ORANGE LIPSTICKS FOR SUMMER

For me, summer brings peach, coral and orange hues. Bronzed skin paired with golden eyeshadow and coral orange lips is one of my favourite looks for summer, these are a few of my most loved orange lipstick shades:

Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti: Although sometimes prone to melting in the tube on hot summer days, Revlon Tutti Frutti is one of my most worn lipsticks during the warmer months. It's a hybrid between a lipstick and balm and so is lightly moisturising on the lips. It's a pretty, brightening and creamy orange that can be worn as a sheer, subtle tint or built up to a glossy orange lip. See it swatched here.

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Iberico: This works so well paired with a striped tee and a pretty gold necklace (like this one). Nars Iberico is a beautiful, bold orange red (swatched here) that lasts well on the lips. I love the formula of Nars lip pencils as they are pigmented, creamy and long lasting - one of the best formula's of lip pencils that I've tried!

Revlon Matte Balm in Audacious: The perfect summer shade, Audacious is a bold, creamy coral that really works well with bronze and gold hues. The crayon applicator makes it so easy to apply or to pop in your bag for application on the go. It's matte and so is fairly long lasting, around 2-3 hours on the lips, see me wearing it here .

Topshop Infrared: There's something about the combination of winged liner and a bold orange lip that I really love. Topshop Infrared (swatched here) is a great, bright summer lipstick with a slight red tone to it making it a great alternative to a red lip.

What is your favourite orange lipstick?

SUMMER WISHLIST

This should probably be called 'my only-slightly-summery/english-weather-appropriate-wishlist', I'm really more of an autumn/winter girl at heart and as much as I try to embrace summer, I always lean towards monochrome, subtler shades and autumn hues!

River Island Cami's: I love the look of this Cream Lace Cami, I can imagine that it would look so pretty paired with a long floaty skirt. I also really love this plum V-Neck Cami, I'm tempted by the black version too!

Essie Petal Pushers: A pretty slate grey polish with blue undertones, this looks like a great alternative to brights for summer.

Monica Vinader Riva Ring: This 18ct rose gold dainty ring has been on my wishlist for the longest time now. It's so beautiful and has little pave diamonds scattered around it.

Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne: Whilst visiting a Jo Malone counter, I spritzed wood sage and sea salt on me to see how the scent developed and how well it would last. It's a really nice, fresh summery scent that's unlike any other perfume that I own.

Olivia Burton Winter Floral Watch: I love Olivia Burton watches and I think this beautiful floral design would work well throughout all the seasons.

Emma Bridgewater Large Breakfast Cup: This looks like the perfect morning mug for a cup of tea. I'm really trying to make sure I drink a cup of herbal tea every morning as the warm water helps to prepare your digestive system for the day, this would be a great motivator for me to stick to it!

What's on your wishlist for summer?

TOPSHOP 5 YEARS OF BEAUTY - TOPSHOP BEGUILED

First I found my perfect pair of Ash style autumn boots in spring and now I've found the perfect winter lipstick in summer!

Topshop Beguiled is a beautiful deep berry red lipstick with slight glitter undertones. It has a smooth, velvety formula that applies like a dream for a deep shade and lasts well on the lips (4 hours with no touch up's needed!). I've read reviews that the satin/matte formula can sometimes appear streaky on the lips but I'm yet to experience any issues with mine.

Although it may look a little intimidating in the tube it's so flattering on the lips. Beguiled applies quite a bit lighter and can be worn dabbed on as a stain, straight from the bullet as a wash of colour or built up to a vampy berry red lip. The glitter undertones are stunning, subtle flecks of deep red, fuchsia and copper glitter catch the light to give extra dimension to the shade. 

I love wearing it paired with MAC All That Glitters on the eyes, a shimmery highlighter and plenty of mascara. It's already become one of my all time favourite lipsticks and I will be getting plenty of wear from it on stormy summer day's and all throughout autumn & winter.

Have you tried Topshop Beguiled?

NARS OUTER LIMITS - AN AFFORDABLE DUPE

I've noticed that Nars Christopher Kane Outer Limits eyeshadow has flown off the shelves already. It's a beautiful, sparkly, rose gold eyeshadow that's perfect for special occasions and will be amazing for Christmas and the festive period, I've recently written a full review on it here.

Topshop Chameleon Glow in Shuffle the Cards is practically identical to Nars Outer Limits, the main and only noticeable difference is that the glitter particles in Shuffle the Cards are a lot smaller making the texture smoother and more buttery.

Both Nars Outer Limits and Topshop Shuffle the Cards have a pretty peach toned base with flecks of the exact same rose pink glitter/sparkles running through it. Nars' offering weighs in at 2.2g and Topshop's at 2.4g, although still quite pricey for an eyeshadow, the Topshop version is just half the price of the Nars eyeshadow. I'm always so happy to find a dupe for limited edition shades, shuffle the cards is more accessible, a great Nars Outer Limits dupe and hopefully will be available for a while!

A FEW THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND

Make a cream cheese bagel topped with strawberries & blueberries for brunch.

Scroll through the Primark hashtag #PrimarkAW15 for copper, beautiful dresses & pom pom shoes (so cute!) or the Cath Kidston A/W15 hashtag on instagram (#CKAW15) for sausage dogs, autumn leaves & pretty, festive prints!

Stroll around the farmers markets, buy fresh peonies.

Pull out your favourite bright lipsticks ready for summer.

Browse the sales - Topshop and Zara sales have just started and they're both looking so good!

Re-read the Harry Potter series, with snippets of information about Fantastic Beasts being released, it's the perfect time to delve back into the magical world.

Buy pretty cards to frame from Paperchase.

Have a little Lush shopping spree followed by a pampering afternoon with a long bath, fresh pjs and Netflix.

Make a Summer berry & Cashew Cream Pie, it's healthy, raw, vegan and delicious - recipe here

Get a little green fingered and re-pot your plants, it's best to do before summer and then you can pop them in pretty ikea pots!

SUMMER BEAUTY

With Summer on it's way, I've placed springs pastels to the side and pulled out creams, brights and lighter bases ready for the warm summer days. 

Caudalie Beauty Elixir is a staple for me on sweltering hot days, it contains organic balm mint, rosemary, grape, rose and orange blossom to smooth the skin and give a burst of radiance. Just a couple of spritzes of this refreshing beauty mist perks up dull skin and leaves it feeling cool and fresh.
No other eye cream really compares to Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream for me, it's a rich but lightweight cream that contains virgin coconut, rosehip and carrot oils, brightening lemon oil, cucumber oil and hydrating hyaluronic acid. I've been using this on and off for a couple of years now, it's the only eye cream that's ever made a noticeable difference to my dark circles.

I always opt for cream or gel based eyeshadows in the summer, Maybelline Colour Tattoo's in Eternal Gold and And on Bronze are so easy to use for a quick wash of colour over the eyes and they last all day on me without creasing or smudging. For an everyday shade I like to wear Maybelline Eternal Gold (swatched here) with lot's of mascara and a shimmery peach lipgloss.

For blusher, Sleek Rose Gold is the perfect summer shade, it's a dreamy coral pink with flecks of gold which gives you a beautiful warm summer glow. Topshop Head Over Heels is a creamy, coral peach blusher that blends seamlessly as a cream before setting in place as a powder. It works so well used with Topshop Glow Highlighter in Polished, a beautiful, almost ethereal highlighter. MAC Gleam eyeshadow - a shimmery golden peach shade, also works well as a summer highlighter, both really help to brighten the complexion and give a pretty glow to your cheeks.

I've been reluctant to move away from wearing deep reds, greys and berry shades on my nails this year but Essie Peach Daiquiri - a bright peachy pink, and Essie Vanity Fairest - a shimmery pastel pink are so pretty for summer. I've been wearing Essie Peach Daiquiri on my toes and Essie Vanity Fairest on my fingers for a soft, pretty manicure.

On my lips, I've pulled out two of my favourite pinks, Nars satin lip pencil in Yu (swatched here), a beautiful bright cool toned pink that works well worn alone or dabbed on as a stain and Revlon Sultry Samba (swatched here) which is a matte fuchsia pink that lasts well on the lips and feels soft and creamy in texture.

Lastly, for fragrance I'm still so in love with Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream. It's a breezy, girly scent with notes of blackberry, jasmine, pear and coconut water that and smells delicate, warm, airy and light.

What are your beauty picks for Summer?

NARS CHRISTOPHER KANE OUTER LIMITS EYESHADOW

After just one glance at Nars Outer Limits from the Christopher Kane collection, I set a reminder on my phone to buy this on the day of it's release. This dreamy, iridescent rose gold eyeshadow consists of mesmerising flecks of pink and gold glitter, it's simply stunning and so irresistible.

It doesn't have the same buttery texture as other Nars eyeshadows, in-fact the texture is slightly disappointing, the flecks of pink and gold sparkle can be quite chunky and I experienced a fair bit of fallout on application. However, If you don't mind putting in a little bit more effort than usual, then this sparkly eyeshadow does give great payoff. You need to prime your lids - I used Nars Smudge Proof eyeshadow base beforehand and then use a flat shader brush to pack on the shade, this leaves you with a long lasting, beautiful rose gold sparkly eye. It's perfect for special occasions, Christmas and the festive period, my favourite time of the year.

Despite it's minor faults, I really love this eyeshadow. Thanks to it's beautiful packaging and rose gold sparkles it feels quite special, I don't mind giving it a bit of extra time to make it work and I'll definitely get a lot of use out of it on special occasions. The photo really doesn't do it justice, I posted a snapchat yesterday (sophiesmakeup) to try and show it in a little more detail.

Although it's not the best formulated Nars eyeshadow that I own, it's still a stunning shade that makes me smile everytime I look at it. I also may have found a buttery textured and more affordable dupe - I'll pop up a post soon!