It’s that time of year again as the weather starts to get cooler and we consider getting out those warmer clothes! With this in mind its time to start thinking about the new autumn trends which of course means new autumn makeup ranges. No7 have launched their autumn range of bold but matte colours which includes:

- Limited edition eye palette

- Soft matte lipstick in nude or plum

- Smoky eyeliner

- Matte nail top coat

- Exceptional definition mascara

The eye palette contains four bold colours which have an almost jungle edge to them. The colours are very bright so not for the faint hearted however that said I do really like the purple and green colours.  The exceptional definition mascara is like three brushes all in one! There’s a brush to coat all your lashes with a shorther dense set of the bristles on the other side to help seperate your lashes. Finally there’s a ball on the end to coat those lashes in the corners giving you the benefit of three mascaras all in one go.

I’m not normally a fan of matte nail varnish however I’ve tried this top coat over a burgandy polish and I love the results. I think the matte finish gives a more sophisticated edge to the nail varnish which will be perfect as the seasons start to change. I think I’ll be trying this again over my favourite blue nail varnish to see if it manages to give that a sophisticated edge as well.

I stopped by the Benefit counter the other day to buy some more of my sugarbomb blusher and have been tempted into trying their Erase paste. I’m always on the look out for a good concealer to hide any of those nasty blemishes and now that I’m a busy mummy there’s also the dark under eye circles to contend with!

Erase paste is available in 3 shades so with my pale skin tone I have of course opted for the fairest shade. It comes in a little pot with a spatula to get out only the amount you need. Its quite a thick and creamy concealer so the spatula is handy otherwise you end up with lots stuck up your nails!

Benefit claim this product brightens and camouflages all in one easy step! I often find concealers that give the best coverage to be too thick and cakey to look natural on the skin so I was pleasantly surprised to find that erase paste blended easily under the eyes and covered my blemishes well.

I think it does make my eye area look brighter and does seem to diminish any dark circles. For blemishes I wouldn’t say they completely vanish but are certainly well covered when used alone with just a touch of powder which is what I tend to do on a busy morning.  Even though its a touch pricey I’ll definately be adding it to my beauty staples as it does help cover all those problem areas.

I’ve always tended to stick with the safe colours such as the  pinks, purples and reds when it comes to nail varnish however this year I’ve been feeling a bit more adventurous. Especially now that nail polish is the finishing touch to any outfit!

My favourite shade at the moment most definately has to be Green With Envy from Rimmel. The colour is a very vibrant turquoise with a hint of a sheen. I’d actually say the colour in the bottle is a very good representation of the finished look. I’m sure I’m not the only lady to have been fooled by the colour of a nail varnish in the bottle only to find that on the nails it comes out a very strange colour!

I do like Rimmel nail varnishes and I have blogged before about their 60 second collection before. The polish dries quickly and lasts well without chipping. Of course the price isn’t at all bad either! Green With Envy is meant to be a one coat nail polish however I find that two coats give a more even and vibrant colour.  The polish dries so quickly that two coats is not a problem. For anyone after a vibrant summer nail polish I’d definately recommend this colour.

With my exam finally behind me I can now sit down and pamper myself which feels well deserved after hours of revision. This also of course means that I can start writing some new posts for my rather neglected blog!

Now I know my previous post was also about a range of lip balms however I couldn’t resist mentioning these lovely shell lip balms from Organic Island Australia. Each naturally restored beach shell contains a 100% natural lip balm. The shells also have a mirror inside to allow you to check your lips when you are out and about!

I love how innovative this lip balm is using a natural product such as a shell rather than a plastic packaging. My favourite is white frangipani which is the shell shown. I’m a sucker for anything pink and my wedding dress design was actually called Frangipani!  That said though the other shells are lovely as well and the lip balm itself is very nourishing. It has a very delicate scent of coconut  and makes my lips feel nice and soft.

As some of you may have noticed my blog has been rather lacking in posts during the past few weeks. I have unfortunately been revising for an exam, something which I thought after university I would never have to do again!

Alsa no, exams are unfortunately something I seem to be unable to get away from even now with a little one to look after. Howver as I now have quite a few items I wanted to write about I’m taking a well earned revision break and thought I would do a few reviews whilst the little one is asleep.

For my first review I have been trying some lip balms from the BonBon range. These lip balms are all hand made using natural ingredients to give a lovely range of flavours. I’ve been trying two from the range, carmel and pina colada.

I think my favourite is the carmel which has a lovely sweet which is very reminiscent of carmel. Its also very nourishing for your lips and I’ve been keeping it on the side in my kitchen so I remeber to keep applying it stop my lips drying out in all the sun weather (well it was sunny earlier in the week!). I also love the little glass jars the balms come in which makes them look far posher than your average lip balm.

That said I do like the pina colada flavour as well and you can definately tell that it smells of pineapple and coconut. Its not quite as sweet as the carmel one, though thats probably the reason my carmel is my favourite! The range of flavours they make sounds very edible including chocolate and mojito balm. They all sound good enough to eat!