5 Fashion trends from 2017 that are still HOTTT AF!

Each year comes with a new set of trends and some linger on for longer than we could have imagined, think rose gold, skinny jeans and all things marble.

Just like those there are some trends from 2017 which managed to sneak into this year, and honestly I ain’t mad because they’re still HOTTT AF!

Tassels

Gurrl bring out them tassels, these delicate fringes can be found everywhere. From shoes to jerseys and my personal favourites earrings. Mix and match them with gold and silver. Use them to amp up an otherwise drab outfit or as a statement piece all on their own.

Fur

As we approach autumn here in SA we can see more fur items in stores and on the streets. It’s all faux of course but oh so stylish! In 2017 though the fur slides really stole the show, inspired by Fenty by Rihanna, there were blush and jewel toned versions of these little puppies in most of the stores & not to forget on many fashion lovers Christmas wish list. I managed to grab a pair from Legit for R99.99 and they are super comfy. You can pair them with joggers, leggings jeans and dresses and they work well for a day out shopping too.

Choker Necklines

Ok, being a beeg girl meant I was very afraid of this trend but so glad that I eventually tried it when I was gifted the top above from my little sis. Received so many compliments. It truly does elevate your look and I noticed many stores doing winter versions of these in the form of long sleeved tunics and dresses.

Block heels

Step aside Miss Stilleto there’s a new sassy siren in town and she really is a fave amongst us all. The block heel is stylish and practical all at the same time. We’ve seen hues of blue, blush and gold but the black block heel has become a wardrobe staple due to its versatility and classic appeal. From chunky to flat, they’ve made a huge statement, it’s no wonder we brought them into 2018 with us.

Ruffle sleeves

There was a hint of ruffles with the striped blouse trend in 2017 but this year the ruffles have ditched the stripes and you will find them everywhere from bold monochromes to floral prints. They really give an air of whimsy to any look.  Plus I just adore sleeves on everything and this trend lets me wear sleeved tops without being frumpy.

See any of your #faves here, comment below and share with us.

Simply Scentsational Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue Review

Fine fragrances aren’t really my thing and you definitely won’t find me rushing out to buy the newest one after a launch. I do however have a few favourites and I emphasise the word few cos there really aren’t that many than I love.

I got this heavenly scent from, well the very same source all my favourite scents come from, my hubby of course. I must add that if ever I do find myself lusting after a new perfume, I just need to drop some not so subtle hints and he usually gets them for me.

He does however complain that I don’t use them enough but there’s perfectly valid reasons for this.

First things first I have terrible sinus/ allergies which means sometimes even a mild scent will have my eyes all watery and I spend the rest of the day looking like I caught a bout of pink eye. The next thing is I like to bring out these wonderful fragrances for special occasions as I feel they add a little something extra to my outfit.

The Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue fragrance has scents of jasmine, apple and a slight woodiness to it. For me, it’s a refreshing aroma that isn’t over powering or clinical, perfect balance between floral and fruity.

If I had to describe it, its summer in a bottle with a seductive twist.
That’s the reason why I find myself reaching for it year round, in winter it reminds me of the summer breeze and the lazy days spent on the beach. In summer it’s light and airy nature makes it easy to wear even in the warm Durban weather.

Source

I have seen a recent launch for the Italian Zest edition which I’m keen to try. You can read up more on that here.

You can purchase the Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue EDT from Redsquare or anywhere that sells fine fragrances.

Do you have a signature scent, share with me below:

Revlon Irresistible Kiss Balm Juicy Peach VS Labello Vanilla Buttercream lip balm

I had to buy both of these (at different times of course) because I’m struggling to find my favourite Maybelline Baby lips in stores.

Let me just start this post saying there is no lip balm that will compare to the Baby lips for me. I have tried so many different ones from Avon, Body shop, Oh So Heavenly, Soft Lips, LipIce and I always find myself going back to the Maybelline Baby lips.

I decided to give these two a try because I need to find a lip balm that’s a pretty close second to my fave.

Let’s talk packaging, the Revlon Kiss Balm wins here for me, the colours are so fresh and I like the sleek design with a cute transparent lid. The Labello Vanilla Buttercream lip balm is sturdy with a white base and gold cap which is pleasing to the eye.

Now onto product size, Labello steals the show here with 4.8 grams of product compared to the 2.6 grams you getting with the Revlon balm. While we here we rather compare price, again Labello wins as it retails for R24.95 compared to the R59.95 for the Kiss Balm. I will more than likely need 2 of the Revlon ones in a month which makes it quite expensive for me. (I use lip balm every day, even under lipsticks or glosses).

On the moisturising/hydrating test I pick the Labello one (this could be due to the variant of the Revlon one I purchased). I felt the Labello one moisturised my lips for a good 2 hours before I needed to reapply. 

I felt the Revlon one was too thick and just sat on my lips without being absorbed, also it left a very light white film on my lips, (again, this could be due to the variant of the Revlon one I purchased). I found myself reapplying the Kiss Balm more often as my lips felt dry.

When it comes to the smell of the lip balms both are amazing, the Labello Vanilla Buttercream had a beautifully light vanilla scent, I could also get a bit of an oily scent from it as well but it isn’t something too noticeable. The Revlon Kiss Balm though made me feel like I was walking through an orchard of peaches. Also I got a sniff of the other varients and they are all amazing.

The Labello Vanilla Buttercream lipbalm is a WINNER for me, it’s super affordable, hydrates my lips and has a sweet but not over powering scent. I also ended up passing the Kiss Balm along to my sister since she apparently likes it a lot, different strokes I guess.

You can purchase both of these lip balms at Clicks or Dischem and the Revlon Kiss Balm at Foschini and Edgars.

Have you tried any of these or are there any other lip balms that you just can’t live without, let me know below:

Review Freedom Makeup

I was thrilled when I saw the Instagram stories of this brand, when they shared that they launched in a few of the Jet stores NATIONWIDE. So naturally on my very next trip to the mall I popped into my nearest Jet store at Chatsworth Centre.

I was ecstatic, I struggled to choose a “few” items to try. I hadn’t used anything from Freedom Makeup before but had seen many videos on Youtube on how affordable and awesome they are.I bought the following products which I convinced myself “I MUST HAVE” and proceeded to test them immediately. 

Luckily for me I was getting ready for a party, a pretty fancy Oscars themed Party.
On my look below I used the Pro Highlight highlighter in GLOW and Pro lipstick in NOIR DARKNESS

They were hits, I also proceeded for the rest of the night to tell anyone who would or wouldn’t listen just how much I LOVE these products.

I also bought the eyeliner which has a thin brush applicator which is perfect for my hooded eyes. The brush allows or precise application and you can build up you liner as you like. It’s a strong jet black 
colour and R49.95 is a good price for a liquid liner as I find I need to buy these quite often.

The eyeshadow primer was a bit of a miss for me, I tried using it on its own, with a powder, over concealer well pretty much any way that was possible and I didn’t see the benefits of having it there. Unless I am using it incorrectly, I would skip this one if I were you.

I can’t decide if I love the lipsticks or highlighters more. At R34.95 the lipsticks are a steal, the colours are so pretty I really wanted them all. They last a long time and even the semi matte ones won’t dry your lips. The pigment is wow and you can use them without a lipliner. Also there was no bleeding with these colours which gets a thumbs up in my book.
I got the colours Retro Retro, a beautiful deep red and Noir Darkness a gorgeous rich purple tone.

The highlighters though, the struggle is real with finding non ashy looking, non-texturizing and affordable highlighters.  These highlighters had me glowing, beaming and shimmering for days. It stays put can be built up, used on its own or as a pretty topper on your blush.

Now they call this trio the Bronzed Professional Pro Bronze I have the shade SHIMMER LIGTHS but it’s more of a highlight/bronzer combo. The bronzer shade is a bit light for me but I use it as eyeshadow sometimes so no wastage here.The peach and champagne colours look great on my skin tone but I do believe they will suit a variety of complexions.

Check out the swatches below, L-R theres Glow, Noir Darkness, Shimmer Lights, Retro Retro & black

Have you tried any Freedom Makeup products share your thoughts below:

My Top 5 Beauty faves

These are the products that are must haves for my makeup bag. I can create a full look with only these products, so for me they really are the bare essentials.

Anyone who knows me won’t be surprised to learn that the very first product I will make reference to here is my Estee Lauder Double Wear (DW) foundation in the shade Sandalwood. I have managed to convert my sister and a lot of my friends to the wonders that is the DW foundation.

It comes in a variety of shades, really does last forever and leaves you with a beautiful matte finish without looking cakey. Yes, I know the R575.00 price tag is not budget friendly but honestly it’s one of the few items I would encourage someone to splurge on.

It wears well throughout the day but my T zone is very oily so I do need to blot at least once through out the day but the product does last for a good amount of time on the rest of my face. (I would say it’s roughly 6 hours before you can see the signs of it fading away).

This is after 5 hours of wear

Now many makeup lovers out there love Mac lipsticks. Their lipsticks are of a superior quality, offers great colour payoff and comes in various finishes. Now I know it's a little expensive at R220.00 a pop but if you wanna spoil yourself sometimes, then why not.

The Viva Glam III is a beautiful every day colour, it’s moisturising and will suit many skin tones. You can amp up the colour with a lipliner but I mostly use it on its own and I’m good to go.

This lip colour is a raisin mauve and has just enough punch to be noticeable. It compliments many eye makeup looks, although you can use it without doing up your entire face. You can also sheer it out a bit with some lip gloss.

The Maybelline FitMe Matte and Poreless powders have been causing up a storm since they launched in SA last year. The 1st thing I love about this powder is the shade range, there are great shades for women of colour. I use the shade Caramel. At R99.95 it’s super affordable and I love how finely milled this powder is, it really does minimize pores and gives a naturally filtered look to your skin.

A good black eyeliner is a staple in any makeup purse and I have tried a few but these ones from Avon are my favourite. The Avon Glimmerstick in blackest black is a beauty, I use it to topline and line my lower water line. It’s an intense black that lasts through out the day, also very affordable as I usually get it on sale at R34.95 each.

I found this blush by Design Cosmetics (Edgars) and it was really really pretty and was also quite affordable (R29.95) and then it became one of my favorites. It's a rose shade called Fudge. I even use it as a transition shade. It} really gives a good wash of colour although you can build it up. It also works really beautifully under your highlighter.

New Year Wishes

Well, It's already the 15th of January and I am a little late with the New Year Wishes.

Just a few words from me to you. Enjoy each day this year offers you and do more of what you love, what makes you laugh and what makes your heart happy.

Remember to embrace the greatness that's within you and be kind to one another but most especially to yourself.

Summer Loving Nail Polish Edition

Now that SUMMER is on our doorsteps (Well from the weather in Durbs lately, you would swear it's not) and you know we gots to get our nails did to evoke those #summervibes Here's some of my favourite nail polish shades for summer:

First up is the Essence The Gel polish in You and Me a beautiful lavender colour, two coats gives u maximum effect. Very pretty and likely to flatter most skin tones. I think this would work well as a pedi colour too.
Also I used this polish without any topcoat and it lasted a good 5 days with very minimal chipping.

Next up we have a beautiful aqua shade called Juicy from Avon cosmetics if you can't get your hands on this, Essence, Sorbet and Essie have similar colours. This is the perfect pedi colour, I use it for an accent nail when I do a manicure. It's fun and bright and would complement many other colours for some cute nail art combos.

I got the Sorbet Sweet Sixteen set for Christmas last year. It really is an ideal gift for any nail polish lover like myself. There are so many cute colours with different textures. Melting Moments is one of my favourites, it's a pale nude pink. This colour would suit many skin tones. It's a very romantic colour, I think it would also go really well with a metallic rose gold accent nail.

Found the next gorgeous colour at the freshly stocked Essence stand at Dischem it even says new on it... There was only 1 left so needless to say I grabbed it pretty quickly. It's a peachy, pink nude that looks oh so fresh and cute. This seems like it would be a perfect base for a multitude of nail art designs. This shade is called Rosewood Forrest, I know! the name is as pretty as the polish.

If you know me, then you know this next colour is as bright as my personality. This one again is from Essence (what can I say, their nail polishes are awesome) it's a Matte tangerine colour and screams #summervibes. Its called Va Va Voom This colour need no accents, it stands loud and proud on its own. I sometimes put a glossy top coat on and it just makes it look a lil more special. Sinful Colours also has a similar shade called Boogie Nights, which was one of favourites for a while.

Now this last colour called Serendipity is my all time favourite it's like a greyish lilac colour and can pass off as a cool neutral, no suprises that it's from Essence Cosmetics too. It will flatter many skin tones and can be used with a multitude of colours for those of you who like to mix up their mani.

What's your summer nail polish faves, share with me below and I just might try them out❤️