Orange is one of the lipstick shades I'm sure a lot of us have a love-hate relationship with. I mean, it looks great when models wear it - but us regular people who can't afford a professional make-up artist to steer us away from shades that downright don't suite us. Nah. 

But last year I did find myself caught up in the orange lipstick trend. I am lucky that my skin generally has neutral undertones. It leans slightly towards warmer shades but I mostly do suit all lipstick shades (aside from nudes, I'm one of those typical pale people who looks dead without some colour on my lips). 

If your own lipstick collection is still lacking some orange hues, here are my top 3. Okay they're the only 3 I own because I'm not a super-star blogger who can afford everything. But I would wholeheartedly recommend all of them.

L-R: Son of a Brick, Flirty Orange and Boss Lady. 

I reviewed this lipstick in full last year and it remains my favourite for when I'm feeling a subtle orange. An earthy shade that is orange meets brown but is subdue enough to wear during the day. 

Quite clearly, this is the orange lipstick you wear when you are looking to stand out. An almost-fluorescent shade, this is one of the many lipsticks I own from Gosh. I've spoken praises for Gosh's lipsticks before, but they honestly are my favourite and I own an array of them (a Gosh swatch blog-post has been on my to-do list for a long time). Here's an outfit post from last year of me wearing this shade. 

This is a very recent addition to my collection and I am happy to report that the LippyGirl formula is still divine. Like the Son of a Brick Shade mentioned earlier, Boss Lady is also an earthy and warm shade. However, unlike Son of a Brick, it's a mix between red and orange - and it can look a bit red on the lips (here's an Instagram of myself wearing it). 

Do you have a favourite orange lipstick? Let me know in the comments. 

Phil Smith is a haircare brand that has been featured a few times on my blog. However, in these posts there has been comments regarding confusion as to what products are vegan. I actually discovered Phil Smith when I was simply just cruelty-free. But when I began stricter with ingredients I myself moved the brand to the side, because I was unsure as to what was vegan. 

However, recently the PR company who look after Phil Smith got in contact and provided me with a run down as to what products are vegan (and which are not). 

BOMBSHELL Radiance Shampoo

BLONDE BOMBSHELL Radiance Conditioner

BLONDE BOMBSHELL Radiance Intensive Treatment

RESCUE SOS Iron Hot Mist

COCO LICIOUS Coconut Oil Shampoo

COCO LICIOUS Coconut Oil Conditioner

GLAM SHINE Gloss Finishing Spray

GLAM SHINE Glossing Serum

BIG IT UP! Volume Boosting Shampoo

BIG IT UP! Volume Boosting Conditioner 

BIG IT UP! Volume Boosting Spray

BIG IT UP! Thickening Volume Cream

BIG IT UP! Volume Boosting Moose

GENTLY DOES IT Ultra Soothing Shampoo

GENTLY DOES IT Ultra Soothing Conditioner

HELLO MOISTURE Nourishing Repair Shampoo

HELLO MOISTURE Nourishing Repair Conditioner

HELLO MOISTURE Intensive Conditioning Treatment

DRY CLEANERS Volumising Dry Shampoo

DRY CLEANERS Revitalising Dry Shampoo

HOLD ON Firm Hold Hairspray 

TOTAL TREAT Argan Oil Cream

TOTAL TREAT Transforming Argan Oil

CURLY LOCKS Curl Perfecting Shampoo

CURLY LOCKS Curl Perfecting Conditioner

CURLY LOCKS Curl Perfecting Spray

CURLY LOCKS Curl Control Cream

WOW! BRUNETTE Colour Illuminating Shampoo

WOW! BRUNETTE Colour Illuminating Conditioner

SOS RESCUE Damage-Protection Shampoo

SOS RESCUE Damage-Protection Conditioner

GLAM SHINE Ultimate Glossing Shampoo

GLAM SHINE Ultimate Glossing Conditioner

SUPER SMOOTH Luminous Smoothing Shampoo

SUPER SMOOTH Luminous Smoothing Conditioner

SUPER SMOOTH Luminous Protein Spray

What product will you try next?

Sometimes before I go to bed, I like to watch videos on YouTube of girls whispering into a camera while role-playing. These role-plays can be visits to the dentist, sometimes it's a nurse or maybe a hairdresser. Occasionally I watch boys too, but I've always preferred the female videos. These videos cause me to feel tingles. 

When I say it like that, you would presume I'm opening up about a sexual fetish. But to someone who hasn't heard of ASMR - or has but doesn't experience it - that's exactly what it could look like. A pretty girl pretending to be a nurse whispering into a camera does sound like the start of a very bad porno. 

But ASMR is a relaxation tool and these tingles I spoke about happen in my head, not...you know, lower in my body. The fact that they are sometimes referred to as a 'brain orgasm' doesn't help either. 

If you are someone who doesn't experience ASMR and is trying to get your head around it, I hope this post helps you understand it a bit more. Or at least understand that it is not sexual, at least not by default. 

(As a note, I know some people who watch ASMR videos would rather be caught watching porn. While the situation would be embarrassing, at least it would be easier to explain.) 

While ASMR as a 'trend' only took off in the last few years, I've been experiencing it my whole life. I have vivid memories of gentle tingles travelling down my head when a teacher would help me with a maths problem, or during an eye test. But on the flip side, I haven't experienced sexual attraction my whole life. That didn't kick in until I headed off to high school. 

Most people who experience ASMR will share a similar anecdote. We had these tingles our entire life, long before we encountered - shall we say - 'tingles' of the other variety. 

I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak on behalf of my own experience. When I watch ASMR videos I feel these gentle tingles in my head and ears. When I'm 'turned on' it's not my head where I feel the tingles, it's a much lower part of my body. And the sensation is different. The tingles from ASMR are relaxing and dream like. I'm not sure about anyone else, but when I'm sexually aroused I wouldn't call myself relaxed.

ASMR sends people to sleep, porn does not

Someone who creates adult films for a living would be offended if they found out people were falling asleep during their creations. The purpose of adult films are to arouse and excite. Whereas most ASMR videos are designed to help people relax and even fall asleep. Some insomniacs swear by them.

When someone tells you they are away for a massage you don't automatically wink at them and say "Oh, a massage eh?". Massages are used for relaxation or health purposes, but it involves someone running their hands along your bare skin (sometimes with ointments). And in the privacy of people's own homes massage can be a sensual act used as part of foreplay, or for general intimacy. But we still don't think of massages of being intrinsically sexual. 

ASMR can be thought of similarly. The end goal is ultimately the same (relaxation, help with anxiety and sleep problems) but it can look sexual to the untrained eye. 

And I'm not hear to shut them down. They have their own place in the world, and if these videos are what turns an individual on then that's it. I'm not here to tell someone what they should or shouldn't be turned on by - just as long as they're not leaving dirty comments on ASMR videos that aren't designed to be sexual. 

Similarly to massage, ASMR can be sexual - or it can be a relaxation tool. The same way whipped cream can be for decorating a cake or can be for licking off your partner's body. Even genitalia isn't always used sexually: a penis is also for urinating and a vagina is where babies enter the world. 

ASMR - like many things - doesn't fit into black or white boxes where everything is either 100% sexual or completely void of any sexual purpose. A lot of it is down to the individual and their personal desires, plus the situation.

However ASMR is not porn and isn't sexual by default. So the next time someone informs you that they use ASMR to relax, take it at face value and don't assume you've been given some insight into what they jerk off to in their bedroom.