; une tasse: a beauty and casual fashion blog: April 2011

OOTD featuring Swedish Hasbeens for H&M



In H&M today I spotted these shoes which are part of the Swedish Hasbeens shoe collection for H&M. I know wooden clogs were a big thing last year but I wasn't a big fan so I don't know why I was drawn to these? They also come in white but I think the red ones are cuter.

They are a bit granny I admit, but they're really well made for £35 and they are real leather. Actual Swedish Hasbeens retail for over £150 so I was really impressed with these, they haven't skimped on quality at all. I only bought them today but from walking around my garden they're not uncomfortable, but it will take some getting used to.


You also get a cute little tote bag!


My skinny jeans are the Dorothy Perkins pair I keep raving about and also from H&M (men's section) is this Jimi Hendrix tee shirt. I feel a bit of a swizz wearing it as I only really like one or two songs, but in my defence this is my sister's and all my summer clothes are in storage. In future I think I'll get my t shirts from the men's section - they're not tight fitted and the sleeves are slightly longer (great for covering up my fat arms) plus they're SO comfy!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Easter holiday weekend xxx

Sleek True Colour Lipsticks



These new lipsticks from Sleek were released last week and I just couldn't stay away. There are 20 beautiful colours to choose from and I ended up buying 6 as they're currently on offer at Superdrug - 2 for £6 as opposed to £3.99 each.


The lipsticks are matte or sheen but there are discrepancies depending on the colour. For example, Bare All is a matte which is very dry and slightly chalky whereas Amped, also a matte is smooth and has more moisture. Also the Sheen lipsticks aren't as sheer as I thought they would be. Barely There is quite pigmented, as you can see from the swatch. In fact the best thing about these lipsticks is how highly pigmented they are - one swipe is all you need.

These are what they look like on:


Hate the nude colours, they look awful on me and make me look ill. They were also my least favourite to apply - my lips are naturally dark and I found it hard to get even coverage. This may be something to consider if you've also got pigmented lips. The bright colours however? Love them! Especially Heartbreaker and Amped.

As I've mentioned before, I haven't worn them out so I don't know how well they last and the only other thing to note is that the darker colours do stain your lips.

In short, these lipsticks would be great for summer and with the wide range of colours, there's something for everyone. Are there any colours that catch your fancy?

The lipstick fiend


I don't know what's come over me recently but I've become obsessed with lipsticks. I've bought 9 in the past week. And how many times have I worn them out? Zero.

I come home, apply it, look in the mirror to see if it's okay then wipe it off and put it in my makeup drawer. Borderline crazy I know but I'm putting a stop to it. It's been 3 days since my last purchase and counting...

Also wanted to use this random post to give a heads up about my forthcoming post on the new Sleek True Colour lipsticks (yes I bought all of those with my own money). I have spent ages taking photos/swatching and I've only got a few left to do so it should be up on Thursday.

P.S Don't forget to enter my Benefit giveaway!

(CLOSED) Giveaway - Win a mini Benefit Posietint & Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow


I hate seeing things go to waste and as I know I'll never use these samples, I'd like to offer them to someone who will. Both Posietint (4ml) and the creaseless cream shadow in R.S.V.P (3.20g) are brand new and despite being small in stature, they will last a long time.

Rulez/Info:
1. To enter, leave any comment you like along with your GFC name, as this is open to followers only.
2. If you don't have an email address on your blogger profile, please leave one so I can contact you if you win.
3. This giveaway will close at 23.59 on Saturday the 30 April 2011 when I will pick the winner using random.org.

Good luck xx

Barry M Nail Paint in 'Yellow'


So with the release of Chanel's Mimosa, it seems that the new colour for summer is yellow and I'm glad because I LOVE bright nails and there's nothing brighter than the colour of the sun.

I'm sure there are many dupes out there but I went for the easiest yellow I could find - good old realiable Barry M.

I'm keeping my finger nails bare at the moment as they're peeling like crazy. No one wants to see someone else's feet so hopefully my sandal encased ones won't offend too much. This banana coloured polish needs to be applied on a smooth nail bed otherwise you'll need at least four coats like I did, because any ridges/imperfections will show up.

Despite being a 4 coater to become fully opaque, I can't wait to rock this colour on my finger nails.

Will you be following the yellow trend this summer?

Rimmel Colour Show Off Lipstick in 'Tell No One'


Oh yes, another item of makeup which is coral - I just can't get enough! I only bought it last week but I'm already in love.

Tacky and cheap packaging aside, Rimmel come out with some great colour lipsticks and highly affordable too. I've wanted an orangey/coral lipcolour for a while but didn't want to splash out on something from MAC incase it didn't suit me and I was stuck with it.


It is described as "velvety matte" aka semi matte. It isn't as drying as some matte lipsticks can be but it still highlights any lip imperfections, especially dry bits (damnit). However the pigmentation is really good and it's opaque with one swipe, plus it has a yummy watermelon scent.


Doing my best "Deer caught in the headlights" impression. Sorry I don't think I will ever master the art of taking a decent self portrait!

I was surprised to find such a good coral as most high street lipstick ranges are made up of reds, pinks and browns with a few nude colours thrown in. This is exactly the shade I was looking for - the perfect balance between pink and orange and very wearable. I don't feel self concious at all when I have this on.

Longevity isn't brilliant, especially after eating/drinking but for £6.29 I'm happy enough and don't mind the reapplication.

What's your favourite lipcolour at the moment?

Dotty P's and other things


Really impressed with Dorothy Perkins at the moment, especially their jeans. Obviously you can't see them properly in this photo but I'm in love with their "super skinny" jeans range. They're such good quality and not thin and elasticy as most skinnies seem to be these days. Best of all they're on promotion for £25 right now.

I also bought these flats as my New Look ones are now battered and the soles were so thin, I may as well have been walking barefoot. They were not made for walking as they had no arch support and my calves were really starting to hurt. This pair from Dotty P's has a thicker sole and a small (maybe 1/2 cm) square heel which makes a lot of difference. They have so many nice summer shoes in there, I just couldn't decide which ones to get. I'm still undecided on these, I may go back and exchange them, not sure yet.

In other news, it's been really quiet on the blog front as we have moved whilst our whole house is being renovated for the next 3 months. 5 people and 2 cats in a small 3 bed flat is no fun at all, I'll tell you that.

My cats have gone mental, especially Blanche (the deaf white one) who has hidden under my bed for the past 4 days and hisses at everything that moves. In his distress he also peed on the carpet directly under my bed!! :(


Harry on the other hand spends all day with his nose pressed up against the glass (hence the major smudge marks) looking at birds in the tree in our new garden.

I should start posting again normally once our internet reconnects later this week. In the meantime, God bless the dude who didn't password protect his WiFi!

See you soon xxx