Review: MAC Emanuel Ungaro Lipstick

Hi everyone. I hope you have all had a wonderful and joy filled Christmas this year. Although Christmas is not all about gifts (it's really about Jesus' birthday and that this is a gift itself) it's always nice to have a few gifts you really appreciate. This year has been no different and I have been thoughtfully gifted MAC lipstick.

I don't often wear lipstick but I really want to start dabbling in it more. I've always heard praise from Mac lipsticks too. So to be brought one was great! 

This is the full potential lipstick which is chosen by Sharon Dowsett (make up artist) particularly for the Ungaro 2008 Fall catwalk. 

I love the colour, it a lovely deep red but has a slight orange tone to it. Great for new year parties.

Comment and let me know what you think of MAC lipsticks, or does another brand hold your heart. What lip shades are you loving right now? 

 

Halloween not so scary Cupcakes

Halloween has been and gone. But many of us are likely to be still craning over what remains of any of the treats left over, or spilling over those love/hate pictures screened online. It was prime time entertainment to a how many of us dressed as cats, original. *But I guess I can make an exception for @zozeebo, she looks flawless!*

I adore the vampy lips and big eyes!

My friends being partied out and me not celebrating Halloween. We thought it would be nice to have a little catch up.

Firstly on our agenda of the night we ranted about the beauty that is Zac Efron whilst finding any Zac links media garb we could get our hands on. we chowed down pizza and then pretended we were the best of British bakers.

I’m not gonna lie, we attempted baking truly with no avail, so we resorted to cake packets...

Also we took the fun task of practicing how to ice on each others hands.

This is a montage of our creations. I really recommend that if you haven’t spent a good amount of time with friends recently, take an afternoon to do something you all enjoy. It’s been proven that social interaction can lower risk of depression and more!

To link in Halloween, we tried our best to decorate some cupcakes cute and other with themes. The ghost made from molding icing is so cute and easy to do!

This picture is not fab to show, but to walk and spend time with the girls I kept my face neutral with eyeliner, mascara, foundation and lip balm to protect from the cold. Also I teamed my white shirt and wet look jeans with a leather jacket and a bright blue scarf for a pop of colour.

Jess, our host, lives in a lush (looks like a Downton Abbey countryside dream setting) new housing complex. I couldn't resist this lantern. It makes me truly feel like winters here.

One word for these two: beautiful!

How To: Triangle Nail Paint

When painting nails, one block colour can often be boring. I often see friends with highly decorated nails and want it, but I have none of the nail tools or kits they use. *sigh* 

So I was determine to use something you would find around the house to make my nails look better. 

Firstly I painted them with Revlon's nail enamal in Charismatic-610. And to make the clean line for the triangle? I used cellotape! When I was sure my nails were completely dry, I cut little pieces of tape and placed them on each nail on a little slant. I used this line guide to pointed the other half of my nails using Sinful Colours polish in white. When I had painted one nail, pealed the tape of straight away.

 Then the same for the rest. And voila! 

Review: Maybelline Baby Lips

So hearing and seeing the hype surrounding Maybelline Baby Lips I have been coveting it for ages and only just got it today. I got one whilst shopping in Boots (UK super drug store) when my good friend Sarah bragged about hers.

On a good note there was lots of choice. But that made it so much harder to choose! I was stuck between an original (clear) blue tube or the cherry orange tube. In the end I went eith y favourite smell, cherry. At £2.99 it was perfect.

On, the colour was subtle but give just the right amount of tint. It smelt lovely and felt nourishing and soft too. The only downside was that it didn't taste fantastic if you accidently licked your lips.

September: Mini Haul

Being overly organised mixed with excitement for this Froray. I have had a little splurge and bought a new lipstick and nail varnish (but I saw it in Elle and had to give the shades a try!) This is how my mission panned out;

I have fallen head over heels for autumn's new berry (a take on vampy lips and nails) pallette. Im going to make the most of this and dabble while it lasts.

Trying to find the right berry, but almost black, shade lipstick I desired turned out to be surprisingly challenging. The shades that looked perfect on the tube turned a more rosy colour when swatched. lovely but not what I was pursuing.

(Above) last minute I suddenly came across this little stunner. Revlon's matte lipstick in Black Cherry: perfect!

(Below) obviously with a mutual coloured outfit I want matching nails. Already being a fan, plus, raving about it *like a loon might I add* in one of my earlier posts, I opted for Maybelline New York's Colour Show (In Burgundy Kiss). Knowing this would give great colour and easy application with the wide brush.

What do you feel about the berry trend? Hit or miss? Love or loathe?

The Great British Bake Off

Pastries, cakes, bread, biscuits I'm hooked. The Great British Bake Off has a slowly become one of my go to programmes for when I need a little cheering up. A show filled with compitition, delicious food and the great presenter's  (that make me laugh endlessly) and fantastically enchanting hosts: Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood *those eyes*.

As well as fallen in love with the food and participants one contestants personality has caught my eye, her cute Indie/vintage style *sigh* is just a bonus. Her name. Ruby Tandoh. With these pictures you'll see what I mean.

Look at the table. Food food food.

She seems so sweet on screen and she has also worked for models 1.

Ruby admits that she shops at charity shops as she's a philosophy student. I am definitely taking a tip from her book. Her cardigan is a good example, so cute.

Picture Of The Day: POTD

This little cute post is new and my own way of sharing visual images of my day to day life, the people in it and what is important at this time. (I also want you guys to share your POTD's with me in the comments or social networks)

♚ this is one of my faves. It's of my little sister being curious about who she is. She loves drama and says she wants to be an actress, I always catch her practising faces in our mirror! ♚

Autumn's Here!

Summer has gone and left us all now *sob sob* and if I'm entirely honest this summer's weather has been surprisingly gratifying and warm (not nearly as drizzly and stormy as expected).

Although I think now it is time to admit and apologize for my very, very long absence from BethKara. The truth? I had a major dilemma as to whether I wanted to carry on with my blog at all. I had lost inspiration and put myself down comparing my blog to others. I wasn't happy with the static 'category' I had put me and my little blog into. But I'm realizing now that I enjoy spilling my thoughts and opinions down and not to put me in a box. I want my blog to be about anything, including my thoughts, plans, adventures, down days, good days, and about my hair, my beauty products, my envy of peoples style. I want it to be a mash up of everything anyone may ever think or experience. Not just a label on some piece of internet. I won't it to be me, not someone I may pretend to be. It should be something I should look at be happy with, and if people enjoy reading my blog that is a very happy, fat, and hugely satisfying bonus.

Now my blog is going through it's transitional stage, I should share that my poor, poor, chemically tortured hair has too. Being a sheep in girl world I wanted to try out the 'go blonde for summer' for myself. changing my brown locks to sun soaked blonde ones. Lets just say that me and my friend had a lot of fun (with some definite trial and error- aka going out with loud brassy toned hair *coughcough*). 

So here is my hair journey in a few summer snaps:

My first transgression was more of a golden blonde as my hair was previously brown. Then a few weeks later I completely bleached it- I definitely made sure I gave it a good condition afterwards.

I enjoyed my blonde for a long time but didn't feel like keeping up with the roots. The colder days and winter dawning convinced me enough to go brown for winter. But I wanted to re-inject some fun, this encouraged my next hair decision. 

OMBRE! (squeaks with glee). I think is look is so fun and I wanted to give it another chance. As you can tell by the photos ombre hair can change your look in different lighting. 

At this point in this entry all I want to do is thank my little helper, aka little ball of fur (also an actual dog), Belle for helping me out by naughtily tapping along the keys during this post.

96 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS. Yes I really have started counting already, yikes.

Review: Joursna Professional Brush

 Not to long ago my sister needed a new make-up brush for her foundation, and she opted for a rounded tip one for foundation.

The review? It is a great alternative to more expensive brushes such as Real Techniques make up brushes. Especially a temporary one for student pockets. It was a lovely soft rounded brush, absolutely packed with plush bristles and easily blended which sped up Hannah's morning routine *woohoo*. An absolute miracle considering I can get ready quicker before she says 'foundation!' Also the unique shape of the handle made it great to hold. So overall it could easily rival top market brands!
What is your foundation brush like? Is it up to scratch or do you long for a new, all-the-range one ready to rival others? Let me know!

Devon 2013: Day #2 OOTD

Day two was busy again. But the weather was beautiful, I had my family and a stunning town, what else can I need *cringe for the sickening cheesiness*. 

We took the chance to go to a local castle and explore the gardens, vintage arcade games, and absolutely beautiful interior design. I'm a complete fool when it comes to old fashioned houses and lifestyle, sigh.

Me (right)- Shirt: Select, skirt: Primark, Sandals+bag+necklace: New Look.
Hannah (right)- Shirt: New Look, shorts: Primark, belt: Select, shoes: Store 21.

We viewed a Light show originally invented in the 1920's.

front of the castle and gardens, read here to learn more.

The castle was filled with vintage and classic memorabilia.

This Old Bell system used to alert servants reminds me of Dowton Abbey!

Vintage arcade games and machines.

The fudge (homemade!) was delicious too.

I fell in love with this spade and trowel sculpture, it reminds me of Claes Oldenburg's work.

The gardens were like a dream or fairyland!