Sweet and Sour MAC lipstick

MAC Sweet and Sour lipstick - £14

available in stores and online

I don't like to play favourites when it comes to my makeup and I especially don't like it when it means deciding on my favourite MAC lipstick. Saint Germain, Hue, Show Orchid and Snob will always hold a place in my heart but ever since I picked up Sweet and Sour from the new All About Orange MAC collection, it has rarely left my lips. A cremesheen pinky-nude with a hint of peach, I knew there was very little chance I wouldn't like this lipstick! It has a beautifully smooth consistency with good pigmentation and a sheeny-glossy finish. It is like Shy Girl with more oomph and is now a firm favourite in my collection. The only downside...it is limited edition and seemingly sold out everywhere! If you can get your paws on this lipstick, I highly suggest you do!

Did you pick up anything from the All About Orange collection?

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Wella Professionals Colour Recharge Cool Blonde conditioner

Wella Professionals Colour Recharge conditioner Cool Blonde £11.85
available from a Wella salon near you!

I use to change my hair colour as often as I changed my lip colour. I was frivolous and slowly made my way through all the shades of the rainbow, from black to red to purple and everything in between, until I landed on blonde. And here is where I have stayed for nearly a whole year which feels like a lifetime by my standards. I love love being blonde but it is impossibly difficult to keep it looking fresh and vibrant, without killing it with bleach every six weeks, and don't even get me started on the roots. To help boost my blonde I have used a plethora of different colour care shampoos, conditioners and hair masques with varying degrees of success and most recently I have been trialling a conditioner from the Wella Professionals Colour Recharge range aimed at refreshing the cool blonde tones in your hair.

The premise of the Colour Recharge range is to help protect hair against fading and keep coloured hair looking vibrant and fresh between salon visits which is exactly what I want for my hair after I've had a fresh batch of highlights. This new collection features products for blondes, brunettes and redheads and gives lightweight nourishment whilst depositing just enough colour where it is needed to keep locks looking and feeling renewed. The Cool Blonde conditioner unsurprisingly is bright violet which helps eliminate any yellowing from the hair and removes the dreaded brassiness which is inevitable for all blondes over time. This particular product was actually used at the SS13 Missoni fashion show in Milan to help prolong a model's bespoke blonde during the multitudes of hair washes and styling sessions encountered throughout Fashion Week.

I am really enjoying using this Wella conditioner and was impressed to see the results as I put together my before and after pictures. The change isn't dramatic but I can see my hair looks a little brighter and fresher since I started using it a few weeks ago and it certainly feels lovely and nourished. I tend to leave it on for a few minutes before washing it off and am pleased that I haven't experienced the dreaded blue-rinse-look that can often occur when using purple shampoos and conditioners which makes this a great new addition to my haircare hoard!

Have you tried this new range from Wella?

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floral peplum

Peplum top - H&M

Jamie jeans - Topshop

Heels - Primark
Lipstick - MAC Saint Germain

So I may be a season too late but I finally bought a peplum-style top, my first ever one, and I really really like it. I wasn't sure if the style would particularly suit me or if I'd find it too frilly and fussy but paired with some simple, skinny jeans it seemed to just work. I love the bright clash of colours of this H&M top, (which I think is now in the sale - go quick!), and where some might have gone for some understated shoes to contrast, I was not going to miss the chance to wear my new Primark beauties. Comfy and colourful, I definitely urge you to pick a pair up if you can still get your paws on them as they are pretty much perfect! Definitely an outfit to bring a bit of colour to an otherwise dismal day.

 Have you partaken in the peplum trend this season?

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Vivienne Westwood Anglomania + Melissa peep toe heels

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania + Melissa Lady Dragon peep toe heels* - Zalando

With a Zalando gift voucher burning a hole in my virtual pocket, it was time to decide whether I was going to go for a new bag, a fancy dress or a pair of heels. I've got to be honest, before now I never really paid much attention to Zalando but the moment I spotted their Vivienne Westwood shoe collection online, I knew these little beauties had to be mine! And so they arrived, boxed in all their beauty and smelling plastic-sweet like your old Barbie doll, and I absolutely love them. I think like many things, the VW Melissa heels will be a love/hate thing! They are pretty OTT, completely plastic and possibly not that practical but the little girl inside me can't get over the fact that they are basically a giant Barbie's shoe and look equally pretty on my feet as they do displayed in my room.

So, are you a fan of the Vivienne Westwood Melissa peep toes?

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The Body Shop Honey Bronze collection

Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder £13, Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil £16
Honey Bronze Shimmer Lip Balm £6
available in stores and online

Sun, sun, wherefore art thou sun? With the Summer on temporary hiatus for the foreseeable future then this new range from The Body Shop could be the perfect answer to fake that sun-kissed glow and give your skin a gorgeous golden shimmer. The Honey Bronze collection* is aimed to suit all skin tones with their honey-enriched products providing moisture and radiance whilst leaving your skin with a bronzed luxe look. The Bronzing Powder is available in four shades and has been reinvented with a honeycomb design and housed in a rich, red-brown compact with handy mirror. The finely pressed powder gives a completely matte finish and is extremely subtle and buildable which is great if you are shy of shimmer or the heavily-bronzed look.

The rather cute and compact lip balm is a delicious treat for your lips. It smells absolutely divine of sweet honey and does wonders at repairing and nourishing dry, cracked lips. It is very slightly tinted and is laced with fine golden shimmer so is a lovely option to wear alone or layer over a matte lipstick for some added sparkle!

Finally, and probably the most luscious product from this collection, is the Honey Bronze dry oil. Lightweight and shimmering it glides onto the skin beautifully and gives you a sun-kissed glow enhanced with a subtle golden shimmer. The dry oil comes in two shades, the new Golden Honey which is light and subtle enough for day time, and their original darker Honey Kiss which is ideal to add some evening glamour to sun deprived shoulders and legs. I have been using Golden Honey and love the sweet scent and the fact it quickly sinks into your skin without leaving it greasy or too glittery. It isn't dark enough to fake a tan but is so nice applied alone for a natural radiance or over your fake tan for an added bronzed finish and light-catching shimmer. Perfect to fake some sunshine on a rainy day!

What do you reach for to give your skin that sun-kissed glow? Will you be checking out the new Honey Bronze collection from The Body Shop?

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MAC Dreaminess mineralize rich lipstick

MAC Mineralize Rich Lipstick in Dreaminess - £20
available in stores and online

I remember a time when it only cost a mere twelve English pounds and an hour of indecision to pick up a MAC lipstick. They were the days! Now their latest range of must-have shades are a cool twenty pounds which makes me wince slightly and reconsider my makeup priorities...but sadly you can't deny that they are incredibly pretty with a beautiful consistency. Damn you MAC! The Mineralize Rich lipsticks are a whole new kettle of fish lipsticks with a 77-Mineral Moist Complex (fancy!) that nourishes the lips with maximum moisture all with a light-weight, non-sticky formula.

Dreaminess is described as a soft cool pink cream, but I think it leans more towards the mauve-purple end of the spectrum. (Think Snob lipstick but slightly pinker and more wearable!) Yes the colour is gorgeous but I think the real selling point of these Mineralize Rich lipsticks is the texture, coverage and long-wearing formula that sets them apart from the rest. The texture is creamy and glides on perfectly. The finish could be compared to a cremesheen as it leaves your lips with a near opaque colour and a glossy sheen. I applied a generous layer this morning and it lasted considerably well until lunchtime without going dry or wearing off. I love this shade a lot, in fact I don't think I own one similar, and like the new style packaging that offers a chunkier bullet but still retains that distinct vanilla ice cream scent! Lovely.

Have you tried the MAC Mineralize Rich lipsticks?

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Ray Ban 2140 Black Wayfarer sunglasses

Ray Ban 2140 Wayfarers Medium 50mm* - Sunglasses Shop

I wouldn't say I am a label junkie in the slightest but when it comes to sunglasses, I can't say no to a nice designer pair or two for those rare sunny days. Ray Ban always do sunglasses so well and have it sorted when it comes to stylish, iconic yet understated designs. Needless to say then that their classic aviators and wayfarers have been on my wishlist for some time now. Given the chance to review some sunglasses from the Sunglasses Shop, I made a beeline for the Ray Ban section and trawled through all the different styles and colours before punting for these 2140 glossy black wayfarers with medium sized lenses. Two days later they arrived and I got the chance to road test them during that blink-and-you'll-miss-it glimpse of sunshine we experienced today. The choice of black frames is very unlike me but I am really happy I did go for a darker colour as they seem to contrast nicely with my hair and a fiery red lipstick (MAC Cherry lipliner for those who were wondering...) And if you are wavering for some wayfarers then see my giveaway details below and you could win a pair of 2140s for yourself. Hope you are all well and have had lovely weekends. :)

GIVEAWAY: If you fancy winning your own pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers 2140 then simply go and 'like' the Sunglasses Shop Facebook page and leave a wall post saying - "Enter me in Pearls and Poodles' giveaway". One winner will be chosen at random and will receive their choice of non-polarised Ray Ban 2140s. Competition open for two weeks. Good luck!

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Sleek Makeup Candy Collection

Introducing Sleek Makeup's limited edition Summer collection...
i-candy i-DIVINE palette* - £7.99 and BLUSH BY 3 in Sweet Cheeks* - £9.99
available from Superdrug and Sleek Makeup online

This Summer, Sleek Makeup have brought out a delectable collection of guilt-free treats to satiate our sweet tooth and add a pop of candy colours to our dressing table. This limited edition collection consists of one of their iconic i-divine palette, a cheek blush trio and a Pout Paint lip stain. The i-candy palette includes an array of sorbet hues in an assortment of different finishes - matte, shimmer and pearl and are nicely pigmented like all Sleek's shadows are. On first inspection this palette looked a little too 'wild' for me but actually after trying out this look today, I was really impressed with its versatility. The bottom right, pearly-white shade, makes an incredible highlighter colour for the corner of your eyes and by blending the deep purple in with the shimmery pink, it gave the overall look a fresh, wearable feel.

The blush by 3 in Sweet Cheeks is a trio of cream, shimmer and matte blushers in varying shades of candy pink with an intense finish and silky application. Above I am wearing Cupcake, the cream blush, which blends nicely into the skin, giving you a slightly luminous finish. Dolly mix, which is supposedly the shimmer blush, isn't that shimmery at all but is a pretty mauve-pink that is quite subtle when blended out. If MAC's Snob lipstick was translated into a blush - then this is what it would look like! Candy floss ticks the coral-pink box and is probably the most unique, interesting shade from this blush palette. I think it would look great with a bronzed-smokey eye and a glossy lip for a Summer's night out!

What are your thoughts on this new collection from Sleek Makeup? Will you be picking up a few sweet treats?

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My current skincare

The best thing about being a beauty fanatic like me is the thrill you get from trying out new products for the first time, and over the past few months my attentions have turned to skincare and I have enjoyed expanding my collection and trying out a few new treats. Being part of the blogging community can often mean you become sucked in by the newest, sometimes over-hyped products out there and what might work for one person, could be disastrous for another - making skincare an occasional minefield to navigate round. A lot of my purchases come with the nod of approval from Caroline, worthy of the title 'skincare goddess', whose witty, knowledgable approach to beauty is just so refreshing - I love her! But sometimes...just sometimes, I have to go it alone which can be a scary business!

My current skincare is quite simple at the moment but it seems to be working wonders for me and my skin so why complicate things? I have a trusty face mask and cleansing balm. A day and night time moisturiser plus a serum and Hydraluron (more on that later) for that extra boost of moisture when my skin feels a little lacklustre, followed by a great lip balm that I slather on most nights and continually through out the day. I like to throw in a toner and a good micellar water into the mix too, but I haven't tried anything amazing recently so nothing note-worthy to report as of yet!

REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask, £30 - This is one of my favourite masks of the moment and completely deserves the hype it receives in the beauty blogging world. It is a natural active peel that is packed for of fruity goodness, passion fruit, lemon and grape to name but a few, that removes dead cells and seriously renews the skin giving you a glowing, healthier-looking complexion. Used twice a week, it is the perfect antidote to tired, dull, flaky skin giving you instant results.

Balance Me Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm, - £20* - Can you believe that I have never tried the much coveted Emma Hardie cleansing balm so sadly I cannot draw a comparison between the two but what I do know is that I really like this option from Balance Me. Supplied with a muslin cloth and ideal for sensitive/dry skin, it is rich, sumptuous and dual-purpose - cleansing and smoothing the skin in one. Daily grime and hours old makeup is easily dispelled with this cleanser and your skin is left feeling heavenly soft and rejuvenated with the polishing oatmeal encouraging cell renewal and radiance.

Hydraluron Moisture Booster, £24.99 - This is a product that I wish I had picked up months ago! This is another much talked about cult skin product of the moment which I am pleased to say certainly doesn't disappoint. Hyaluronic Acid is found naturally in the body and is responsible for keeping your moisture levels topped up throughout the top layers of the skin. As we age we produce less of this magical wrinkle-defying stuff so here we have our very own moisture booster to keep our hydration levels full to the max. Used under your normal moisturiser, it sucks onto the water from our favourite creams and lotions and keeps it on our skin longer - thus giving us generally nicer, plumper, softer skin! It's pretty much a must-have it my eyes and I throughly intend to take advantage of Boots 3-for-2 and stock up again.

Origins GinZing energy-boosting moisturiser, £23* - A zingy, fresh, light moisturiser from Origins which instantly hydrates the skin and improves radiance and vibrancy. It sinks in really quickly so is a great product to slap on before your primer/makeup in the mornings and kick-starts your skin's hydration levels with a lovely, energising scent to boot.

Korres Black Pine Anti-wrinkle & Firming Night Cream, £39* - This is more of a luxury night time cream that I only really whip out on special occasion when my skin needs some serious TLC. All I can say is that it works a lot better than it smells and if you can get passed the heavy, 'woody' scent then you are in for a treat. Not that I am particularly worried about wrinkles...yet, this night cream is rich and decadent and combats any dryness overnight as well as leaving my skin feeling firm and nourished when I wake up.

Aerin Rose Lip Conditioner, £20 - I don't know whether I love this lip conditioner more because it smells of rose or the fact that it keeps my lips soft and subtle. Either way it is a firm favourite on my bedside table. It is slightly tinted and creates a rich balm over the skin that keeps my lips chap-free and perfectly conditioned.

What are your current skincare loves? I would love to hear if you share any of the same with me!

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Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blush

Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blushes* - £7.99
available from Boots, Superdrug and ASOS

Sometimes you just can't beat the finish and ease of a cream blush. There is something so pleasing about popping a touch of colour on your cheeks and instantly giving them a natural glow and buildable coverage. Bourjois' infamous little round pots of blusher, first created over 150 years ago, have had a makeover and a new, cream blush collection has arrived - four cream-to-powder shades with a velvety texture that blends seamlessly onto your skin.

Well, these new cream blushes are absolutely lovely. The colour pay-off is initially quite soft and subtle, but can be easily built up and the consistency is light and silky, so a dream to apply. Once the blush has been blended into the skin it transforms to a powdery finish but still maintains a slight glow and iridescence. The range of shades available skip through peachy, soft pink and rich berry tones so there is hopefully a little pot for everyone, every occasion and every skin tone. My favourite is definitely 03. Rose Tender which is a soft pink with a pearly, baby doll finish that instantly perks up the skin and leaves you with a rosy glow. 01. Nude Velvet is incredibly soft and light on the skin but works wonders as a lip colour for a peachy pop of colour. These have swiftly become one of my favourite cream blush products, alongside my Stila convertible collection, and are ridiculously handy to throw in your handbag with their compact design and built in mirror. Oh and I am pleased to say that the little blush pots' legendary rose scent lives on in these new cream blushes!

Have you tried the new Bourjois cream blushes? Which one is your favourite?

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Dressed in florals

Pins & Needles Poppy Cross Back Dress* (XS) - Urban Outfitters

Wedges - Primark

When I was given the chance to select an item from Urban Outfitters to feature on here, it was only to be expected that I would make a beeline for a dress of the floral variety. And I am so pleased I did. This beautiful floaty number from the Pins & Needles brand is just perfect with its flared skirt, flattering square neckline and cross-back detailing. I am always a little nervous when it comes to ordering clothes online, in fact I rarely do it, as I am in the mindset of 'try before I buy'. Having not ordered anything from Urban Outfitters before I took a punt with my size and all faith was restored once the dress arrived, just in time for my goddaughter's christening, and it fitted like a dream. I wore it out at the weekend with my Primark coral wedges and couldn't have been happier; I was dressed in florals, the sun was shining and the garden buffet was in full swing! Perfect.

If you fancy a little splurge on Urban Outfitters online then you can currently get 20% off your purchase with my special code PEARLS20 which is valid until midnight 15th June 2013. Delivery is also free on all orders over £50 so what better time to treat yourself? And if that wasn't enough, UO have loads of festival tickets up for grabs too so you can enter the competition whilst choosing your next summer dress.

What do you think of my floral number? Have you bought anything from Urban Outfitters recently?

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