Nails Inc In The Spotlight - £12

In case you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, today is New Year's Eve. Whilst I'll be spending the night with my electric blanket and antibiotics, I'll be giving a small nod towards the festivities with one of these shades.

Whilst doing a little bit of Christmas shopping I spotted this trio of Nails Inc minis and it was love at first sight. A nice bit of glitter combined with having enough Boots points to cover the cost meant that this set went straight in to my basket. Nails Inc are one of my favourite brands for polish, and the formula for these is spot on. The above swatches are two coats each, and I'll be layering my favourite of the three, the holographic "Electric Lane" over a nice nude - possibly Models Own Utopia? tonight - although I'm swooning over Covent Garden Market, a full coverage red glitter which makes me think of a certain pair of slippers. Sadly though, I feel that one might just be a tad too festive for NYE...

Now pass me that last selection box, and let me wish you all a very happy new year!

A Little Update

Firstly, I'm back. Life got a little bit in the way of blogging, and it's now been almost two months since my last 'proper' post. Although I'm not going to make any promises on the frequency of posts, part of my new years resolution is to try and commit myself to two beauty related posts per week, and one lifestyle. Writing and beauty are two things which I really enjoy, and I've realised over the past month or so that I need to start making time for things that make me happy.

Although I've been absent on the posting front, I've been avidly reading my favourite blogs, and taking lots of inspiration. With that in mind, L'amour Josie is going to have a little new years facelift, and my entries are going to have a bit more 'direction'...Nothing major, but expect a little more on that in the next week or so.

To anyone who wanted to purchase something from my blog sale post, I am really sorry for not getting back to you. It completely slipped my mind, and I've now decided to give all the items to my two sisters to do as they wish with.

Lastly, I hope you all had a very merry christmas, and are looking forward to the new year. I've particularly enjoyed reading all of the festive posts which have been floating around recently, and I'd love to know what your ambitions for the new year are.

**EDIT: My laptop has decided to break, so until I manage to get it fixed I'll be absent**

Birthday Treats

First up, I just want to apologise for the terrible quality of these photos. Mum and I lost our heads in the Comet sale on Wednesday and I ended up spending £200 on a Canon bridge camera...which I've now realised is rubbish, and I can't return! Give me a couple of posts to play with it and if the photos are still as bad as this I'll just go back to borrowing my brothers SLR :(

So aside from that rather depressing note, Monday was my birthday! I got given lots of lovely gifts so I thought I'd share some of them with you. I've included a couple of things I've bought over the last week or so too, just because I haven't done a haul post for ages. Top picks have to be my mum's Welsh gold watch, the lovely Pandora bracelet from my sister, and perfume - because who doesn't love perfume really. I'm a lucky girl!

What's everyone been up to this week? I had three days off which was looovely, and now I'm going to spend today cleaning my room - lucky me?

Vo5 Moisture Soak Elixir

Vo5 Moisture Soak Elixir - £4.29

I tried to find a link for this everywhere but it looks like it might have been repackaged, so I've linked to that above! This oil has been quite hyped, and I picked a tube up in September after my sister recommended it to me. Basically, you put this on in the shower for a minute or so, and you don't need to waste time pre-heating it. Down the side are recommended amounts, but my hair's so short that I tend to go for around half of that amount.

The texture of this oil is very very runny - much runnier than say, Moroccan oil - but I've not had any issues with applying it. I run this all through my hair before shampooing and make sure that I give my hair a good wash afterwards. The result is my hair feels soft, smooth and looks shiny! I was a little worried that this would make my hair look greasy, but that's not the case at all. I don't really use 'high street brands' such as this on my hair just because it's so damaged from years of bleaching, but I'll definitely be repurchasing this.

I only wash my hair twice a week usually, so I tend to alternate whether I use this before my shampoo, or my Elasticizer. I find that both work well to help make my hair more manageable and feel less damaged, and I definitely notice the difference when I don't have time for one or the other. Although this isn't a substitute for my Elasticizer, it's a great treatment for dry or damaged hair, and it's a bit of a steal, priced under £5.

November Lust List

1) Hourglass Illume Creme-to-Powder Bronzer Duo - £40

One of my mum's best friends has been wearing hourglass cosmetics since she discovered them in New York a few years ago, and she introduced me to them. I adore their mascara, and since my recent success with the Sleek face form palette (and a new found love for highlighters) I'm really tempted by this duo.

2) Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Lip Stain #09 Red Flash - £22.50

These lip stains featured in my first ever lust list back in May, and I did actually end up purchasing one in a pale pink shade over the August bank holiday weekend. Now that autumn/winter is here I'm all about deep, glossy red lips so this will be perfect for my ever expanding collection.

3) Topshop Faux Fur Gilet - £55

Last week I picked up a (fake) leather jacket with a faux fur collar from Topshop and well, it's love. Now I'm desperate to expand my faux fur collection, and I think this gilet would be pefect teamed with a glossy red lip and cream blouse.

4) Hyrdraluron Moisture Booster - £24.99

I saw this in Caroline Hiron's hall of fame a month or so ago, and then more recently on etcllymlrs, and so I've decided I need this in my collection. Glowing, plumped up skin seems like a bit of a dream at this time of year so fingers crossed I'll see some results.

5) Clarins Instant Smoothing Self Tan - £17.50

With this last item comes the realisation that 95% of everything on this list has already been featured on Vivianna Does Makeup. She's one of my favourite bloggers and her recommendations normally work for me, plus with no hint of sun recently who doesn't want a nice glow...

So there we have it - this month's five under £50 (that gilet is £50 with my student discount!) What are you wishing for this month? I'm off to spend a lazy Sunday in the bath doing my pre-birthday pamper.

Sleek Face Form Palette in Light 373

Sleek Makeup Face Form Kit - £10

As much as it pains me (and my bank balance) to say, I'm really not a high street girl. I might sound like a bit of a make up snob, but I just love my Chanel, YSL and Laura Mercier. However, a couple of weeks ago when I wandered in to Superdrug in Meadowhall in search of the Rimmel Scandaleyes nude liner (I know, I'm contradicting myself here!) and spotted Sleek and MUA stalls, I broke the habit of a life time and went wild. And guess what...It turns out I'm a high street girl after all.

Originally I was after the Sleek contour kit, but ended up going for this instead. It looks to have the same bronzer and highlighter as the contour kit, but with this gorgeous rose gold blusher too (which I believe is a bit of a dupe for Nars Orgasm). Initially I thought that I'd probably not dislike this kit, but then add it to the pile of 'cheek' products I rarely reach for, but I've gone for this pretty much every day since purchasing. I bought this for the bronzer (it's what I always wanted Nars Laguna to be), but since then I've actually been making use of the blusher/highlighter combo. At the airport a month or two ago I picked up a MAC highlighting powder, and it's nice enough, but it aint got a thing on this!

I never go for pinky blushers, but this one is so pretty that I'm thinking I might have to pick up a few more. The shimmer is so subtle it doesn't bother me - but maybe it helps that I prefer a cream blusher anyway. And that highlighter...well, it's just a dream on my NC20(ish) skin. Really, for £10 for a bronzer, blush and highlighter I just can't complain.

So now that I'm a Sleek girl, what other products would you recommend? It's my birthday on Monday and I'm anticipating a Boots voucher or two...

Hair: Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment

Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment - £29.95*



I don't know how I've had this for so long and still not posted about it. It's just one of those things that has become such a part of my routine that I don't even think about using it any more, its automatic. I reach for this over my moroccan oil every single time!

I won't bore you with a big long explanation, because I'm sure by now you know all about how great oils are for your hair, but this just makes my hair feel so silky soft. As an experiment I dried my hair without this in, and it took about three times as long as it normally does - so yes, macadamia oil definitely speeds up drying your hair! My ends were really fluffy too, but using this means they're lovely and smooth, without feeling greasy or weighed down.

My only issue with this oil is the packaging. The glass bottle looks and feels great, and having a pump is so handy, but once you open the pump and it pops up, it's sooo difficult to close again :( It's not really a problem if it just sits on your dressing table like mine does, and normal people (i.e my mum) can close the pump back down, but it's just impossible for me. I'd love it if this had one of those twist to the side locks, like my xen tan pump does.

Really though, the fact that all I have to complain about is a pump shows how great this product is. I've been using it for a couple of months now and I still have a good two thirds of the bottle left (because you really only need the tiniest amount), but when I do run out I'll definitely be repurchasing this stuff. Plus, I've got my eye on a couple of other treatments from the range - particularly the intensive hair mask.

Have you tried any macadamia products? What's your favourite hair oil?

*PR Sample

Nails: Orly Rage

Orly Nail Polish in Rage - £5.00

This post should actually be titled "my new favourite nail polish ever ever ever". Seriously - I love it! I'd first attempted to hunt it down when Essie mentioned it on her blog months ago, but being poor at the time I gave up on the search pretty quickly. Imagine my surprise when I strolled in to Boots and not only had they started stocking Orly, but they had this very shade! Despite its diddy size, I instantly grabbed one for my basket.

Priced at £5, I think that these size bottles are a brilliant idea. Not only do they make a lovely little treat, but they also make the brand so much more accessible - as I'm sure the price tag of the larger bottles would put people off. This was my first Orly polish, but I'll definitely be picking up a few more as I've been so impressed by Rage (I kind of want a back up already...).

Rage is a gorgeous rose gold shade, which I find perfect for a statement nail (I'm wearing this on my middle finger right now!), but also during the festive season it'll be really gorgeous on a full hand. Although the brush is really thin, which I wouldn't normally like (see the third picture), this stuff applies like a dream. Really you could get away with one coat, but I go for two just to be sure. It dries so quickly, and I loveeee it paired with OPI's 'Don't Pretzel My Buttons' (bottom photograph).

So there we have it, I've well and truly jumped on the rose gold bandwagon. I'll be stocking up on plenty of Orly shades next payday, but fingers crossed the big man might bring me a matching watch....Did someone say Michael Kors?

Face: No7 Cheek Tint in Romantic

No7 Cheek Tint in Romantic - £8

I picked this up quite a while ago when Boots were running a £5 off no7 voucher (and combined with a friends staff discount, paid the grand old price of a £1), and left it to gather dust in my drawer for a while, hence the first picture - oops! As you probably already know from past posts I'm a massive cream blush fan, so picked this up after thinking that was what this was.

In actual fact, once swatched this literally is a lovely, but *very* sheer pink tint. The name 'Romantic' is perfect for this product, as it gives you that gentle flush that lovebirds normally only have. I wouldn't consider this to be a blusher, as it's so very sheer, but its lovely for days when I want a very natural, back to basics look. I took this to Croatia with me as most days I went foundation-less but just wanted a nice gentle (with gentle being the optimal word here) flush to the cheeks. I did try to photograph swatches, but the colour is so light that it's not so easy to pick up. However, think of it as like a washed out version of NYX's Rose Petal (swatches here).

I've probably not done a great job of selling this, as everyone loves pigmentation, right? But really this is the perfect blusher for a natural flush. I've been reaching for this on an almost daily basis, and I'd recommend picking it up in the next round of £5 off vouchers because the shade is just the prettiest pink - and for £3, you can't really complain!

Lust List: October 5 Under £50

1) Ciate Mini Mani Month Advent Calendar - £38.00

So I saw Lily Melrose post about this on facebook and instantly wanted it. I'm keeping everything crossed this doesn't sell out before pay day. A brand new nail polish every day in December - even better than chocolate!

2) OPI The Living Daylights - £11.00

Another nail polish - I see a theme! James Bond fever seems to be everywhere, and really who can resist this glitter shade from the OPI collection commemorating fifty years of the films.

3) Lush FUN Bar - £5.00

I love yellow, I love fun, I love Lush...So basically what's not to love? This represents aaall the new Lush goodies that have recently been released though, including their Christmas stuff which I adore.

4) Clarins Odyssey Eyeshadow Palette - £30.00

Just LOOK at that gold. Need I say any more?

5) Marc Jacobs Dot Perfume - £47.00

I love every single Marc Jacobs perfume, and after smelling this recently it needs to join my collection. Conveniently, I turn 22 next month...

So, there we have it. Five lovely goodies, all for under £50 each, that I can't wait to get my hands on this month! This post makes me want to start singing "holidays are coming", but its a tiny bit too early yet. Did any of these items catch your eye? What's on your lust list?

Lips: MAC Marilyn Monroe - Deeply Adored

MAC Marilyn Monroe Lipstick in Deeply Adored - £15.50

Well ladies (and gents) I'm back again! I feel like I've said this a lot recently, but my blogging hiatus is *finally* over. I've just gotten back from a lovely spa break with my mum in Croatia, where the sunshine and a vitamin facial left me feeling in tip top condition, and now I'm ready for lots of dark evenings curled up in front of the fire with my laptop, a hot chocolate and blogger.

Just before I flew to Croatia, an email arrived in my inbox telling me that the Marilyn Monroe collection had landed at MAC. I'd been waiting for this for so long, andinitially planned on buying - well - everything, but after shelling out for my holiday I've been veryyy poor this month, so I just settled for this (although settling is not how I feel about this lipstick!). I was kicking myself once I got to Stanstead though, as there's a duty free MAC stall there...I may have dipped in to my holiday money before I even boarded the plane with another purchase, but thats a whole other post.

I struggled to find many swatches of the lipsticks in this collection online before I placed my order (although I'm sure you'll probably be sick of hearing about the collection by now) and it was a bit of a wild guess, but I'm so happy with my choice! Deeply Adored is a gorgeous vampy deep red, which is my perfect shade for autumn/winter. I've spent so long looking for this shade, a nice blue based dark red, now I just need to track down my perfect nude. Yes, this shade probably isn't the most work or day to day appropriate, but it makes me feel very 'chic' (for want of a better word) at the weekend or on the occasional night out. It's a matte finish, so its long lasting, and I've found that it doesn't settle in to any lines at all - although just to be on the safe side, I like to cover my lips with nuxe reve de miel beforehand for the perfect base. Also, because its MAC, you get that gorgeous vanilla scent...yum.

So, now I just need a perfect vampy lip liner to give me the perfect pout - any recommendations? Did the Marilyn Monroe collection tempt you? And what have I missed these last couple of weeks?!

Nails: OPI Germany Collection

OPI Germany Collection Polishes in (L-R): Berlin There Done That, Nein Nein Nein OK Fine and Don't Pretzel My Buttons - £11 each

Ahh it is lovely to be back blogging - although I am missing the sunshine, despite only being back from France for three days. I have (with sadness, but also a little bit of joy at the prospect of wearing layers and Christmas approaching) accepted the fact that autumn is well and truly here. Sunday's are generally my pampering day anyway, but given how miserable today's been there was nothing I'd rather do than sit and paint my nails in a nice autumnal shade.

I tend to avoid OPI Collections because they always seem really hit and miss, but when I saw the shade range in their 'Germany' collection I couldn't resist. Firstly, I love the theme and polish names because it reminds me of the German market they always had in November back at uni, and secondly because the colours are right up my street - lovely neutrals.

I initially just popped 'Nein Nein Nein OK Fine' and 'Berlin There Done That' in to my basket, but inevitably I couldn't avoid 'Don't Pretzel My Buttons', and this latter polish has quickly become my favourite. A combination of the three has been on my nails ever since they arrived, and I'm just in love. Nein Nein Nein is such a nice deep teal (a colour which I've been after for a while), and Berlin There is a really nice slate grey. I'm sure there are plenty of dupes out there for these two, but sometimes it's just lovely to treat yourself! Don't Pretzel My Buttons has actually overtaken Revlon's Grey Suede as my all time favourite polish...I'll definitely be popping a backup in my basket during my next Asos shop.

Other than the colours available in this collection - which you can probably tell by now I love - I can't get over how amazing the formulas of these polishes are. In the past I've found OPI polishes to need three coats and chip within a couple of days, but all three of these polishes take two coats each. On the chipping front, I put Don't Pretzel My Buttons on on the Saturday before I went to France, and got back the following Thursday with minimal chipping on the tips of my nails - impressive.

Overall I'm really pleased with my polishes, and something tells me a few more from the range will be making it in to my collection. Has anything in the Germany collection taken your fancy? What's your favourite autumn shade?