Colours of the Rainbow TAG!

Hello my beauties! Hope you're all doing well and looking forward to the weekend! Today I'm going to be doing the Colours of the Rainbow Tag which I've seen floating around YouTube a lot. Basically, you pick your favourite product (beauty or clothing) for each colour. For example, for red you might pick a radiant red lipstick, or for pink, a pink lipgloss. Also, most of the beauty gurus were using the ROY G BIV rainbow, but I'm unique so I'm using the rainbow I usually use, with the little song- Red and yellow and pink and green, orange and purple and blueeee, I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow tooooo.

Red - The Body Shop Strawberry Shower Gel. As you can see, my bottle has nearly run out, because this is my favourite shower gel ever. It smells delicious and leaves my skin feeling really fresh and clean. I love using this after a workout because it's really refreshing and cooling, much nicer than a floral scent.

Yellow - Yankee Candle in Vanilla Cupcake. I love Yankee Candle, and the Vanilla Cupcake scent is incredible. It's super sweet and yummy, and this burner got me through my revision! The burner is also from Yankee Candle, in case you were wondering. 

Pink - Possibility Raspberry Pavlova Ultra Rich Hand&Nail Cream. I picked this up from Home&Bargain for about £1.50, and it's incredible. It's super moisturising and rich, rivalling Hand Food by Soap & Glory, but smells even more incredible. It honestly smells like raspberry yoghurt or a sweet dessert... It's incredible.

Green - Tangle Teezer. I have really curly, somewhat frizzy hair that's really hard to control. I've struggled for years to find something than will brush the tangles out without making it extra frizzy, but this is perfect! It looks like something you'd brush a horse with, but it works really well! It's available online or in hair salons mainly, but occasionally I've seen it in other shops too, so just keep your eyes peeled.

Orange - Rimmel Scandeleyes Mascara. This is my absolute go-to mascara, and I use it every single day. I also have the extreme black one and the show off one, but this is my favourite. As you can see from the bottle above, it's a very well-loved tube haha!

Purple - GOSH Special Edition Nail Polish. Unfortunately the name of this polish has come off so I don't know, but it's a lovely colour. It's a gorgeous lilac which I wear year round, but it's especially nice in spring and summer as it's a gorgeous pastel colour. If you do want this colour, Barry M's Nail Paint in Berry Ice Cream is virtually the same colour.

Blue - Forever 21 Polka Dot Jeans. These are my favourite jeans that I own, and they're perfect for spring/summer. In England, the weather tends to be rubbish year round so I need some warm jeans I can wear in summer, without looking winter-y. These are a light-wash blue skinny jean with white polka dots and they're perfect!

Hope you enjoyed this tag! Let me know if you do it, I'd love to read your responses. As for who I tag, I tag:

Claudia @ lipstick-theory.com

Julz @ julzobsessions.blogspot.com

BreezeyBee @ breezeybee.blogspot.co.uk

Hannah Roberts @ hannahmariebeauty.blogspot.co.uk

And anyone else who wants to do it! 

Talk to you later lovelies,

Emma x

Soap & Glory Story - My Collection

Hello my beauties! Hope you're all doing well and looking after yourselves. Today I'm showing you my full Soap & Glory Collection, so I hope you enjoy. It's a little excessive I suppose, but most of the products came in my Best of All set which I got from a friend for Christmas, and I receive loads of S&G products for every birthday! I'll also be giving them a kind of mini review, just rating them /10 and possibly giving a little opinion on them. However, if you'd like any more in depth reviews of specific products, just comment below and let me know! If not, I'll gradually review them all over time :)

 Here is my entire Soap and Glory Collection! I have 18 products I think, but some are the same etc etc. I'll name them all now, and those marked with a (*) were part of the Best of All set (Which came in the lovely pink carry case you can see behind the items). Also, obviously for Sugar Crush and The Righteous Butter, only 1 of them came in the Best of All set!

Back row, L-R = Clean on Me body wash*, Foam Call body wash, Peaches&Clean facial cleanser*, Calm One, Calm All bubble bath, Daily Smooth body butter (x2), Smoothie Star body milk*, Heel Genius foot cream*, Hand Food hand cream*.

Front row, L-R = Sugar Crush body scrub* (x2), Hand Maid hand sanitizer, The Righteous Butter body butter* (x2), Thick&Fast mascara*, Sexy Motherpucker lipgloss*, The Righteous Butter body butter mini, Girligo body moisturising mist.

So now for a bit more of an in depth look at the body and face washes. 

Clean on Me Shower Gel - 4/10. Personally, I really don't like this as it doesn't lather well and is just too thick.

Foam Call Body Wash - 8/10. This lathers amazingly well and leaves my skin feeling super clean.

Peaches and Clean 4-in-1 Wash-off Deep Cleansing Milk - 7/10. Gorgeous smelling, thick, luxurious cleanser which leaves skin feeling smooth and silky.

Calm One, Calm All Bubble Bath - 3/10. I cannot  get this to actually produce any bubbles!! However, some people have used and loved this, so maybe I'm doing something wrong? Haha.

Sugar Crush Body Scrub - 9/10. Love love love love love this product! Ahh it smells incredible and leaves my skin feeling soft and silky. Only downside is it can leave a weird residue on the skin, but it's worth it!

The Righteous Body Butter - 4/10. Shock, horror, I'm giving this a bad review! But I really don't like this product, it's tooo thick for me and doesn't soak into my skin, I hate the feel of it! I only use this when I'm sunburnt.

Daily Smooth Body Butter - 7/10. Great moisturiser, similar to above but a bit less thick.

Girligo Body Moisturising Mist - 7/10. A moisturiser that sprays on in a mist-form, which I really like!

Smoothie Star Deep Moisture Body Milk - 10/10. Favourite. Moisturiser. Ever. Enough said!

Heel Genius Foot Cream - 7/10. A great, moisturising treat for the feet with a peppermint-y smell.

Hand Food Hand Cream - 7/10. The famous Hand Food, which I'm sure you've heard of! A super moisturising treatment which isn't too heavy and soaks in well.

Hand Food Hand Cleansing Gel - 6/10. A great little sanitiser but not any better than normal sanitisers to be honest, just a bit more expensive since it's pink!

Sexy MotherPucker Lip Gloss in Punchbowl - 8/10. A plumping lipgloss that isn't sticky or painful on the lips.

Thick&Fast Mascara - 7/10. Not the most lengthening mascara, but it's good for separating lashes and adding some length. I like to use this for bottom lashes and for a more natural look on my upper lashes.

So, wow this was a very picture heavy post, I apologise for that! However I hope you enjoyed this collection post, let me know if you're as obsessed with Soap and Glory as I am, and give me any suggestions as to new products I need to try!

Talk to you later lovelies,

Emma x

Springing Into Summer #1 - Get Your Bikini Body!

Image from google edited by me.

Hello girls, and welcome to my new series; Springing Into Summer. Summer is flying around the corner at a ridiculous rate, which means time for summer clothes, makeup and holidays (unless you live in England, like me, where summer still means umbrellas, jumpers and wellies...). I absolutely cannot wait, as I have so much to look forward to; two weeks in Spain, and V Festival at the the end of August, as well as lots of partying and going out with friends, a few days staying at a cottage in Wales... I have a feeling it's going to be great! 

However, summer also means shorts, bikinis and crop tops, which for a lot of people can lead to a lot of body-confidence issues and crash diets in order to look "Sexy for Mexi(co)" or sticking to "No Carbs before Marbs". But honestly, crash diets and ridiculous amounts of exercise aren't going to work, especially not if you still don't feel confident and happy with your body. So this blog will hopefully give you a few tips to tone up, get healthier and love your body. If you would like me to do a post about weight loss, then comment below as I am currently losing weight (Lost 2st since Christmas yayyyy), but I don't want to focus on that today, because this post is about bikini-confidence, not weight loss.

1. Stick to a healthy diet for at least a few weeks before your holiday.

Really, you should be eating healthily year round, but trust me I know that's not always easy! However, eating healthily is so great for your body; you feel extra-energised, you don't feel bloated, plus you'll generally feel a little more confident with your body knowing that you're eating healthily, rather than eating McDonald's and Chinese every other night! 

Foods to fill up on: Fruit is great in summer, as you can get strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, mangoes, pineapples... The list goes on! Vegetables are also great when your trying to eat healthily, as they're filling and provide loads of essential nutrients and fibre, but are low in calories. Finally, protein is great if your trying to tone up, as it encourages muscle growth (don't ask me why, I'm not a scientist, I just know it is!)

Foods to avoid: Don't ban any foods, as that's pretty unhealthy. It's not any food that's unhealthy, it's the amount you eat of it that's unhealthy! However, avoid fizzy drinks (even if they're diet) as they cause water retention and this makes you bloat. Also, try to limit your intake of fast food/greasy food as much as you can, as this also causes bloating and break outs, and just a general feeling of sluggish-ness.

2. Tone up!

For some reason, I find exercising pretty fun (although finding the motivation to get to the gym is a different story), so I have a lot of tips about toning up. So many women are afraid of doing weight training because they think they'll turn into a super muscley body builder, but this is such a myth! Women have lower levels of testosterone than men and so it's much harder for them to build muscle. Weight training defines your muscles and burns so many calories, so if you are looking to lose weight and tone, then add some weight training to your cardio routine!

Workouts to try out: Cassie @ Blogilates - Don't be mistaken into thinking that pilates is relaxing and easy; it's the complete opposite! These online workouts are so tiring and painful, but they're great for toning. Cassie has so many different workouts to target any area you could want; inner thighs, love handles, abs, arms... Do one of these a day for just three weeks before your holiday and you'll see a huge difference!

Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred - I love Jillian Michaels (you may recognise her from The Biggest Loser USA) and find her really inspirational, and this 30 day shred is incredible. There are 3 levels to it, and each level lasts 10 days. I have linked level 1, but a quick youtube search will bring up all 3 of them. Enjoy!

3. Love yourself and work that bikini!

Trust me with this, every single girl on the beach feels/has felt self-conscious in their bikini! It takes a lot of confidence to strut along the beach wearing next to nothing, surround by hundreds of people, many of who will be slimmer and more toned than you, many of who will be curvier or bigger than you... But here's the secret. You know that really slim, gorgeous girl you wish you looked like on the beach? She wishes she had your curves. You know that curvy girl that looks incredible in a bikini? She wishes she was slimmer. Nobody's 100% happy with their shape, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't wear a bikini with confidence.

Tips to remember: - You probably don't know anybody else on the beach except your friends/family, so nobody will be looking at your body. Stop worrying and enjoy yourself.

- A tan can make everyone look a bit slimmer, so if you need to fake it, fake it! Get a spray tan or slap some fake tan on, anything that boosts your confidence (but avoid the sunbeds, please!!)

- Try not to compare yourself to anybody else on the beach. I know it's hard but it doesn't help anything. 

- If you're really self conscious, stick to lying on a sun lounger! Everyone looks slimmer lying down, so just chill out and read a book, and if you need to go for a walk, cover up in a stylish sarong.

- Find a bikini or swimming costume that suits your shape! This will be in my next post, so keep your eyes open!

Wow, this was a long post! Hope you all enjoyed it, and remember, the main thing is to enjoy yourself! Whether you're in LA or your back garden, just have fun and try to forget any body worries. Keep your eyes open for the next post which will be up next week, and will be about choosing the perfect bikini/swimming costume for your body!

Talk to you later lovelies,

Emma x

Skincare Routine

Helloooo my dears! Today I'm going to be showing all of you lovelies my skincare routine aka just how lazy I am when it comes to skincare ;) I don't do much in the way of skincare, although it's a lot more than I used to do (I literally used to just wash my face with water, I hardly ever even removed my makeup *gasp*). Also, sorry about the watermarks from emmasbookofbeauty.blogspot.com, as that was my old blog name. However my skincare routine is still exactly the same, so I thought I'd just repost this. Hope that's okay!

How cute is this little bath that we have in our bathroom? I fill it with my favourite bathroom essentials at the time; soaps, skincare things, hand sanitiser etc. I love it!

Before we start, I have combination skin, but it's more on the dry side. Also it can be fairly sensitive and likes to start glowing red at impromptu moments. Great. 

So first up is my makeup remover. I know people do things in different orders, but I like to remove all my makeup before cleansing my face. I use this Simple Kind to Eyes Eye Make-up Remover, which claims to have "1 Vital Vitamin" "No Oil" and "No Perfume". Snazzy, eh? This does a great job of removing my eye and face makeup, and really is very gentle. Plus, it's £2 from Boots/Superdrug. Can you say no? (No, you can't.)

Next up is my cleanser of choice. I use two, this one and the one below. This one is the Soap&Glory Peaches and Clean 4-in-1 Wash-off Deep Cleansing Milk (whoa, mouthful) and I'm so in love with this! It smells like peach yoghurt (mmm) and feels a bit like it too (eww haha). But it leaves my skin feeling really clean and fresh, but also so soft. The only issue I have is that it can be a bit too strong for my skin, if I'm having a particularly sensitive day, so I tend to only use this at night, and only about 4 nights a week. This is available from Boots for £11.

The other cleanser I use is The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser. I really really like this cleanser, because it comes out in a really foamy texture, which means you don't have to spend ages rubbing it into your skin, trying to get it to foam up! This again leaves my skin cleansed and fresh feeling, but is nowhere near as moisturising as the S&G one, but also is less harsh, so I use this in the mornings and some nights. This is £5 from The Body Shop.

Finally, here is my moisturiser! I use the Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser, and it's really good. This has two vital vitamins, two "skin loving nutrients" and no perfumes.It's really moisturising and even for my dry skin, the light moisturiser is more than heavy enough! It's a very heavy consistency at first but it soaks in pretty quickly. This is also £3.89 from Superdrug/Boots (SO CHEAP!)

For some reason, I forgot to take a picture of my exfoliator (whaaat) and this post needs to be up asap therefore, I'm using a stock photo. However, you can see from the top post that I genuinely do own and use this product on a day-to-day basis (I've repurchased it twice as well). I'll hopefully replace for my own picture as soon as I can. 

So the exfoliator I use is the The Body Shop Tea Tree Blackhead Exfoliating Wash. This is very lightly exfoliating, and to be honest I'm starting to think it doesn't do that much for my skin. It leaves it feeling lovely and soft, but I buy it in the hope that it will help with blackheads, and I don't think it does. But it's alright, and I use this about 3 times per week. It's £6.50 from the Body Shop!

I'm on the hunt for a better exfoliator, and a good face mask! As I said above, I have combination, but mainly dry skin, and although I don't often get blemishes, when I do they stay for ageeees. Also, I have blackheads and large pores on my nose which are vile and I would like to sort out! Any suggestions? I don't mind price (Well, not toooo excessive), just leave your ideas in the comments below!

Talk to you later lovelies,

Emma x

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Lipstick Lessons! Thank you so much for visiting my little corner of the internet; it may not be much yet but soon I shall build an empire... (okay, I joke, but hopefully I can build and improve my blog over time). This blog will be a beauty blog, a fashion blog, a lifestyle blog... basically it'll be a little bit of everything. I'm going to post a few little facts about me below so that you can all hopefully get to know me a little better! (PS if any of you are a bit confused because you already follow this blog, I have deleted all old posts and changed my URL etc. I had to take a 6 month hiatus from my blog due to a death in the family and then exams etc etc, so decided that since I only had 5 followers, it was best to just rebuild my blog with a new name. Hope everyone understands!)

Name? Emma Alyson

Age? 17

Country? UK

Currently... Studying Maths, Spanish, French and Music AS levels at college, and hoping to study Spanish with Business Management at university in London

Hobbies? Playing music (I play piano, guitar, saxaphone, clarinet and I sing), writing songs, dancing, drama, reading blogs/watching youtube... And obviously shopping ;)

Favourite...

Skincare brand? Simple

Bodycare brand? Soap & Glory

Makeup brand? Urban Decay or Benefit for higher-end products, Rimmel for cheaper items

Clothes shop? Internacionale, Primark, New Look, Forever 21

Order at Starbucks (coffee is my addiction)? Iced Skinny Hazelnut Latte

I hope you got to know me a little better through this blog post, and please comment and say hello as I'm new to this whole beauty-blogging business! (And follow for more alliteration haha)

Talk to you later lovelies,

Emma x