Autumn Makeup Look

Now that we're over half way through October, Autumn has very definitely arrived. I know this for a fact as I've started reaching for my scarves before heading off to school! Because we're in Autumn already I thought I'd share with you this everyday makeup look for the colder months with three different lip options to suit everyone.

I start off using my L'Oreal True Match Foundation for my base. This is my absolute favourite foundation- the shade range is excellent, the finish isn't matte or super dewy, and it is very affordable! I'm very intrigued to try out the new formulation of this. I then pat on the Soap & Glory Kick-Ass Concealer. This is a correcting concealer with two shades as well as a powder included. It gives rally good coverage but because it is so creamy you really do have to set it with the powder. As the two shades are included it means I can use this concealer for my dark under eyes (the pink shade) as well as covering any redness (the yellow shade).

 

As per usual, using the Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil I fill in my eyebrows. Then on my eyes I start as always with my Nars eyeshadow primer- full review here. Then I apply the shade Stark from the Urban Decay Basics 2 Palette all over my lid and follow this by gently blending the shade Cover through my crease with a fluffy brush. Next I used Maybelline's Lasting Drama Gel eyeliner and applied a thin line on my lash line. Sometimes I'll go for a small flick, today I wasn't felling it, either way I think you can' go wrong with a bit of black liner. Then of course I curled my eyelashes and used Maybelline's Lash Sensational Mascara. I have been loving this recently! I won't go into too much detail because I'm planning on doing a full review on this mascara, but it really is sensational! 

 

I set all my makeup in place using my trusty Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder before dusting on Hourglass's Mood Exposure Blush. Oh my god this blusher is perfect for autumn. I don't know how to describe it, it's like a dusty plum taupe colour. It looks fairly dull in the pan but on the cheeks it gives a gorgeous deep colour as well as a lovely dewy finish so you can forget about adding your highlighter! The photos don't do it any justice- just trust me.

 

Now onto the lips. In the first photo I'm wearing Estee Lauder's Pure Colour Envy lipstick in Brazen. With this lipstick I do also use Collection's Lip Definer in Damson just because it's such a bold colour. Personally I find this is more of an evening/ going out lipstick, but if you're brave enough to wear this as an everyday colour then go for it! With the lip liner I find this lipstick wears off nicely so you don't need to worry about being left with a patchy lip.

Here I've got on Revlon's Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie. This is more appropriate for an every day look. It's a nice sheer berry pink, that you can apply on the go and it's cheap!

The final lipstick option I tend to reach for is Mac's Plumful. This is a bit bolder than the Revlon Lip Butter but not as daring as Brazen. The lustre finish is lovely and glossy, without sacrificing the pigmentation. Again this lipstick wears off evenly, and lets be honest you just can't go wrong with a Mac lipstick :)

And that is my finished autumn makeup look! It is very simple and natural with subtle autumn elements. I hope you enjoyed this post and you can look forward to more autumn/seasonal posts coming up soon!

Thanks for reading xxx

Collective Lush Haul

Recently I seem to have collected quite a few lush products- just in time for the cold weather to start kicking in! So today I thought I'd share what I've got with you and let you know my opinion. WARNING- a lot of pink is featured in this post!!

1. Rose Jam Bubbleroon:

This is possibly the prettiest bubble bar I've ever seen! Pink and glittery, what more could you want! It has a very strong rose scent as you'd expect from the name. Normally I don't like rose scented things however I couldn't resist this! I haven't used it yet but I'm thinking I can get two baths out of it and I honestly can't wait. I really hope the bubbleroons aren't a temporary addition to the Lush line because I love the concept!!

2. Creamy Candy Bubble Bar:

Creamy Candy is a classic for me. It smells sickly sweet which is what I tend to look for in any bath product. Just like all bubble bars, this product is so moisturising which I definitely need at this time of year. Oh and the best thing- it turns you're bath a luminous pink topped of with loads of bubbles :)

3. The Comforter Bubble Bar:

Now this one is my mum's personal favourite. I do think this is great value for money because you can get quite a few baths from The Comforter. The smell is like a muted sherbet in my opinion (if that's a thing), but Lush claims it has a blackcurrant fragrance... And again it gives you really soft skin, turns your bath pink and creates hundreds of bubbles!

4. Twilight Bath Bomb:

My brothers girlfriend bought me this in the Cosmic Gift Box. I'd never tried this before so was very excited. It has quite a strong lavender scent- again not my first choice of scent but I found it so calming. When you drop it into the water an array of blue, pink and purple burst out along with lots of glitter, which is definitely a selling point!

5. Rock Star Soap:

This also came in the Cosmic Box along with the Twilight Bath Bomb. I haven't got round to using this yet as I'm saving it, so I can't comment much. It smells very sweet and vanillary so I have high hopes. Even just from picking it up out of the box it feels very creamy, so fingers crossed it won't dry my hands out ahah!

 

And that is everything I've got recently. Most of these products are repurchases and my favourite products from Lush, but I've noticed they've been releasing loads of new items so I look forward to picking up some more new bits soon.

 

Thanks for reading xxx

Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside

So yet again I spent a bit of time in Bournemouth just relaxing and reflecting at the end of the summer. As per usual I really didn't do much while I was in Bournemouth, miniature golf was essential of course, along with a spot of shopping and a beach walk. I did however, take a few pictures which may look familiar to photos included in my A Week By The Sea post from last year aha!

 

The walk down to Boscombe Chine for miniature golf:

 



 

Spot my mum and dad haha...

 

 

Walking along the beach:

Honeycomb ice cream was necessary!

When we were nearly back out our apartment we stumbled across these stunning Cath Kidston Beach Huts. They're part of a summer campaign Cath Kidston are doing which you can read more about here. My favourite has to be the cloud print!

And that is all of my favourite pictures out of the ones I took. I can't wait to go back to Bournemouth- it's definitely not the most exciting holiday but it's one that I truly love for it's shear simplicity and I'm always happiest by the sea!!

Thanks for reading xxx

Time For Tea

A couple of weeks ago my parents took my grandparents for afternoon tea to celebrate my Nana's birthday. I was lucky enough to be taken along for cream tea as well! I took a few pictures so I just thought I'd share them on here.



We went to Goodwood Hotel in Chichester. It was really lovely, both the setting and the adorable bite sized scones- oh and of course the company!

Thanks for reading xxx

Back To School Haul 2015

So as you might remember from my previous post, I returned to school on Thursday. Last year I did a Back To School Haul and it is one of my most popular posts so I thought I'd share with you what I bought for going back to school this year.

I didn't really need to buy very much stationery this year as I've got quite a lot left over but there were a few bits I needed to pick up. So first up are the basic essentials: paper and folders. I got my folders before the summer because we needed them to start A2 work. I picked out three from Sainsbury's and they were only about £2 each. When I was looking they had loads to choose from, all of which were quite pretty! And I bought three A4 Wide Ruled refill Pad's from WHSmith. I got 80gsm because I find this doesn't allow your writing to emboss the page below, which for some reason really bothers me!!

Also from WHSmith I repurchased the clear hole re-inforcers. I didn't think I'd stick at using these last year, but guess what I did! They've transformed my folder hygiene. At the end of last year I was feeling very smug when everyone's pages were falling out and mine were nice and secure.

One of my favourite purchases is the little green hole punch. It fits into any folder and lets you line up your paper perfectly. When using folders for every subject a hole punch is essential and the fact that this is slim enough to slide into my pencil case makes me unbelievably happy!! I got this from Wilkinson's for just 80p- so knock yourself out and buy one for each folder if you fancy.

I made a trip to Staples in order to pick up one thing in particular. Oh yes... it's the return of my Post-it tabs. They're just so cute and useful, and one of the best inventions ever in my opinion. I literally love them- I do. So much in fact I actually bought five packets. I know, I'm obsessed :)

During my trip to Staples I also got some Pink Tack, pink paper clips and a few pens (a pink one of course).

Lastly, and also from WHSmith's, my mummy kindly bought me this pink academic weekly planner. My school provides us with planners but they are tiny and I wanted somewhere to be able to keep everything in one space. So I can add homework in here as well as planned blog posts and trips to keep me on top of everything. at £9.99 I thought that was not bad for a good quality planner, and I've already been using it!

So that is everything I bought other than my school bag, which I haven't photographed but you can have a look here if you're interested. I hope you enjoyed this post and if you're going back to school this week I hope it isn't too dreadful!

Thanks for reading xxx

August Favourites!

Hello and welcome back to my blog! Today's post is going to be a good old favourites post for the month of August. It breaks my heart that summer is over and I have to go back to school tomorrow, even though it feels like we only just broke up for the holidays :( But never mind, I need to look at it like a fresh new start...

Right let's start off with makeup-y bits. My first favourite has been Bourjois' Bronzing Primer. This is a gorgeous mousse bronzer that blends into the skin beautifully. The product has quite a warm, orangey undertone so it is definitely a bronzing product over a contouring product. From what I can gather it is very similar to Chanel's Soleil Tan de Chanel cream bronzer, but Chanel's has a much firmer and less moussey texture and a bit less orange-y, however with Soleil Tan being £32 and this bronzing primer being juts £9.99 I'm not going to complain.

I've also really been loving Sleek's Pixie Pink blush. This bright pink blush looks terrifying but when applied with a light hand it looks stunning. In August I've had a very slight tan (I emphasise slight), and this blush has been a beautiful pop on my cheeks. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be getting much use out of this as the weather gets colder, but it's been a fun little summer romance!

Next up is the Naked Basics 2 Palette. You might remember I got this palette for Christmas and I've been dipping in and out of it since then, but during August I've been using it nearly everyday! It's so easy to create a really put together look. In particular I like to apply Stark all over the lid, pop Primal in the crease, Skimp on my brow bone and finish off with a bit of gel eyeliner and lashings of  mascara. Easy-peasy.

And finally for makeup is the only brow product I've been using- Hourglass' Arch Brow Pencil in Blonde. I honestly have no complaints about this product. Its an ideal colour match for my brows, is so easy to apply and so far it has lasted me ages. If you'd like a more in depth review of this brow pencil have a look at my post all about Hourglass.

 

And now onto non-makeup-y bits. I picked up the Impulse body spray in Tease this month and I've been using it loads. The bottle says it has red fruits and woods, and as much as I'd like to elaborate on this description I can't describe scents so I won't attempt to! But all you need to know is I like it- it's in my school bag ready to go. And if you fancy having a good old sniff in Boots go for it :)

Recently I've been using the Coconut Original Source shower gel. I love all of the Original Source shower gels because they all smell insane and are super cheap! The coconut one has really been taking my fancy this month, and makes me feel like I'm on a tropical holiday for just a moment... even though I very definitely haven't.

Just a little favourite is my daisy hair scrunchie! I got this from New Look at the start of the summer and I feel like the two of us just have a bond. There's not much I can say about a scrunchie, but it's cute and makes my pony tail look adorable and that's that.

My final favourite for August has been my leather jacket that I included in my OOTN | Girls Night. I've got so much use out of it this month because it hasn't been overly warm so it's been easy to just chuck on and looks it a tad more dressed up than I actually am. I'm guessing soon enough I'll have to start pairing this with a chunky scarf rather than pretty sandals- I have mixed emotions about this...

And that is everything I've been loving throughout the month. I haven't done a monthly favourites in ages so I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I have writing it!

Thanks for reading xxx

The Product I Could Never Live Without...

I have lots of holy grail products that I use everyday and absolutely love. However there is just one product that I can't ever imagine going without- Nars' Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base.

To most people an eyeshadow primer tends to be an optional extra, however for those of you like me who have been blessed with oily eyelids (I know it sounds gross), it is an essential! Without primer I will be lucky if my eye makeup lasts longer than half an hour without creasing. But this primer is like a trusty best friend that has always got your back, it's never let me down.

To use the product I just swipe the doe-foot applicator across each of my eyelids and blend it all over and up to my brow bone using my finger. It is white with a mousse like texture but blends out to be clear. And straight on top I apply eyeshadow, you don't even really need to wait for it to dry. Just like that everything's set for god knows how long! For a guideline of how long it lasts- lets just say I've fallen asleep with my eye makeup on and woken up the next morning with it still nicely in place (don't judge)!

The packaging is just as sturdy as the stuff inside. Simple and sleek, the monochrome tube has a sort of rubbery finish which adds that bit of luxury. The pictures haven't picked it up, but mine is super grubby! So it doesn't stay white but that just shows how much I love it.

 

Now at £19.50 this isn't the cheapest option for an eyeshadow primer, but it's guaranteed to work. If you struggle making your eyeshadow last I recommend biting the bullet as it's really worth it. You need a tiny bit each use, and mine's lasted over a year with product still left in the tube. I tried loads of alternatives before turning to Nars: cream eyeshadow bases, drugstore primers, other high-end primers, but none of them did the job for me, so I first purchased this just before my prom!

 

So although an eyeshadow primer seems to be such an insignificant makeup item, I genuinely could never live without my Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base.

 

Thanks for reading xxx