What I Got For Birthday/Christmas!

Hey guys! I know in my post I said I probably wouldn't be blogging again until after the new year but I've actually had a really relaxing Christmas and after seeing what everyone else got I wanted to share too! I still probably won't be blogging as regularly until February but it's because I've decided I really want to invest in my blog - so I'm going to get organised planning posts, reviews, outfit of the days, tutorials.. I've got a lot planned! But anyway, come and nosy what I got for Christmas.

Little Life Update

*Warning: this is a little rambly post!* I just wanted to write something to tell you all a bit why I haven't been posting as frequently or with content that I've not just put together on Polyvore!

1. Halloween party!

 2. Cookie dough cheesecake from Selfridges. 

3. When my best friend came to visit <3

4. Puppy selfie!

5. My boyfriend's band release their first EP!

6. Me and my sister at the German market.

7. Christmas Costa!

8. Me and my lovely friend Becky at the work party.

9. When my other besty came to visit!

10. Christmas German market.

11. Christmas nails!

12. My other lovely friend Dan at the work party. 

The Pink Coat.

Is it just me or has the world gone pink coat crazy? Annoyingly I don't have the money to splurge on a new coat but nothing has stopped me searching and trying on. Mostly in an oversized boyfriend fit but in fluffy pink pastel, its the perfect girly androgynous mixture. Damn you, pink coat. You're perfect.

Pink coats by erinjainex featuring Topshop

1. Topshop, £89

2. Asos, £85

Current Discount Codes for Christmas!

I'd seen a few posts like this for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but what a lot of people don't realise is that stores will do even better sales or offers after that as well! This first two weeks of December tend to have really good deals on for Christmas, and it tends to be the week before Christmas that they bump the prices back up as they know people leaving it til last minute will have no choice but to pay full price. So here's a round up of discount codes and offers currently on popular websites (I haven't included end dates as a lot didn't have any so act fast!):

Dorothy Perkins - up to 40% off Fashion Frenzy

Urban Outfitters - £1 delivery (no code needed)

25% off selected homewares and gifts

20% off selected dresses

MAC Cosmetics - free delivery on all orders
free gift wrap (ends midnight tonight, code WRAP and select gift wrap at checkout)

Debenhams - 15% off all beauty (excluding Chanel, 10% off MAC and Tom Ford)

Boots - 3 for 2 mix and match on selected gifts

Various fragrance offers

ASOS - 15% off orders (code 5F0008E00CD1. From vouchercodes if this doesn't work)

Warehouse - 20% off in store. (Till code 610)

The Body Shop -  35% off in store (Till code 14320)

Burtons Menswear - £20 off all jackets and coats (online today only, however Burton are doing a different deal everyday for the first 12 days of Christmas!)

ELF Cosmetics - free shipping when you spend over £10 (code 2951213)

These are the best ones I've found so far. Using Vouchercloud and Vouchercodes can make a huge difference to you at Christmas so always double check before you buy gifts - you could save a lot!

Maybelline Baby Lips - What's The Hype?

I may possibly be ten years too late to this but I thought I'd chuck in my thoughts anyway. I did actually buy this when it was first released and everyone was waxing lyrical about it, but held off using it for a long time. Now, I know why...

Christmas Gift Guide For Men 2013!

After posting my last gift guide I knew I wanted to do another one, and when a friend requested on twitter that I make a mens gift guide I got straight to it. I really like trying to find gifts that people wouldn't really buy for themselves and I think I've managed to find a solid 15 gifts here - I even checked them with my boyfriend and he said he'd love to get any of them!  I've picked items with a range of budgets in mind (though do remember if you shop around you're bound to find cheaper prices/discount codes!). So sit down, this is a long post...

by erinjainex 

15 Christmas Gifts Under £15!

Seeing as my last Christmas post was 5 stocking fillers under £5, I thought I'd go the extra mile and do 15 gifts under £15 this time! All of these gifts would be great as either a more luxury stocking filler or a gift in itself. The gifts I've picked today are mainly for females (as I presume that's the majority of my readership) but I might do a sneaky little post on a gift guide for boys later on.

Under 15 by erinjainex

How Much Is My Face Worth? The Basics!

I absolutely love this tag and have wanted to do it for ages, but kept on wondering which products to include. I finally decided I would do the basics that are literally on my face everyday and maybe closer to Christmas do a 'going out' face worth tag! Onto the products..

I actually feel like I have got my everyday makeup down to quite a good amount - when you get like me and buy tonnes of makeup it's hard not to chop and change all the time, but these bits here have been staples in my make up bag for quite a while now.

Revlon Lash Potion, £9.99

L'oreal Brow Artiste Pencil in Brunette, £5.49

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair, £4.19

You may remember I did a post about the Revlon Lash Potion and how much I wasn't in love with it.. This point is still pretty much valid but sadly the tube lasts for ages and I can't justify buying a new one at the minute when I can't really spend on makeup this month! The eyebrow pencil was a random pick up which I now love - it has a wax pencil on one end to set your brow which surprisingly works very well. And of course the concealer - the one raved about by multiple bloggers! I really have grown to like this, it's great for everyday use.

Collection 2000 Fast Stroke Eyeliner in Black, £2.99

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in Ivory, £7.99

Sleek Face Form Kit in Light, £9.99

MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC15, £21.50

This eyeliner you also may remember from my very first post - it's my absolute favourite and have been using it since I was around 12! Perfect for pretty much any type of eyeliner you want to do - I will remain loyal forever to it! The foundation was a random pick up in Tesco oddly, when I had run out of my beloved MAC Studio Fix Foundation - and I've been using this instead ever since. Then the only two powders I use is the contouring shade from the Sleek Face Form kit and my Studio Fix powder from MAC. I love both and am very close to finishing these two! 

Total = £62.14

I really don't think that's too bad a total! If I went back a year it would be a lot more expensive but when I consider that these are all of my favourite basics which I have bought time and time again, I think it's worth it. Have you ever figured out how much your face is worth? 

Under £5 Stocking Fillers - A Gift Guide

Now that it's halfway through November I think it's about the right time to talk about Christmas. (Anyway who thinks otherwise come back and read this post in December). Unless you are super organised, you always end up rushing around the buy presents in December, with no money left, trying to find bargains that aren't on anymore because shops know you'll pay full price by then! So I want to create a little guide alongside my other regular posts so that (hopefully) we're all a bit more prepared this year. To start with: stocking fillers!

Under £5 Xmas Gifts by erinjainex 

What's in my bag?

As tempting as it is to start this post with 'I'm baaaack!' I shall refrain. I really want to start by apologising for being a bad blogger and not posting. The move to Manchester was a lot more difficult than ever anticipated and I didn't have any time for myself let alone to blog. However I'm in my new house, I'm settled, and I finally have five minutes to breath and tap out a post!

Halloween Inspired Beauty/Fashion Finds!

Three weeks on, still not moved into my house. So just imagine continuous apologies about the crap blog updating! As I've been living in my cousin's house with not very much to do, I've been reading a lot of blogs and I've noticed loads of Halloween outfit/makeup tutorials. Whilst I still don't have my good camera I can't join in, but I thought I would show you my wishlist of Halloween beauty finds.

Halloween inspired makeup by erinjainex 

Vogue's Fashion Night Out in Manchester!

Sorry I've been terrible with blogging again this week - when you don't live in your own house, don't have your camera and don't have a lot of internet connection it makes it difficult! However when I went along to the Vogue Fashion Night Out last night, I knew I had to share some snaps with you even if they're just off my phone.

Henri Holland at Selfridges

My month in pictures: September

I still can't get over the fact that we are now in to October - where has the time gone?! Yes, I'm going to say it - it will be Christmas before we know it! Anyway, here are a few snaps that I took in September that didn't make it to Instagram or the blog.

1. House of Holland beautiful nails!

2. Me and my lovely sister out for her boyfriend's birthday.

3. Amazing dessert!

4. Bear in my suitcase as I was packing for Manchester.

5. Sunset leaving my hometown!

6. My first not too shabby attempt at using a nail art pen.

7. Yummy white chocolate chip cookies!

8. Spotting my blog post on the popular beauty page on Bloglovin'!

9. Bear in his little winter parka. Couldn't resist!

Autumn/Winter boot picks!

Hello everyone! Sorry all has been a bit quit here lately, I started my new job in Manchester on Monday and have been so busy with it all week! As I've spent a fair bit of time trekking to and from the train station whilst doing so in my comfy ballet flats, I've realised it is getting bloody cold! Especially for my poor little feet. Here are some of my top picks to keep your tootsies warm in winter!

winter boots by erinjainex

Elizabeth Arden Exceptional Lipstick Review

I feel like all I've been blogging about lately is lipstick! It's safe to say that whenever I see a colour that catches my eye I just cannot resist taking it home. Especially when its Elizabeth Arden and just £5.00 in TK Maxx!

Jo Malone Peony & Blush Suede Perfume Review

A month or so ago I saw that you could request a sample of the new Jo Malone fragrance, Peony and Blush Suede. Not really thinking I would get one as they were limited stock, imagine my surprise when one popped through my letterbox last week!

Seventeen Phwoarr Paint (Heavy Duty Concealer) Review!

Being the easily influenced person I am, after I saw one person blog about the new Seventeen concealer and compare it to Benefit Erase Paste - I went out and bought it. This is a new heavy duty under eye concealer that promises some pretty amazing things from a lower end drug store brand.

MUA/One Direction 'Kiss Me' Lipstick Review

Let me start off by saying no, I am not a One Direction fan. When I first heard about this collection all I wanted to do was stay the hell away! Then the reviews started trickling in and I had to admit to myself that the lipsticks actually looked pretty darn good.

White Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe

No, that's not a code name for some new beauty product. I genuinely have been making a lot of cookies at the minute and these are most definitely my favourite so I thought I'd share the recipe with you!

MAC Rebel - best winter lipstick ever?

After I said a teary farewell to Girl About Town the other day, I thought it was about time to invest in a winter lipstick that would be worn and loved for the next few months. Enter MAC Rebel. It's a lipstick that has been raved about repeatedly, blogged about, etc - but I just never picked up as it looked too scary in the tube. On Saturday though, I bit the bullet!

Topshop grunge outfit ideas

Topshop grunge by erinjainex

Elegant Touch House of Holland Nails Review

As soon as I saw people write about these I knew that they would one day be mine. I didn't expect that it would be so soon! They are in fact on my fingers now (making it hard to type may I add as they are super long) and I love them so much!

L'oreal Skin Perfection Micellar Solution

I've been holding off reviewing this for quite a while now, because I just couldn't make my mind up about it. Now I'm past the halfway mark I thought it was about time I shared how I felt about it!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that the beauty world is crazy for Bioderma. However for the 250ml bottle of Bioderma Micelle Solution it's a whopping £10, before postage and packaging! This is because it's a French brand and has to imported here which means we pay a lot more for it. So when I saw L'oreal were doing a high street version at a measly £4.99 (currently £3.33 at Boots on offer I bought it straight away.

It claims to be as gentle as water, and says it will dissolve makeup, unclog pores, and tone and soothe skin. That's a lot of promise! I do agree that it dissolves my makeup quite well, and it is very gentle and soothing. As for the rest, not so much. Having never tried the Bioderma version I can only imagine L'oreal is trying to be everything Bioderma is! 

My only gripes with it are that it can never quite get off all of my mascara, (but I'm yet to meet anything that can so that doesn't bother me too much). It also obviously has to be used with cotton wool pads and going through 4-5 pads every time means I get through a pack very quickly now. In all honesty, it's just an 'alright' product - I don't hate it, but I really don't love it. Maybe it's time I invested in Bioderma and just dealt with the price!

MAC Girl About Town - goodbye summer lipstick!

Hello everyone! Sorry that I've been missing the past few days, I've been trying to sort out my move to Manchester and it doesn't give me much relaxing time. In the week or so I've been doing this, the super nice weather has disappeared to be replaced by rain and misery. Therefore I wanted to wear a stupidly bright, girly lipstick to say goodbye to summer.

Revlon Lash Potion - no magic here!

Being a loyal YSL Shocking mascara buyer, when I ran out earlier this month I was devastated - there was no way I could afford that spend this month! If you've read my NOTD post about Revlon Nail Enamel in 'Rich' then you will know that instead, I ended up buying the Revlon Lash Potion.

I got this because I had seen a few of my favourite bloggers/vloggers get it and have such wonderful experiences with it. But me? Not so much. The brush is so much bigger than I anticipated, and actually reminds me a lot of a Collection 2000 mascara (big fat something?!) where the wand and brush are just too big to actually use properly.

The result is above. Just very average and you can even see tiny black specks where the mascara has still managed to get onto my eyelid after being very careful! I think I just expected so much more than it delivered, and for £9.99 it's just not very good - I'd rather buy the excellent Falsies instead at £7.99!

I sadly think this is a case of pretty packaging from a usually great brand, without the great product to match. I'll be trying to use this one up and then I'll be moving on!

PS - there just might be a giveaway starting on Friday so follow me on Bloglovin' to see what it is! ;)

My favourite lipsticks: reds!

In all honesty, every time I put on red lipstick I either think one of two things: the first is "do I look like a five year in her mum's makeup?" and the second is "I look so sophisticated!". And whichever one I think is to do with the shade of red. There are so many different tones and shades of red out there that it puts a lot of people off even trying them! Luckily as I've got older (and spent more money on lipsticks.. oops) I've managed to find some firm favourites that I know suit me.

L-R: Lime Crime Velvetines 'Red Velvet', MAC Marilyn Monroe 'Deeply Adored', Kate Moss for Rimmel '01', MAC Riri Woo

These are actually all quite different reds so I hope it instills some hope in you for your own red lips! Lime Crime's Red Velvet is actually a liquid lipstick that goes on as a gloss, but dries matte. I absolutely love this - you don't need very much to get amazing colour, it dries quickly and barely smudges. It's a velvety rose red, definitely not a bright red but very classy.

Sorry for including a limited edition lipstick (well two!) but I had to - from the Marilyn Monroe collection I managed to snag Deeply Adored. On me it is almost a browny red - I'm pretty sure it was described as a deep scarlet though. It is very much a deep movie star red and I thought it captured the Marilyn feel perfectly. I can imagine this looks absolutely amazing on people with darker skin as it would look so sultry and vampy!

Doesn't everyone love the Kate Moss lipsticks by now? Colour, staying power and a cheap price tag?! This one is the most 'classic' red out of the four - just a bright true red that actually seems to suit a lot of people. 

My last one (another limited... shoot me) is the famous Riri Woo. Very, very close to it's cousin Ruby Woo. A lot of people actually said if you already have Ruby Woo don't bother getting this! This is a retro matte finish and it is very matte - which I love - but I know bothers a lot of people. You must have well conditioned lips to wear this though or it just tugs and pulls! It's a super bright, blue based red that you have to have guts to wear.

I would have included Russian Red by MAC in here too but sadly I couldn't find it! However it is a shade worth checking out as it is absolutely lovely and on par with all of the above lipsticks.

Do you have a favourite red or are you still looking? Let me know down below :)

PS - if you don't follow me on Twitter or Bloglovin', you should do! There could be a little giveaway starting tomorrow so keep your eyes peeled on how to enter.

A/W Wishlist - Tartan

After reading everyone else's wishlists for A/W, I am well and truly in the mood to do the same! It is mighty obvious that grunge is going to be huge, and I mean huge for this A/W. We are seeing tartan and leather everywhere, rips and frays, oversized tops worn with the masculine boots... *sigh* Dreamy!

A/W Wishlist - Tartan by erinjainex 

Lime Crime - an honest review

I've known about the brand Lime Crime for a good few years now, but as with most of the UK can't afford the shipping rates etc that they offer so never had the opportunity to try it. Now they actually have a few UK sellers and I've managed to snag a few of their products. Recently I've noticed quite a few beauty bloggers either reviewing or doing looks with their products so I thought I'd also re-visit them and do a little review. *Warning - picture heavy blog post!*

Orange arm candy

 I'm beginning to wonder how many posts I can put up of things I have bought before you all think I am genuinely addicted to shopping. I promise I'm not! I have been looking for a new bag for a while that was a little bit more on the formal side. I'm moving to Manchester in a few weeks where I'll have to look a bit smarter for work and so I've been trying to pick up pieces that are a good balance between casual and formal. This orangey structured barrel bag from New Look is just that to me - the colour keeps it fun whilst the gold detailing and leather look keep it smart. Plus it was only twenty English squids!

£19.99, New Look

PS - as always don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin'! I have a little prize sorted for a giveaway soon so keep your eyes peeled :)

Amelia Lily Topshop boots

We all know that Topshop boots tend to be beautiful. We also all know they tend to be on the expensive side. However a good mood, an hour to kill and one staff card later ends up with these: the Amelia Lily boots.

Amelia Lily Boots, £80

NOTD: Revlon Nail Enamel in Rich

Doing my usual lunchtime wandering around Boots, I remembered I needed some new mascara. After hearing about everyone loving the Lash Potion I wanted to get some, but have a weird thing about spending more than £7-8 on high street mascara. Then I saw Revlon had a 2 for £10 offer on (including the £9.99 Lash Potion) meaning I could buy something else for a PENNY! And I spotted this.

Urban Decay glide on shadow dupe!

Is it weird to feel this proud of finding your very own dupe?! (Especially when it wasn't actually very difficult). Either way a few weeks back I purchased the smaller sizes of Urban Decay's famous Glide On Eyeshadow sticks, in Juju and Rehab - then yesterday found Rehab's twin in Boots!

Back: Collection Work the Colour Eyeshadow Pencil in Hot Chocolate

Front: Urban Decay Glide on Eyeshadow Pencil in Rehab

Leeds festival!

So in case you've noticed my absence, I've been at Leeds festival for the past few days! I had such a brilliant time (even though it absolutely poured with rain and created the biggest mud bath I have ever seen). However I am back now and may have already bought some products that I've been wanting for ages, and will be back to posting as usual soon. I just thought some of you may want to see a few pictures from my weekend!

Biffy Clyro fire show!

My month in pictures: August

I always love having a nosy inside the more personal side of people's lives so I thought I'd show you a bit of mine - some pictures I've taken whilst out and about in August. Also seeing as I still haven't got my camera back from my dad this is a bit of a cheat post! 

puppy in a bow  ♥  me and a friend on a night out  ♥  amazing street art in manchester  ♥  cocktail time at walrus

♥  leeds festival tickets!  ♥  nails of the day  ♥  my new sugar skull tea light holder  ♥  puppy after a bath 

♥  my boyfriend looking adorable and chubby! 

My cheap festival checklist!

This time next week I'll be in Leeds, for the very well known Leeds & Reading festival! I'm really excited as this is the first festival I've been to since 2010, and I haven't had a holiday this year so I'm using it as a little getaway! We all know what the conditions of festivals are like and I've been keeping an eye out for any little things I can take with me to make life generally a bit easier.

Rescue oil - my new holy grail?

Let's all be honest with eachother - there is nothing we want more than a miracle product that works the first time you use it, every time you use it. And of course, we spend way too much money trying to find these rare gems. I've just stumbled across one - and I thought I'd be lovely enough to share it with you. :)