You Need This / Rimmel's Exaggerate Lip Liner

What's In My Bag: Uni Edition

Starting University last month was the perfect excuse to buy myself one of the many Zara bag I lust over. Enter the Zara Office City Bag with pocket. It could probably only be more beautiful if it came in black. (Yes, I did ask a lady at the till if it came in black...) 

The details:

A girl can't have too many lippy options. I'm nearly always a nude lip girl, and Topshop's Nevada and Rimmel's Notting Hill Nude are my favourites that I always carry around with me. Carmex has been saving my lips recently, and Vaseline doubles up as a good blusher too. 

Of course, keys always come with me, as do the headphones. 

With all the best intentions, I've been hauling Gone Girl around with me since I bought it. So far, so good, and I've just got home from seeing the movie and boy, I don't even know what to tell you. There are no words. 

There are always black biros rolling around in there, and a calculator is a new addition too. I don't carry all my old notes with me- just paper, and does anyone else get really fussy about paper? W H Smith all the way people. Weleda's Skin Food transfers between all my handbags because it's an all round good'un. Good as a lip balm, or just a general moisturiser. My purse holds my life so I keep it close at all times- who knows when I might need one of the numerous random discount cards for some elusive store? 

So there's what I lug around all day e'rryday. I won't lie, it's quite heavy! What are the items you keep in your bag religiously? 

Halo Braids and Evening Face

After watching Hello October's March Favourites I felt super inspired. I couldn't wait for a possible tutorial that everyone in the comments was asking for, so instead I pressed pause on the video and and grabbed some makeup. You guys probably know that my everyday face is a flick of eyeliner and a barely there lipstick, so it's safe to say I switched it up just a little and cracked out Maybelline's Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze. Everything else was the usual- what can I say, I think I probably need to break out of this makeup rut I'm in. 

In order of application...

Rimmel Match Perfection in True Ivory

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On & On Bronze

Natural Collection Liquid Eyeliner

Maybelline The Falsies

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transluscent

Sleek Luminous Presses Powder in 2

Rimmel Lasting Finish Blush in Santa Rose

Topshop Lipstick in Nevada

As for the hair... this was probably my third attempt at Halo Braids and I think this is as good as it's going to get. This video made it look super easy, which definitely had me fooled. I think that practice is key, here, because mine looking nothing look this. It's a great little tutorial though, especially for shoulder length hair gals like me. 

Colour Co-ordination

I decided to go all matchy-matchy with my skirt and lipstick. Quelle surprise, I used Rimmel's 107. 

This is an outfit I wore to a work do a week or two back. I think the velvet is a cute little nod to Christmas, and this skirt will be great for the festive season because it's so swishy (as demonstrated above...) 

It's scary to think that this time next week we'll all be lying on the sofa in a food coma (I certainly will be, anyway), and all the presents will be opened, and Christmas will nearly be over. I finished school yesterday, so this next week is going to be jam-packed with a whole load of festive goodness. Some of it will be making it's way to the blog! 

Living for the Weekend

 I'm so into the festive mood that I'm trying so hard to refrain from giving my blog a little xmas makeover. I guess this means that I'm over-compensating with the festive wardrobe. Yep, I bought the obligatory festive jumper last week. 

I also bought this tartan mini, which I've been dying to show you. It's uber short, maybe even too short to warrant tights- I think this one might be a leggings job, if only because it's a bit chilly. This dress is a big contender in the run for my christmas day outfit- even if it's the exact same pattern as my old, pleated, tartan school skirt. I definitely don't miss that uniform.

I know it's only Monday but I'm living for the weekend already. There's a bag of popcorn and some marshmallows in the cupboard, waiting for me and the Love Actually dvd.

Finally, what are your thoughts on another one of my new purchases- my lipstick. I finally caved and bought Rimmel's Kate Moss Lasting Perfection Lipstick in 107, because it's so darn christmassy and everyone talks about how nice it is. (I agree) I think it's the icing on top of this outfit- expect it to make many reappearances throughout the winter months.

Winter Picks

Christmas is fast approaching (I'm warning you now, it's all I'll be talking about until New Year...) and I love a bit of sparkle. I saw Tanya Burr talking about this Topshop sweater in a recent video, and liked it so much that I got to day-dreaming about the result. Here's the result...

Winter Picks by rubysterland 

Wish List: 12/11/13

Wish List: 12/11/13 by rubysterland 

To any family members feeling extremely generous... did someone mention Christmas? 

I've had lots of chances to scan the shelves over the past few weeks and it's fair to say that my wish list has been piling up.

A christmas jumper from Miss Selfridge, because I can't say no.

Rimmel London Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner- I saw Anna from using this last week in a fab post. I want.

A potentially dangerous trip to the John Lewis Beauty Hall left me pining for the Bobbi Brown Corrector. 

I also found some shelves stacked with Diptyque goodness, and found Philosykos. 

 Another Miss Selfridge offering that I will definitely get my hands on when it's back in stock.

A pair of fluffy, velvet-y slippers from Boden. 

Wearing: Rimmel | Kate Moss Lasting Finish in 110

    01. Straight from the bullet.

    02. Applied with a brush.

A few days ago I took to twitter and asked both Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup and Amelia Liana from Liana Beauty for some drugstore red lippy recommendations. I picked up Anna's choice from Boots, and as I branch out into bolder options I might branch out into Liana's favourites, but I have to take it easy before my lips go into colour overload.

So for now, the chosen one is the Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick in 110. I was uber close to picking up 107 too, which is a darker more autumnal red, so watch this space.

So I had a good old experiment with shade 110 and I'm really impressed. It is totally out of my comfort zone, but I've found two ways of applying which give completely different effects, making it pretty versatile. Even though it's matte, and therefore pretty drying, it goes on really nicely straight from the bullet and builds up to be a really bold, in your face red. It hangs around too and here's the proof- I ate an apple and had a cup of coffee- lips still in tact for a few hours before it needed re-applying.

I went back to it this morning (apologies for the difference in lighting... and hair) and had a further play. Now this is where it gets good. I went straight in with a brush instead of applying it directly, and it gives a really nice, subtle (as subtle as red can be) tint to the lips. Maybe a tad more every day?

Let me know what you think of the colour, and whether you would wear it?

You can see how Anna wears it in her video: Super Simple Red Lip Tutorial.

Wearing: Districtly Come Dancing

I've been trying to push the boat out with my nail polishes recently. I would usually stick to pale colours, like lilacs, nudes, peaches- you get the idea. But I fancied a change and thought I would try out some new colours, and this one really caught my eye. This picture is a little deceiving because I think that, in real life, it's a bit greener than it looks here. 

On the first coat it was so streaky and patchy, but actually, with one more it looked pretty good. I'm not overly mad about the formula because I prefer a thicker polish (think Barry M Gelly Nails) but the brush is nice and big, which makes painting my nails super quick. I've just been eyeing up the collection on Boots and it looks like they have loads of nice colours. For just over £2, I'm not complaining.   

Have you tried this collection? What's your favourite polish at the minute? 

WOMF #1

I cracked out the eyeshadow today, inspired by Anna's post I read a few days ago. My base is a sample of the Liz Earle Colour Sheer Skin Tint, I'm wearing Fair Skin. I dusted a bit of Rimmel's Stay Matte Poweder over the top, and used my good old Vaseline Rosy Lips to add some flush to my cheeks. 

Now to the eyes... I started by sweeping Benefit's Disco Dust all over my eyes, then used Solid Gold and Get Down Brown in my crease. I swept a teensy bit of Get Down Brown under my eyes. I finished with lashings of, yep, more Benefit- the "They're Real" mascara. 

Last, but not least, a dab of my old faithful- Moisture Renew Lipstick in Notting Hill Nude, and a bit of Bare Minerals Marvellous Moxie lipgloss in Spark Plug. I blotted it out to leave only some of the shine. It's a super pigmented lip gloss, but it's a bit sticky too! 

What's your go-to 'look' been lately? I'm usually quite a simple girl, but I thought I would experiment and change it up a bit! This is pretty out there for me, but maybe a dog can learn new tricks...

White Stripes

Hi everyone! I thought I'd show you my favourite new purchase. A few weeks ago I saw Isabella from Views of Now wearing a really cute top with an open back, so when I saw this version in Primark I had to have one. I love a good stripe in summer, and apparently my dog does too! This is the second time she's photo bombed on my blog. 

OOTD: 

Top- Primark

Shorts- Dorothy Perkins

Sneakers & Necklace- New Look

WOMF:

Garnier BB Cream

Collection 2000 Multiplying Mascara

Rimmel Moisture Renew in Notting Hill Nude

May Favourites!

I finally decided on what I've really loved over the past month that I wanted to share with you all. Here goes...

1) The Notebook. I'm sure you've seen me write about this movie before. I break down in tears every time I watch it. Last weekend I had an amazing night with one of my closest friends Emily (we've been really close since we were tiny) and I made her watch it. It reminded me how much I love this movie! If you haven't seen it, shame on you! It's Ryan Gosling, c'mon.

2) Flatforms. They look so comfy! I've seen Isabella from Views Of Now wear a pair and they're gorgeous, they're definitely big this summer! 

3) Vitamin Water- XXX Antioxidants. I had this for the first time recently and it tastes so gooood. I'm kind of stating the obvious here, why else would it be in my favourites? Anyway, it has Blueberry,  Pomegranate and Acai, and it's flippin' yummy. 

4) Selena Gomez- Come and Get It. Man, it's so catchy. And Selena Gomez is stunning is the video for this song. Tanya Burr did a tutorial inspired by the video!  

5) Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation. There's not really much I can say about this. It does what it says, matches me well, has light to medium coverage and is really good value for money!

6) Rookie Mag. In particular, I loved the interview with Emma Watson.  Emma Watson, be my best friend?

7) Miranda Sings. I first watched her videos a few weeks ago and she had me in stitches, she's hilarious. This has to be my favourite video. 

8) Statement Necklaces. At the moment I'm loving jeans, a simple slouchy V Neck and a bold necklace. I love this one from River Island.

9) Nice n Neutral by Topshop. I've worn this one lots recently. I'm definitely into nude nail polish, it goes with pretty much anything! Especially neon. If you follow me on instagram or read my last haul you'll know I just bought a neon orange (called Stage Dive) from Topshop and it goes so well with nude nails! 

10) Weleda Skin Food. I've known about this for ages but have only just started using it regularly. I've seen other bloggers rave about it, I know Fleur de Force uses it and I would definitely say it's one of my essential products. It's not too greasy, my skin soaks it all up and loves it. My skin's not too happy at the minute, it's a bit dry, so it's really been needing this! 

Let me know what've been your favourite things this month, I would love to hear your recommendations!