Goodbye October

As we say goodbye to October and take one step closer to Christmas it’s time for a monthly catch up – via Instagram, naturally. This month has been pretty exciting with Halloween and various events so I haven’t been posting too much - hopefully I'll be back in my usual routine this month!

Top row, left to right: My lovely powder contour kit from Make up Revolution, the November Vogue issue, the sun set I see on my evening commute as I go over the Arnside viaduct, some Christmas scents for my new reed diffuser, lovely sunrise at Lancaster station, my little Peggy resting in the sun - she was quite unwell earlier on in the month, but is a lot better now!

Second row, left to right: Night time delays at the station, New trials vs Neutrals eye shadow palette from Make up Revolution, free water and biscuits on the train for National Customer Services week, pumpkins carved by me and Joshua, my new love - gingerbread green tea - and a blueberry muffin (a very healthy breakfast I know...), my lovely Halloween flowers from Joshua.

Third row, left to right: The kittens investigating the pumpkins (they tried eating a bit and hated it!), my skull make up for a Halloween party, my beautiful new Iphone 6S in 'Rose Gold', the 'beyond flawless' eye shadow palette - also from Make up Revolution, Lancaster castle looking lovely as the leaves started to fall earlier in the month, more train freebies for Customer Services week - two brews, water and more biscuits!

Bottom row, right to left: Léa Seydoux in November's Vogue - featuring Prudence's paw, lovely leaves in Lancaster, my base corrector kit from Make up Revs - I went on a make up spending spree last month, in case you haven't already guessed! Next is the collection of beauty products on my bedside cabinet (which you can read more about HERE), a picture showing my natural hair - it's grown a lot since it all fell out and I finally felt confident enough to show my hair without extensions and finally is the beautiful BOCA toothpastes, which I reviewed HERE.

If you want to see more of what I get up to day to day then you can follow me on Instagram or Twitter, just search 'alicelouisealk' and hit follow! 

What did you get up to in October? What did you think of this post? Let me know in a comment below!

Lasting finish by Kate: Nude collection

Last month Kate Moss and Rimmel London launched their new Lasting Finish Nudes collection. So, embracing the nude lip that has been featured so heavily in the AW catwalk shows, I decided to give the collection a go.

The collection consists of five nude shades that promise up to 8 hours of coverage and are designed to give a bare lip look to any skin tone. However the shades also look fantastic mixed and matched with different skin tones.

I decided to go for two very different shades; 42, the shade recommended for my skin tone by the 'make-up specialist' in store, and shade 48, the darkest in the collection.

Shade 42, shown above is a pink/peach shade but not quite nude I'm comparison to my skin. Sorry 'make-up specialist' you were wrong.

Although it is a gorgeous colour, I can't really wear it as a nude because my skin is several shades lighter than the lipstick. However I do plan on investing in shade 40, the palest in the collection, in the hopes it will work better with my skin tone.

Shade 48 is a deep brown and looked really nice in contrast to my pale skin and I can imagine it'll make a beautiful nude for people with darker skin tones.

So by this point I've decided the shades are pretty awesome, but what about the 'long lasting' colour promised by Rimmel? They claim their product will last for up to 8 hours, but does it really do what it says on the tin?

Well yeah pretty much. Shade 42 lasted me a full day at work (7 hours) and then a full night of drinking after a quick re-application on the train. The colour did start to dull slightly after about five hours but was still visible without having to reapply.

Shade 48 was even more durable than 42, it lasted a full day of work and only had to be reapplied after I'd eaten, 8 hours after the first application! 

Overall I am a fan! I also got two Rimmel lipsticks from Kate's regular collections in shades 3 and 38. Both colours are, again, nudes - I'm a nude fan don't judge me!

Shade 3 is a beige/pink colour whereas 38 is more of a coral/creamy pink shade. Both lippys are also lasting finish and each lasted about 6 hour before I had to go over them.

Overall I absolutely adore my new lipsticks and would seriously recommend them to anyone looking for the perfect Autumn shade!

Have you tried any of the nudes collection? What did you think of the shades I picked? Let me know in a comment below!

By Terry: Baume De Rose*

By Terry is an absolutely stunning French collection of make-up which combines beautiful colours with sumptuous scents and added protection for our delicate skin! What’s not to love eh? If there’s one thing to say about this product it’s that the French always get it right!

The lip gloss I have is from the BAUME DE ROSE collection and is designed to care for your lips by nourishing, smoothing and regenerating the skin. The lip gloss also comes in a balm pot but has been design in the compact tube shown above to make it more handbag friendly meaning it can be there for you whenever you have a lip SOS!

I never used to be a fan of lip gloss but recently I’m obsessed and this product has pride of place in my collection! It’s a pale pink, almost clear lip gloss with slight mother of pearl look to it. When applied to the lips it has an almost hologram like affect and can be worn on bare lips or over lipstick.

The gloss contains regenerating essential rose wax, lipid-boosting floral oils and anti-aging biotechnological ceramides – basically a load of stuff that’s good for your skin and makes your lips look younger!

I absolutely love the look of this gloss, it’s almost sheer but very eye-catching and it’s become my everyday gloss. I've also been very it over lipstick for nights out just to give my lips more of sparkle. Once it’s applied it tends to last for a couple of hours before needing to be re-applied and I tend to re-apply it after drinking and eating out of habit more than anything.

As well as being a great gloss, I am absolutely in love with the smell of this product! I love floral scents and rose is such a classic favourite of mine so this product was right up my street! I can’t wait to invest in more products from the BAUME DE ROSE collection.

The lip gloss costs 39 Euro (about £27) which I think is a really reasonable price for a designer product, especially one as lovely as this. You can purchase the beautiful gloss here!

Let me know if you've ever tried any By Terry products or let me know what your favourite lip gloss is in a comment below – I’m always on the hunt for a new gloss!