apply it, but it is also noticeable when you have it on. It has a cream finish which lasts a good few hours and I find that it is so comfortable on the lips and keeps them moisturised too, which is good for these colder months. Another aspect that sold me on this product is that it doesn't leave any residue on the lips once it's faded away, which is always a plus. The colour is a pinky nude with a hint of shimmer, which is not chunky and just adds some depth to the lips. I am just in love with this product, I have been using it religiously and have been taking it with me because it's so travel friendly. Kiko has a selection of shades, the one I use in is in shade 11!

Catrice Cosmetics Beautifying Lip Smoother (€4.99)

While I was in Italy two weeks ago, I spotted this product in an Italian cosmetics shop. It called to me because it looked like a dupe for the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfecter, which retails for £18.00. I have to say, it appears like a really good dupe! It's light on the lips without being sticky, and you can actually see the colour pigment. It adds a sheen to the lips, rather than a gloss, which makes this product sophisticated and very wearable for any occasion. I personally like to line and fill in my lips with a lip liner and then go in with this gloss as a finishing touch. I love the applicator too, it's a sponge which evenly apply's the product and just feels really nice! All in all, this product is really nice, for touch ups and even for finishing a look off, it's easy and just something I have been reaching for lately!

Lately, I feel like my commitment to my lips has improved due to these two products. I would highly recommend them as they both add something to the lips without being too high maintenance or too over the top. 

I would love to know if you have tried any of these products and what lip products you use on the daily! 

Be sure to follow me on Bloglovin for beauty related posts, I usually have a new post every week however, I am thinking of increasing it to two posts a week!

My Trip to Verona and Venice 2016

Last week I spent the week in  Italy with my mom. It was a spontaneous trip and it went by so fast. While I was in Italy, I spent most of the time exploring around Verona and spent just one day in Venice and I just fell in love. I love to take pictures and show you guys my experience of the places I travel to, so cue the pictures of Verona and Venice...

Verona Arena

Juliet's Balcony, Verona 

Castelvecchio, Verona 

Park in Padua, Italy

Venice, Italy

Doge's Palace, Venice

St Marks Basilica, Venice

Bridge of Sighs, Venice

I hope you guys enjoyed this mini snapshot of my trip to Verona and Venice. I have also done collages of my trips to Milan, Paris and also India! Be sure to follow me on Bloglovin for beauty related posts! I would also love to know what parts of the world you would recommend going to! I love to travel and I need some more ideas of where to go next!

4 Autumnal Beauty Picks

Autumn is now in full swing and I find myself drawn towards my more red/purple toned makeup products. Lately, I have been so into switching up my makeup on a everyday basis, so I'm excited to show you guys the main products I have been reaching for...

One of my favourite palettes that I own is my M.A.C Burgundy Times Nine Palette (£30.00/0.8g). I just love the mix of neutral and bold colours which makes it perfect for both day and night looks. The purple and burgundy tones are just what I want for this season, I find they warm up my complexion while still adding depth and intensity. This is a great investment product if you want to try more M.A.C shadows for the least amount of money, I've had this palette for a year now and I still haven't made a dent in it! 

The Lancôme L'Absolu Rouge Lipstick in the shade 'Bois de Rose 272' (£23.50/4.2ml) is a product which works with any type of makeup look. It's a pink toned brown which is lovely for all skin types and just finishes a look without being too overpowering, especially if you are not a massive fan of bolder, brighter colours. This is a product I pick up regularly because of the colour and also the cream finish which feels super moisturising on the lips and so is perfect for these colder months! 

Another autumnal product that I have been obsessed with is my M.A.C Mineralised Blush  in the shade 'Love Joy' (£22.00/3.2g). I picked this product up ages ago and I had forgotten why I had even bought it until a few months ago when I rediscovered it. This blush is amazing, firstly the colour is lovely, it's a red toned blush with super fine particles of shimmer. The shimmer actually adds to the formula of the blush, making the product smooth and even in texture, rather than being super powdery and dry on the face. So for this season, I like that this blush enhances the radiance and health of my skin by the colour and the formula. If you haven't tried this formula of blushes, I would highly recommend it!

My last autumnal beauty pick is the BarryM Daylight Curing Nail Paint (£4.99/10ml) in the shade 'Dark Side of the Shroom'. I love love love this product. It is one of my most used polishes because the colour is just so wearable, as it is a lovely mauve colour and it holds that balance of being a fun colour while also looking sophisticated. I think that this shade really compliments my tanned skin-tone and I even wear it on my toenails! BarryM has a great formula and for the price, I would absolutely recommend this to all of you as you can't go wrong! 

So that was a quick roundup of my top 4 Autumnal Beauty Picks. I have to say I reach for these products so often in these past few weeks. For me, they just nail the autumnal feel and they are all awesome products. 

I would love to know if you have tried any of these and what your beauty picks are in the comments below. 

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5 Tips: How To Wear Less Make-up!

Am I the only one who wants to start to wear less make-up? Day to day, is the highlight and contour really necessary? Sometimes, in retrospect, it makes me a bit uncomfortable, knowing I have totally glammed up to run an errand, or to go for a walk in the park. Believe me, it has happened to me so many times. 

So today, my only errand was to go and post a letter, and I was about to sit in my usual make-up spot, on the floor next to my full length mirror, and I just knew that I would spend 10 minutes applying my makeup for a 2 minute errand. So I decided to fudge it, I stuck on my clothes, grabbed my sunglasses and headed out bare faced. Just arriving back from my trip, I wanted to write, and give you guys some tips on how to ditch the Instagram face for day to day life.

1) Do your make-up last - When you are getting dressed, leave the make-up for last because once your hair and clothes are put together, you'll realise that you can skip a bunch of steps in your routine  and still look put together, an even complexion is more important to me than highlighting, and adding some brow gel might be good enough when you are in a rush! This is what really put me in perspective today, just knowing I would be out of the house for just two minutes doesn't qualify for me to waste my time nor my products.

2)  Feature Focus - A good way to not wear as much make-up is to focus your attention on the thing you want to be happy with. Personally, I like to focus on my face and brows, my face because I have a bit of hyper-pigmentation, and my brows because they are so light and sparse. As long as those two features are dealt with, I feel much more confident to go about my day, and it only takes me 5 minutes. If you are a lip person, you can generally leave out eye makeup as your lips will be the statement piece and so you don't have to really bother wasting too much time on something that doesn't need to be done!

3) Go sheer - Another way to wear less, is to keep perhaps the same amount of products, but to opt for more natural and lighter finishes. So I am a major high coverage foundation gal, and I recently bought the Dior Forever Foundation, which is more of a medium finish, and I already feel like I am accepting my natural skin more and more. I eventually want to get to the stage where I am wearing a tinted moisturiser, because I think it's good for your skin to breathe, and just not be caked in layers of foundation! You could also go sheer in terms of lipstick, or wear brown eyeliner instead of black, apply brow gel to tame the brows rather than going for the Instagram brow. 

4) No time like the present - Like I said earlier, today I decided to fudge it and just head outside with no make-up. You might be like me and think 'I'll try it tomorrow', however the hard truth is that tomorrow never comes, the future becomes our present and so the things you wanted to do just never end up happening. That's why you should start straight away, perhaps give a think about the make-up you want to wear today and get it out ready, give yourself a time limit to get ready. When I am in a rush, I always wear less because you don't want to waste time. If I have time, I will literally sit down and apply green eyeliner and contour for a walk in the park so, if you give yourself only 5 minutes to get ready then stick with it and learn to enjoy wearing less. 

5) It takes time... I know this seems to contrast a tad  what I said before but it takes time to accept going outside with a face of two products rather than 7. The more you do it, the easier it will become, so if you want to wear less make-up or none at all, you need to be consistent and learn to love it. What happens is that you think that people will notice that you aren't as done up however, those same people will have changed something about themselves that they think you will notice. People are introspective for the most part, and usually don't notice what you've spent all day fretting about!

I would love to know if you are considering wearing less, or beginning to wear more, so leave me a comment below telling me your current make-up mood! All the photos above were taken from my Instagram! So if you like them then be sure to follow me on there, and as always please subscribe to my blog on Bloglovin' to keep up to date with my next post! 

Two Tops You Need This Autumn

Fashion month this year has really got me in gear to add a few more pieces in my collection. If I had to describe my style when I make an effort, it would be casually put together. I like looking like I didn't spend an hour deliberating on an outfit, but still making sure everything goes together seamlessly. So when I found two exceptional pieces in Primark, I knew I had to tell you guys about it because I am so impressed. The two tops I picked up are stylish, versatile and also very affordable...

Monochrome Striped White Shirt (£10.00)

I love monochrome, and I love vertical stripes. So it's no wonder this shirt drew my attention. What I liked about it was the casual feel to it, the folded up elbows to the whole no collar vibe. I also like that the shape of the shirt is flattering for women, it's not boxy at all, and that why I've chosen to not tuck it in. Firstly, to show you guys, and secondly because I like the look of it. The material is also lovely, it's slightly thicker than it looks and so was really good at keeping me warm! It's super soft too, and so for £10.00, I think I've found a perfect shirt to style up and down! I've paired this with my turquoise Guess bag to add a pop of colour.

Shirt: Primark
Bag: Guess Isabeau Green Large Crossbody Bag
Loafers: T.K Maxx
Skirt: Bershka 

Khaki Pleated Top (£8.00)

As soon as I saw this top, I knew needed to have it. I'm loving the pleated look at the moment, with skirts especially, but this top looks like it can work for so many different occasions! It's formal enough to wear to work, but also stylish enough for the bar afterwards. It's a slippery, slightly stretchy material that gives a satin-like finish. I think the pleated look elongates my figure, I'm only 5'2 but this makes my torso look a bit longer. I wanted to wear black with this piece to show off the colour, and also the unique texture of the material. This look is less daring but just reliable to always look flattering!

Top: Primark
Bag: Aldo
Trousers: Primark
Shoes: T.K Maxx

I really hope you have enjoyed reading this! It's the first time I've truly delved into fashion on my blog and I would love to hear your thoughts. My respect for fashion bloggers has grown so much because of this, as taking pictures is not as easy as it looks. What are your picks for this season? Also be sure to subscribe to my blog on Bloglovin' to keep up to date with my next post!
Photo's taken by Jag Sanghera.

Two Lipsticks to Carry you Into Autumn

To me, it's already Autumn. September is about change and starting afresh and so it's no wonder I am stuck in the mindset that it's already Autumn. Autumnal make-up is bold and captivating and I have two lip products to share that will help you achieve bolder looks with minimal effort.

The first product is bareMinerals Pop of Passion Lip-Oil Balm (£17.00/3.1g) in the Shade 'Plumberry Pop'. This product is fantastic for those wanting to get into lipsticks, but don't like the faff surrounding it. This shade is a lovely sheer plum/berry shade that's brilliant for this coming season. Since it's sheer, it's perfect to take on the go and is so low maintenance that it's akin to lip-balm. This product however is better than traditional lip-balms because of it's oil texture, which keeps the lips moisturised and looking hydrated. I think this shade looks so nice with gold eye-shadow, as it makes the gold pop even more and just really puts a look together!

The second product is more of a statement lip, and it is the NYX Liquid Suede (£6.50/4ml) in the shade 'Soft Spoken'. This is actually the first NYX product that I've tried and so far I actually really like it. So this is a liquid lipstick, so it's designed to stay on the lips and not be as easily transferable as traditional lipsticks. This product has good longevity and isn't drying on the lips, however before application you should be going in with a nourishing lip-balm. I think the preparation before applying this product is important as you want to make sure your lips are hydrated and flake free and then the application will go more smoothly! The shade of this product is so nice too, it's a slightly darker classic brown-pink colour that's currently on trend and so will suit a wide variety of skin-tones. When I wear this product I like to go with a more nude but polished look, so I will keep the rest of my make-up more on the brown side, but perhaps have a thicker liner or add more mascara to add more of a statement.



























So those are my two autumn lip picks, I would love to know what shades/colours you gravitate towards in autumn!

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Sì by Giorgio Armani

I love fragrances and although I don't talk about them a whole lot, I want to start exploring with scents a bit more. I think perfume is one way that you wear your personality, especially before you meet someone, it creates an impression, and so picking something that feels comfortable and like you is a must!  

Giorgio Armani Sì Eau de Parfum (50ml/£67.00) was a gift from my older sister, and as soon as I had a whiff of this, it was love at first smell! It's a scent which makes you want more, it's powerful and potent which means that you only need a few spritz but doesn't get too overpowering or sickly either. This scent lingers on my clothes, which I love, and so the quality of the product is definitely on point. 

When I smell this I can detect a woodsy rose and vanilla, and that's what captivates me with the scent, it's sultry but also really comfortable to wear in the day and night. I honestly wear it everyday now, I am totally hooked and I really wish I discovered this sooner because it smells fantastic. If you haven't smelt this, I would urge you to, especially if you like vanilla based musky scents. I haven't yet heard of anyone who doesn't like this, so I would love to hear what you guys think! 

Packaging wise, I love the simplicity, it's probably more of dressing table staple due to the heavy glass bottle but I have no complaints! All in all, it's just a beautiful fragrance that I think can be used in all seasons, but I think in spring and summer, this will be perfect for the evening due to the muskiness. Right now, no one is going to stop me wearing this. 

 For a more detailed descrption Boot's describe Sì as:

"Sì – The Modern and Elegant Chypre. Chic, sultry, intense and soft at the same time, Sì is a chypre scent reinvented, lingering on the skin and captivating the senses. It combines an inflection of three accords: blackcurrant nectar, modern chypre and light musky wood. The fragrance opens with notes of Sicilian Bergamot, Mandarin oil and blackcurrant liqueur which is supported by a heart which bursts with Rose May, Neroli and Egyptian Jasmine. Warm undertones caress the unique chypre base notes of Patchouli oil intertwined with Blond Woods, amber and musky undertones known as OrcanoxTM. Finished with a sweet animalic accord of Vanilla which gives this fragrance, longevity and unforgettable sillage. "

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Review: Bourjois Paris Colour Edition 24H Eyeshadow

Hey guys,
So this time last week I was shopping in Boots (not surprising, right) and I picked up the Bourjois Paris Colour Edition 24H Eyeshadow (£6.99/5g). Something about the colour and packaging just promised quick application and reliability. Here is what I thought: 

I love this product, and I am so glad I bought it, I can't stop wearing it because it's so fool proof and quick. It's actually hard for me to think of something I don't like about it but I will try.

Good points:
1) Colour - I picked up the colour 'Merveille D'Argent' which is the gold shade, I am a huge lover of gold eyeshadow however sometimes I find that 'Half Baked' from Urban Decay's Naked Palette can be too in-your-face gold. This is a muted fine shimmer gold which catches the light perfectly.
2) Application - We all have those mornings where we are running late, and I usually find that fiddling around with brushes makes me waste time. This is a cream to powder eyeshadow and so can be applied with fingertips which takes all of 10 seconds. This can be applied with a brush too however it's really not needed.

3) Travel Friendly - The packaging of this is amazing, It's extremely durable and can probably handle the worst handbags. Again because it is a cream formula the shadow won't break in your make-up bag or handbag and so I know I will be taking this around with me when I travel.
4) Packaging - This goes well with the last point but I love the style of the packaging - It really reminds me of  the Chanel 'Illusion D'Ombre' in terms of packaging: simple yet useful.
5) Longevity - This says 24 hours but who wears eyeshadow for that long? This does last to the end of the day, it probably won't be the same as how you applied it in the morning but it is still there. I've also noticed that it doesn't crease as much as other eyeshadows. Again this is handbag friendly so if you did want your make-up looking as fresh as it did in the morning then carry this nice and dicky product around with you and you are good to go.
6) Layering - If you did want more pigmentation from this product then layering it also works - I think this works best with a flat eyeshadow brush because it's better to pat it in than swipe the colour away. This also blends super nicely if you did want more of a defined eye - add a matte brown in the crease and you are good to go.

Bad points:
1) Pigmentation: So this product is really a subtle gold shimmer and so it can be said that it lacks in pigmentation. However I did say that I liked this because it wasn't as in-your-face as other gold eyeshadows so for me it is perfect for everyday wear.

Honestly, I think you can tell I love this eyeshadow. It's hard to pick holes in it because I like that it doesn't do things like other eyeshadows. I really would recommend this product to everyone because it ticks all the boxes :) I have been wearing this everyday and I am obsessed. I hope you give it a go! Leave a comment telling me what your favourite eyeshadow is?
Thanks for reading,
Anjna x

Chai Recipe - From an Indian

Hey guys, 

So I have been meaning to do this post for a while and it is my Chai recipe! Who doesn't know about Chai nowadays? It's literally everywhere and there are so many variations of it but I honestly prefer the real Indian style Chai rather than anything Starbucks has to offer. 

This is the recipe that I use and it's quick and easy and just what it is supposed to be. 

Top Clockwise: Carom Seeds, Fennel, Cardomom pods, Ginger.
Middle: PG Tips Tea bag

Ingredients (one person): 

2 Tablespoons of Fennel seeds

1 Tablespoon of Carom seeds

3-5 Cardamom pods

A few pieces of Ginger or a Cinnamon stick

1 Tea Bag (I like PG Tips)

Optional:

Milk

Sugar

Recipe

1) Get the mug that you will be using and fill it up to the top with cold water. Put the water in a pan and put it on the stove. 

2) While the water is heating up put the Fennel seeds, Carom seeds and Tea bag in to brew. Open the Cardamom pods by using a pestle and mortar or by using a knife and add the Cardamom seeds which come out and the pods too. Since we are straining it all out in the end, it doesn't matter if we keep the Cardamom shell in the water.

3) Either add pieces of ginger or a cinnamon stick. The ginger is good for uplifting and detoxifying the body while the cinnamon is good at warming the body up (a good choice for Christmas and late nights). I used the ginger today. Ginger and Cinnamon are both strong flavours - that's why I like to use one or the other. 

4) Once this has all boiled then add milk. I like to make the tea go a medium to light brown colour and then I wait for it to boil again.

5) Once it has boiled then strain into a mug, add sugar to your liking (I use 2 teaspoons) and then it is ready!

See! It's super easy and literally takes me 5 minutes. Also if you usually like to have your tea black and with no sugar then it's ready for you when it has boiled the first time. It's totally customisable to what you like - I prefer cinnamon to ginger but I enjoy both. Also I know it's hard to find Carom seeds so it's okay if you don't use it but if you can get a hold of it then be sure to buy it cause it tastes great!In India they serve it with lots of milk and lots of sugar so I would recommend trying the entire recipe first just so you know what it tastes like in India. 

And there you have it - I hope you give it a try, you won't regret it :)

Thanks for reading, 

Anjna