Thanks Mum!

My lovely mum treated me to a few things in the body shop the other day, I haven't been or purchased anything in the body shop for at least 4/5 years but I used to absolutely love their body butters and have no idea why I didn't go in sooner! I know a lot of bloggers have also been loving these body butters recently as well . We picked up a packet of 3 smaller pots- Olive, Coconut and Shea Butter and I literally can't stop using them, I can't believe its takes me so long to re establish my love for these! I would say the coconut is my favourite (just because I absolutely love the smell of coconut), the shea butter is a really light smell so I like to use that in the day if I'm wearing strong perfume. The olive is also a lighter fragrance and smells really nice, I wasn't sure if I would like the scent but I actually really enjoyed it! 

I also picked up their foot soak as my feet have been feeling quite dry and horrible in the heat, so I will update you when I use this. If your near a body shop its definitely worth trying these products, I would highly recommend them. My summer hair post is on its way and also a sneak peak of my graduation which is on Thursday.

Hope you guys are enjoying the lovely weather

Birthday Blog!

It was my 22nd birthday recently and I spent the evening with my family at Windsor Races, I definitely had birthday luck as I won 5 races in a row! I thought I would share with you guys some of the kind gifts I received for my birthday (off course only clothes and cosmetics!)

1. Jo Malone Blackberry and Bay Fragrance: I have wanted this fragrance for ages! I spotted it on a youtube video so I went to the store and managed to get a tester!  And I was lucky enough to get a bottle for my birthday. I got the smaller bottle which I much prefer as its easier to keep in my handbag, I  have the larger size in another fragrance and although I love it the bottle is just far to big tot take anywhere! The fragrance is light and fresh but also spicy. If your near a Jo Malone store I really recommend you try it out! The 30ml bottle was £39 I think!

2. Chanel Rouge Allure 91: I love Chanel make-up but quality comes at a price! I have been searching for the perfect lipstick for day and night for a while and my girlfriends really got it right on this one! Although I gave them guidance of the colour I wanted I was so happy they picked this colour. I'm going to do a blog on my daily makeup routine soon, so I can show it on for you! But its a lovely matte pink and looks so nice on, it also retains a lot of moisture so your lips never feel or look dry. The colour also lasts for quite a few hours! Overall a great product and I am very happy!

3. Iced Lotus Clinique Blusher: As you guys already know I LOVE this blusher! This is my 3rd one I think and I literally can't get enough of it! The blusher is so pigmented it really stays on all day, its a soft pink colour so works really well with my blonde hair. It also has an almost icy sparkle which is perfect for adding a highlighting effect! Again I'm going to blog about my daily face makeup so I will show it on then!

4. lastly is my Whistles Mila textured jersey jacket: One thing about me is that I LOVE Whistles clothes! I used to work there so my love affair with their clothes started then. Over the last year I have managed to collect quite a few key pieces. I love this jacket, my parents bought it for me in the sale, but it has just gone down again, now £45 online! Im planning on wearing it open with a plain black or white top underneath either with a scarf or a statement neklace. I will also go with black, white or maroon jeans! 

Hope your all enjoying the sun! Watch out for my summer hair essentials soon!

Products I Wish I Had Bought Earlier!

Being a blogger and watching countless amounts of beauty channels on youtube it seems to be like a little family where we all pick up on similar products that are amazing! (mainly because we try so many). The products above are an example of some of the products that beauty bloggers have raved about and I have finally got round to buying them and testing them for you.


1. Firstly is the Collection (used to be called Collection 2000) Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer. This product has has so many rave reviews for its coverage properties. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it at first because I don't always like concealers with a wand applicator BUT  . . needless to say its probably one of my favourite concealers, its light weight, compact and so affordable (£4.19 I think!). The coverage is amazing and really stays on your blemishes (especially in this heat), I bought the colour 3 medium as that suits my skin colour best but they have a range of colours, I have put a swatch below. I managed to get hold of mine in Superdrug as Boots didn't have my colour left! So get it before it goes!

2.  Second on my list was Revlon's Kiss Me Coral lip gloss. Now I love changing my lip colour and I have so many different toned pink lipsticks but I only have 1 coral lipstick. I love pairing lipsticks with a slight gloss, I'm not a really glossy lover but I love a putting gloss over matt lipstick. I have been wanting to try it for ages and when I saw it on Tanya Burr's beauty video I knew it was time to get it! I have put a swatch below. I love the consistency and the way you can build the colour up for day and night! This colour goes perfectly with Vegas Volt lipstick by Mac, such a lovely summery combination.

3. Lastly is the Rimmel Sty Matte pressed powder, I have actually been using this for a while now. I have the colour Silky Beige, It works amazingly after my Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua foundation. It really holds your foundation and creates a flawless look. Its also soo cheap, I have tried many pressed powders and this one really comes close to the top!


Look out for my Birthday blog and Summer hair essentials blog in the next few days! Enjoy the sun!

Beauty on a Budget

 

For some time now I have heard nothing but rave reviews for the cosmetic range MUA that can be found in Superdrug, not only is the make-up said to be high quality the price is amazing! Some items are only £1!!! So I thought I would give it a go myself, I knew I wanted to try both a blusher and the primer because these are the products I have heard so much about. I have also wanted to try the Barry M Gel like nail varnish for a while, so I thought I would try this too.


I'm firstly going to talk about the shimmer express blusher, I was initially attracted to this colour because I loved the soft pinks and I like how the shimmer acts like a highlighter.

The pinks look really lovely, and I have been super impressed with this product! Its very similar to my Clinique Iced Lotus blusher. The best part of all is that this blusher cost my £3 I think! which is amazing, the only cristicism I would have is that it smells slightly like plastic, but you can't complain at that price!

Second is the MUA 'undress your skin' primer, I have been wanting to try this product for ages as i think a primer is essential for both the longevity and look of your foundation.

It leaves the skin feeling velvety smooth and you can certainly feel a difference when you apply foundation, I have also found it keeps my face make-up on for longer but I wouldn't say it lasted all day. Definitely longer then it would without it on though! As well as this I think this primer was £3.50, another bargain!!!















Last on my list in the Barry M Gelly high shine nail paint in the colour Pomegranate 316, the colour is lovely! and looks really summery and pretty on the nails, but it's also quite dark which I like in a nail polish. It also lives up to its word and is high shine, so much so I didn't wear a top coat which I normally do! My only slight observation is that its not as thick or as 'gel like' as I thought but never the less its brilliant varnish! I will definitely be buying more colours in the collection! I can't remember exactly how much it was, but It's a standard Barry M bargain price!

I would recommend any of these products! Especially if your on a tight budget, make-up doesn't have to break the bank to look flawless! A mixture of cheaper and expensive items is the key.

Honey Hair Mask

As promised, today I made my own hair mask. After researching different formulas for different hair types I decided that I would most benefit from a mask from dry or heat damaged hair as I use heat products a lot. Much research has shown the benefits of honey, its enriches and nourishes the hair and is said to be good for hair growth. So I went for it, after washing my hair and towel drying it I applied a generous amount of honey straight from my hands to the ends of my hair, starting just below my chin. I have to be honest it's not the nicest of things to put on your hair, but as the hair is wet the consistency becomes slightly easier.
I tied my hair into a bun and left it for 20 minutes (as recommended), I then washed it out again using shampoo and conditioner . . . . .  I was actually really impressed with the outcome, it left my hair feeling more hydrated and was actually easier to style, and maybe its just a coincidence but I have had compliments of the health of my hair today! I would definitely recommend this hair mask, Its going to part of my weekly beauty routine. I'm also going to try a mask that uses a whole egg for hydration, I will let you know the results of this soon!

So if your looking for a cheap easy hair solution this is the one! Its a great "go to"  idea if your hair is feeling dull!

Watch out for my beauty on a budget tomorrow!

Home Made Hair Week

Having always been one of these people who likes to buy new products and try and test them, its easy to quickly rack up quite a bill. I think all women are guilty of spending excessive amounts of money in boots even when they don't need to. So I have decided to research and make some hair masks from home, and try them and rate them for you. There are many out there for different hair types so I have roped some models in to test them for you!

I am going to experiment tonight! And I will post tomorrow with the updates of the mask with pictures and the ingredients you need to create this!

The End of an Era

So the time has come for me to say good bye to the comforts of University and finally graduate! After all working extremely hard for our finals, last week we all enjoyed our graduation ball as you can see from the pictures above. My aim was to give you guys a step by step tutorial on my makeup look and how to recreate this with pictures. However . . . .  I have had a pretty severe eye infection that has lasted just over 2 weeks (I'm still trying to get rid of it), this meant that my eye make up looked nice but because my eyes were very sore and swollen they didn't look as good as I wanted. So I am going to talk through the make up look for you:


Step 1: I moisturised my skin using Kiehl's Ultra Facial moisturiser (which you all know I rave about), I then applied my Chanel Vitalumiere foundation. I love this foundation, its gives a lovely coverage and you feel like you wearing nothing on your skin! I used my Mac small foundation brush to apply this in circular movements moving from my cheeks to my forehead, for an evening look I tend to apply a bit more then I do in the day time.

Step 2: I then concealed any blemishes using my Laura Mercier secret camouflage in number 2, this gives a great thick coverage. I then used my Bare Escentual eye brow powder in the colour medium/dark brown. I used a Benefit slanted brush for this, I find powder much easier to work with on my eye brows as it lasts all day. I  like quite a strong thick brow as it frames the face, but I know some prefer it thinner, so apply to preference. My main tips with eye brows, is always go with the direction of the natural hair line and build the colour up, don't go straight in with the dark colour. I then use my Rimmel wake me up concealer under my eyes.

Step 3: To finish of my face make-up, I use a big powder brush to apply my Rimmel stay matte powder all over my face. This is essential for any event where photos are being taken as it reduces the shine of the face.

Step 4 and 5 can be done in any order, its up to you  . . .

Step 4: I then apply my matte Mac bronzer under the cheek bones to create a contour effect, I then bought this up round to my temples. I tend to apply quite a lot of bronzer because I like to look bronzed but you don't have to apply as much. I then use a smaller blush brush to apply my Clinique blush in the colour Iced Lotus to the apples of my cheek. I love this blusher because it has a pearlescent effect which highlights the cheek bones.

Step 5: I always do my eyes last because I prefer it but I know some like to do their eyes first, it's completely personal. If any eye shadow drops down under the eye I wipe it away with my foundation brush. I used my Mac palette for my eye makeup,  I used a large blending brush to apply naked lunch all over my lid and up into the sockets. I then used a smaller brush to apply the colour Mulch into the corners and blended this through to the middle of the eye, I built this up and made it quite dark. I then took a clean blending brush and blended it together into the eyelid, I built the colour up by doing this  few times. Lastly I took a smaller brush and applied charcoal brown (which is matte) into the sockets of my eyes to give some depth, again I built this up and carried on blending it. I then took the lightest colour (naked lunch) and put it around my tear duct and under my eye slightly to open them up. I used a charcoal eye liner to line my water liner, and then applied Mulch on the same brush under my eye to bring the darker colour underneath.

Step 6: I used a very fine brush to apply my Maybeline gel eyeliner in the brown colour (you can use black but I always use brown on my eyes as because they are blue it doesn't look as harse). I applied a very fine line across the whole lid. I finished this look by applying my maybeline falsies mascara (normally I would wear fake eye lashes to an event like this, I like eyelure lashes in the smallest size).  I couldn't apply much mascara on this occasion but normally I would curl my lashes and apply extra mascara. I finished the eyes applying benefit highbeam under my eyebrows to emphasis the arch.


Step 7: Lastly I applied my Rimmel bright pink lipstick, this is the Kate Moss range in the colour 002. This colour is a bright cerise and perfect for an evening occasion! If lipstick doesn't stay well on your lips then always use a lip liner in the same colour to ensure durability and stop it running.

I hope this helps if you want to create this look! Sorry I couldn't take pictures along with this! I hope to do a makeup tutorial with pictures soon.