Advertise | With Topaz & May

T&M has become a huge part of my life over the last year, as has the entire blogging community. I know how hard it is to get your blog recognised and without the help of other bloggers, my blog wouldn't be what it is today.

So, I've decided that from 1st June 2013 I will be offering advertising on T&M. There will be three different types of packages which I feel suit a variety of bloggers and brands, and are also reasonably priced. I am also open to discussing bespoke packages. To view my packages and prices click here.

I know some people are adverse to bloggers charging for advertising, so I hope I don't offend anyone by doing so. However, beauty blogging starts to take its toll on the bank balance after a while. I love to review the latest items for you, my readers, and sometimes I do need a little help to fund this. Therefore, I promise that all funds that come from my adverts will go directly back into Topaz & May.

Thank you to everyone for all your support with T&M, I really appreciate it and it means the world to me. I hope that my advertising helps others just as I've been helped myself.

Email lisa@topazandmay.com if you're interested in advertising with T&M.

Make Up | Apocalips Stellar

RIMMEL APOCALIPS IN STELLAR £5.99

As reviewed before, I really like the apocalips range from Rimmel. Stellar is a colour that I've been umming and aahing about for a while and finally took the plunge when I was shopping with my friend Amber and she MADE ME BUY IT! Yes, made me.

So I got it, and actually ridiculously love it. It's a gorgeous bright, vibrant pink with a touch of coral in it. It is very pigmented (as with all the Apocalips) and lasts for a good couple of hours. What annoys me slightly with these is that when they wear, the leave a line around the lips like liner - which with something this bright looks a bit silly. But if you keep it topped up it's not an issue.

I really do love this colour, my boyfriend hates it (he's weird) but it's just so gorgeous, you can't not love it. These are just great products and I would highly recommend them to everyone.

What's your favourite Apocalips colour?

Life | Girls Night In or Out?

Lately when it comes to organising a night out I just cannot be dealing with it. Money wise I just cannot justify – but it seems I’m not the only one! A survey of 2000 UK women by Ladbrokes Bingo showed that 69% of women asked preferred to stay in with the girls instead of going out. I, for one, would definitely agree. The last couple of times I’ve gone out it’s just ended in some sort of drama, or it’s just too expensive. Drink prices and entry fees are going up and I can’t afford it.

So instead I tend to have a night in with the girls. Ladbrokes Bingo survey showed that activities included on a night in includes watching films, pampering/spa treatments and takeaways. Well I can definitely recommend all three – so here are my top five tips for a fab night in with the girls!

1.       Stick to the classics. This includes cookie dough ice cream, chick flicks, pajamas and sleeping bags. These are classics for a reason.

2.       Don’t get expensive pampering bits for your spa session. You’re not there for actual results – just the fun. So grab some masks from Montagne Jeunesse, nail polishes from Barry M and use make up you already have.

3.       Dominoes is a must – and they always have a deal on. Currently they have a £20 deal which gets your two medium pizzas, potato wedges, garlic bread and a bottle of Coke – it’s a bargain and yummy yum yum!

4.       Go Disney – you cannot go wrong with a Disney classic. I cannot count the amount of times I’ve had a night in with a good Disney film, singing along. Or even a Disney soundtrack – many a time we’ve been dancing around the room to a classic Disney song (usually I just Can’t Wait to be King from the Lion King) with a glass of wine in hand.

5.       Wine – don’t get the expensive stuff. There will always be a nice bottle on offer (usually in Sainsburys). My personal favourite is Gray Fox Rose which is usually £5 in Sainsburys.

I do love a great girls night in - you honestly can't beat it and it seems most of the UK is of that mind as well!

Do you prefer a night in or out?

*This post is written in association with Ladbrokes Bingo

Life | Would You Rather Beauty Edition

Okay, so I found this on Kayleigh's blog (Couture Girl, if you haven't checked it out already DO IT NOW) and thought it was such a good idea. I really enjoyed reading her answers so... Here is my turn! Feel free to nab it from here if you wanna try it out, it's great fun!

Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lipglosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?
Oh tough one! I've fallen in love with lip products over the past year, but I do find that since going back into retail I can be more creative with my eyes than my lips... Eeek! Mainly because I can't not put mascara or eyeliner on everyday, i would go with losing my palettes and eyeshadows. I can still be creative with liner!

Would you rather chop off your hair, or never be able to cut it again?
Well, I guess I already answered that one a few weeks ago when I cut most of mine off into a shaggy bob. So, definitely chop it off - sorry long hair!

Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?
This is a tough one. During the winter I am definitely a pink cheek girl, but spring and summer I am all about the coral. I'm going to go with coral at the moment, mainly because I love the way it highlights my cheeks.

If you had £1000 to spend, would you rather by clothes or make up?
I'm going to go with clothes. Mainly because make up I can would have to buy over and over again cause it would run out - whereas most clothes (good quality ones) you'd be able to keep for a long long time. Plus I really do want a wardrobe overhaul.

Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner, or eyeliner as lipstick?
Um, neither! Imagine the mess of using lipstick as eyeliner... Ick! So definitely eyeliner as lipstick, you can get eyeliner is so many different colours, so I'd pick a lovely pink/red/plum eyeliner and use that.. But still, not cool.

Would you rather shop at MAC or Sephora?
Well, seeing as I'm in a UK I don't have a Sephora. However, having been in the one in New York I would definitely rather shop there. MAC products are great, but I love variety and I love some of the products in Sephora (Tarte, Stila etc). So yup, definitely Sephora.

Would you rather only use one eyeshadow colour or one lip colour for the rest of your life?
Defnitely one eye colour. I love eyeshadow, at the moment anyway, but I love all my different lipsticks and I love the different shades. Plus, depending on the eyeshadow colour, if it was a dark brown you can use that at all different levels with shading and building it up so yup - keeping the lipstick collection thank you!

Would you rather wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter?
To be honest, I don't have a seperate winter/summer wardrobe... I wear both all year round so this is definitely tricky. In some ways you can wear summer stuff in winter and just build it up for warmth, but at the same time it's not like we exactly have a summer. This is a tough one. But I would have to go with winter clothes in the summer, we have longer winters than summers so that's why!

Would you rather dark nails or bright nails all year round?
I love both, but I'm going to go with bright. I love my dark colours, but wearing brighter nails cheers me up, especially if the weather is absolutely awful (which it is most of the time). Some of my favourite colours are bright ones so I couldn't give it up!

Would you rather give up your favourite lip product or your favourite eye product?
Probably the lip product, only because I cannot go out the house without eyeliner and mascara on, whereas I can go out without lip product on. As much as I hate it, I could do it.

Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a pony tail or a messy bun?
Before the hair cut I would have said ponytail, but since I've cut it off I do prefer a bit of a messy bun. I'm loving the shaggy bob look and a bun is more shaggy than a ponytail.

Would you rather never being able to paint your nails again or never use lipgloss?
I would definitely never wear lipgloss again. I have to have my nails painted, it's one of my things! My nails need to have colour on them whereas my lips can go without.

Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all? Or sharpie them in everyday?
Sharpie them in definitely. I would look like such an alien without eyebrows.

Would you rather live without make up or nail polish?
This is a tough one. I love my painted nails, I will always have painted nails, even when I am not wearing make up. So I think I would have to live without make up. Which is a horrible thought but you never know - wearing no make up may clear up my skin. Eugh, okay - move on! I must wear make up and have nail varnish...!

I hope you enjoyed reading - I enjoyed doing it. A couple of them were definitely harder than others and actually I suprised myself with a couple of answers when I really thought about it! If you do this please let me know as I'd love to read your answers. Enjoy!

Make Up | Glamshine Stain Splash

L'OREAL GLAMSHINE STAIN SPLASH IN ROMY, LOLITA AND PRINCESS £7.99

L'Oreal was 3 for 2 a few weeks back, so I decided I'd indulge myself in their new lip product. It's described as a gloss that acts like a stain, that is also 30% water. So, the product itself...

Honestly I am torn. The formula is incredibly light and very watery when applied, but thickens up quickly on application. It's comfortable to wear and again, lightweight. I wouldn't say it's very long lasting, maybe about an hour. I do prefer it over the top of a lipstick as opposed to wearing it on its own.
The wand itself really irritates me actually... Not so much on the lighter colours like Romy and Lolita, but you can see from the picture above that I found it very hard to use to apply Princess, a more pigmented product as I found the product collected at the tip of the wand, and was just a bit difficult to apply.

So now onto the colours...

Romy
A gorgeous pink that I think it meant to be like a deep hot pink. The colour is gorgeous, but very translucent  Definitely more of a gloss than a stain. It applies nicely and is a nice everyday gloss with a bit of colour.

Lolita
This one is my favourite. Its defintiely a "my lips but better" lip gloss and I've been wearing this most days over the top of Bourjois Rouge Edition in Shade 4, the two work perfectly together. It's a great lipgloss.

Princess
This is the one Cheryl Cole is wearing in all the adverts. The colour is a lovely coral red. I wouldn't say it was a stain, more of a pigmented gloss. I do like the colour, I just find it very hard to apply. I find this colour lasts longer than the other two, so there is some stain there.

Overall, I'm a bit torn really. I love the product as a gloss, but I love the colours, but as a stain I'm not convinced. For me, they are definitely more gloss, but they are a nice gloss. Lolita is definitely my favourite, so if you are looking for a a good every day gloss, Lolita is your one!

Have you tried Glamshine Stain Splash? What colours do you love?