As much as I love Summer I am just soooo glad to see the back of it, don't get me wrong I love a wee evening chilling out in the sun with a wee glass of wine, but I love Autumn that whole much more. Not only because we get to wrap up a bit more in gorgeous pre winter fashion , we also get to rock the vamp/dark lips that has been seen adorn all the fashion runways of late,and no-one can rock a dark lip better than the sultry vixen herself miss Dita Von Teese, this look just ticks all the boxes when it comes to getting that Autumn runway 2015 look, from the berry coloured lips to the winged liner she is bang on trend.

We all love to put our own wee spin on make-up looks though as some of us aren't lucky enough to have a make-up artist on beacon call, as much as we would all love it. So here I have done my own wee cheap version of the dark lip/winged liner catwalk look for a quarter of the price. For this look I have used Sleek's Matte Me lip stain in the shade Fandango -£4.99 liquid black eyeliner from Primark - £1.00, black khol pencil from primark £1.00 to line the waterline . Foundation is Revlon colourstay in shade Natural Beige £12.99 from Boots, slight contour with MUA in shade 3 £1.00 from Superdrug. Baked Highligher shade RoseGold £1.00 in Savers. For brows I used Fm Cosmetics Brow Palette from Fm Cosmetics £8.99. Black Mascara from Primark £1.00. Guys as you can see none of these products were expensive ,so even on a budget this look is quite easy to put your own stamp on.

Choosing one staple lip colour for Autumn is so difficult though as there is just so many shades to choose from , so here is a few i have choose as my Top favourites ranging from highend to budget buy and can i just say that even i struggle to tell the difference in some of these shade as they are so similar....

HIGHEND OPTIONS

BUDGET BUYS

When trying to choose perfect shades I was spoilt for choice, there was soooo many to choose from but these are the few that I managed to whittle down to be in my best buys for Autumn , some of them were absolute steals for as low as £1.00!! I mean who could moan at that price, really???
I know that some of us may not feel so adventurous when it comes to trying out new shades of lipsticks, especially when some are as dark as your soul, but fear not I have you guys covered. here I have chose a few tinted lip balms ranging in price again, granted they will not have the same look as the lipsticks when applied but it still will give you that subtle little bit of colour without going over
board.                                          
                                                          TINTED LIP BALM'S

I have seen so many of the beauties Rocking this new trend on social media, mainly Instagram over the past week, it seems to be so hard to choose which look I liked the best but, when it comes to the crunch no-one and I mean no-one can rock it better than these three stunners.

 I follow these ladies religiously on all of their social media sites, but I will link their Instagram pages down below for you all to check them out.

Grace - http://instagram.com/facesbygrace23

Jamie - http://instagram.com/jamiegenevieve

Pala - http://instagram.com/pala_foxxia

I hope you all love these ladies as much as I do and I hope you all enjoyed my little version of the new Autumn Make-up trends. I hope you all have a fantastic day whatever you may be up to. For now its love, hugs and kisses from Little Painted Me xxxooo

Realising how special family holidays are.

Having just come back from our little family holiday I have had time over the past few nights to sit down ,relax and go through the holiday pictures .
This year we went back to Log an tSeanti,

a holiday home in Derrybeg county Donegal in the west of Ireland,and even though this is just a mere hours drive from where I live it feels like a whole different part of the world. The house is situated so close to the sea and has only a handful of houses dotted around it

. I am so used to the hussle and bussle of living in a big city, so when we go there on holiday it feels so peaceful. The air is filled with the smell of the turf fires and sea air, such a homely place to stay, its hard to put into words just how I feel when I'm there
 This year we brought our extended family with us, children, mums, dads, sisters, aunts the whole works, we wanted to share this amazing place with them in the hope that they would love it as much as we did . They weren't disappointed, in fact my aunt cried as we were leaving (big softie) I think it was just the fact she could come away from all of her stresses for a week, leave all the worries in Derry, plus the fact that our phones or internet didn't work down there was a major bonus in my eyes, I don't know about you guys but I struggle to get a conversation from my crowd at times because they have there noses stuck in there phones scrolling through Facebook ,Twitter or Snapchat! don't get me wrong I'm as obsessed as the next person is with social media, but for them few days to be able to actually have proper conversation, oh my god ,it was bliss!
Thankfully while we were there we didn't have our typical Irish summer weather, we actually had some scorching sun shine,

The kids loved it because we could go to the beach every single day as it was practically on our door step, plus the sea air knocked them out at bed time so it was happy days for mummy as-well.
I have never seen such a stunning place, granted I have never travelled any further than England for holidays in the past .I know, I'm 31 and never been on a foreign holiday, but in all honesty why would you need to when we have absolutely amazing places like this in our own country, with stunning views to match I may add.
From our beach front we could see a number of little islands across the water,

 It is so breath taking just being able to see it all really, and the fact that we were spending precious time making memories with our family, made it all the better. Needless to say I took loads of holiday snaps, most being of my kiddies making sand castles, making my daughter a mermaid tail from sand

,my mum hunting for shells with my two youngest children, and our family just being together, having fun.

words cant explain how happy and content that makes me feel.it really is the simple things in life.
what is your idea of an ideal holiday? do leave me a little comment and share.
I hope you all have an amazing day, whatever you may be up to, but for now its love, hugs and kisses from Little PaintedMe xxxooo.

Ashamed to be in my own skin.

Hi lovlies
             I'm only just back from my fab wee holiday but because of limited internet access I was not able to publish til i came home.I couldn't think of a better time than to discuss the #stoptheshame campaign that stellar.ie started around 8 weeks ago that I had only come across before I left for my holiday might i add (where have i been) 

Seeing girls being able to walk around a beach in front of everyone with a little bikini on makes me want to throw on a huge woolly jumper and become a little holiday hermit and never show my body again....I have to confess I am 31 years old , I'm a mummy of 4 and i have never ever worn a bikini EVER! Don't get me wrong I  would absolutely love to prance around on holiday in a skimpy little two piece but unfortunately the little image demon in my head tells me other wise, 

 The reason being that While I was pregnant my skin stretched so bad that I was left with an awful amount of stretch marks and loose skin all across my stomach to the point where it just looks like I have skin of an old lady now, my belly button has become non existent  because of the loose skin that hangs above it. I refer to my stretch marks as my "tiger stripes" that I earned while carrying my babies though , I lovingly  tell my children that it's a little map to show where they have come from. I know I must sound like such a moaner and that a lot of women would give a limb just to have the "tiger stripes" that I have, yet here I am crying about them !  they just make me feel so unattractive... disgusting in fact! I don't feel comfortable with my husband to be even seeing my body, I still cover my tummy with my hands so he cant see it. As a 31 year old woman I should feel super sexy and have a nice toned tummy, not ashamed to show off at all. Jesus I don't even feel comfortable enough to take my kiddies to the swimming pool wearing a one piece because I feel like everyone can see my saggy old lady tummy and feels repulsed, now I know that people are not that bad but in my mind I feel like their eyes are burning through me.
I have and still am in fact considering cosmetic surgery just to remove the excess skin around my stomach,  no one knows how amazing that would make me feel about myself,and  if that's not self body shame then I  don't know what is. I know though that its 50% for my own self esteem issues and 50% for acceptance in society when I do eventually get the nerve to venture out in a bikini in the future. How wrong is that though, i shouldn't feel like I need to cover myself up so not to disgust others or myself, I want to say good ridings to this body shame of mine once and for all, I want to be able to flaunt my belly to the world and if the only way I can do that is by shouting from the roof tops #stoptheshame then so bloody be it. Ladies/gents/world here is my tummy, stretch marks and all! 

Im sorry if it repulses you but if I can show you all this then its a hugeeee step in the right direction ,I just want to be able to say to each and every one of you, be proud of your stretch marks ladies, each one tells a little story of it's own, and believe me we bloody well earned them!! I hope this gives other women that feel the same way about their body the courage to show off their tiger stripes too

 I hope you all have an amazing day whatever your up to, but for now its love,hugs and kisses from Littlepainted me xxxooo

filthy velvet ( it makes perfect scents)

After browsing through Instagram's discover new people page one night I came across a company called Filthyvelvetgram, me being the nosey so and so that I am I was intrigued to say the least, when looking more into the page I discovered they were a local business close to where I live that sold scented candles (scandles) , and being as obsessed with scented candles as I am I HAD to get to know more about them and there brand.

While on browsing through the product range and the different scent of candles I came across all the candle names, and let me tell you they are Hilarious, for example there is camel toe, busty blonde, pot head... the list goes on.

I had this idea in my head that i would be burning these candles and my visitors would come in and say ohhhh whats that lovely smell, and that's when I would reply ohhh that ohh it's just  "camel toe" or "busty blonde" (hehehe) the thought just makes me laugh out loud.
I knew instantly that I would fall in love with these products so I didn't hesitate in getting in contact with the company owners  Karen and jeremy and asking for permission to do a blog with the products that I purchase. Having received permission I placed an order for the busty blonde candle (coconut and vanilla musk) this was £10.50. i lovvvve lovvve coconut scents so this was a no brainer , and I also ordered two boxes of the filthy bits which are little wax pieces to melt on a burner, I got lime,basil and manderine and the cotton fresh scents, these were both £4.50 each for a 6 piece box

. When placing my order I chose to collect in person , that way I could meet with Karen,get a little chat and possibly see more products as well and i could use it as an excuse for a road trip for myself and my partner.
Guys I cant begin to explain how lovely Karen is and how welcome she made me feel in her home, while I was there Karen showed me all the different scents herself and her partner jeremy produce and all from their beautiful home, from the very first step to the last I might add

! I was just besotted with the range of the scents and if I could I would have taken them alll home!! I am just in awe of this pair and I want you all to get to know them too so I did a little Q&A while I was there to allow you all to get to know karen,jeremy and there fantastic company, so here it is......
when was your company set up?
I set the company up in February 2015 with the help of my partner.
Where is your company based?
All our products are hand made from our home in Portrush.
Where can your products be purchased?
You can purchase our products on line www.filthyvelvet.com and through selected retailers in Northern Ireland ie Studio Souk, Belfast, Preloved by Patti & Frank, Portstewart , Memento Portrush, Touch Beauty Spa Coleraine and Sarah Butcher Make Up artist Co. Mayo. We are attending one of London's leading gift and lifestyle exhibitions in September and hope to be trading with more retailers throughout the UK and Ireland.
Who was the brains behind the company and product names?
I worked as an Interior Designer and owned my own Design Boutique for 15 years, I'm also a qualified aromatherapist which gave me a great understanding of scent combinations.. I decided to combine my skills and love for secnted candles and create my own unique range. My primary aim was to create a quality product but It was also wanted the range to reflect my own personality - fun and a little bit cheeky.
How many different scents are there?
Currently we have 14 Scandle scents available and 7 different Filthy Bits (wax melts) available but have many more in the pipeline. We would like to extend our product range to include scented oils, perfumes and room sprays.
How much does your products retail for?
Our products retail online for £10.50 & £4.50
Can your products be purchased through wholesale so that other companies can feature your candles?
Yes our products can be bought wholesale
If you had to choose a favourite scent , what would it be and why? 
I have so many favourite scents and they tend to change with the season. At the moment I am really enjoying our Pot Head  - Freshly Cut Grass Scandle but I think our WTF - Winter's Traditional Fragrance has to be my firm favourite. Its so hard to choose - I like them all!!
Where do you hope your company will be in 10 years time.?
We hope to be a real contender in the home fragrance industry wholesaling throughout the Uk & Europe and perhaps further a field.

I couldn't wait to get home to open my purchases, and I wasn't disappointed , the candle comes in a rustic little tin with company logo and candle name, these would fit in beautifully with any home decor,  and the filthy bits come beautiful wrapped in tissue paper inside a little cardboard parcel.

Its times like this I wish that there was such an invention as smellavision because Ohhhh Myyyyy F#@king God these candles and filthy bits smell out of this world!!! I have purchased other brands of scented candles / melts before but dear jesus these are not even in the same catergory  when it comes to comparing smellls! I had the wax melt burning for 2 minutes and my whole house smelled AMAZING!!!!

I cannot recommend this company enough guys, I mean if you're to do one thing today then please make it be adding these guys on facebook/twitter/instagram and placing an order of your own because I can 200% assure you that you will not be disappointed!! I am now their number 1 fan for life, I will never be buying from any other scented candle company ever !! In fact I can assure you that I will have Filthy velvet bought out of stock by the end of this year for sure!!
 I will link all of there social site pages down below,so you guys can check them out for yourselves . I know you will become a fan too.
I hope you all have a "Filthy Velvet" day lovlies but for now its loves, hugs and kisses from littlepainted me xxx ooo

1. https://www.facebook.com/filthyvelvet
2.  https://instagram.com/filthyvelvetgram/ 
3. .  https://twitter.com/Filthy_Velvet 
4. https://www.pinterest.com/Filthy_Velvet/