July Favourites

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic

Liz Earle Skin Repair Light Moisturiser

Revlon Colourburst Lipstick - 030 Fuchsia

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish - 37 Rossetto (?)

Not That Kind Of Girl - Lena Dunham

St Tropez Gradual Tan Everyday Body Lotion

 I know this is late and I've been away for a little while (settling into new job and new role all exciting and time consuming) but I believe I haven't missed one of these since February (?) so better late than never.

 This month I have been experimenting with lip colour and I've really enjoyed it and discovering which shades actually suit me and which ones I should really never wear again. So I've put away the nudes and been bold, bright and brilliant, and these two have been my favourite of this month. They're the Rimmel Kate in Rossetto I think it's called, but it's 37, that's clear, and the Revlon Colourbust in Fuchsia. I've actually had the Revlon lipstick for ages, just never really worn it that much, and the Kate was a purchase from earlier on in the month when I was on the hunt for a fun flirty shade to wear for a festival I went to last month, which was unreal.

 I have used the Clinique Anti Blemish 3-step ever since I was a young teenager and it really helped with my skin, but I wanted something new and fresh in my life. I bought into the Liz Earle Cloth Cleanser a few months back and love love it, so I looked to the Liz Earle stand to show me the way to my new fresh face. The woman recommended these two products, the Instant Boost Tonic and the Skin Repair Moisturiser in Light. They. Are. Amazing. My skin really feels so rejuvenated and vibrant. They're a god send!

 I do not tan naturally. Since my friend introduced me to sunbeds in my first year of uni, I was, well, not addicted, but I liked going on them frequently and felt sad and incomplete if I hadn't had a few in a week. Only during the summer months I sunbed'd, but I did it quite a lot. This year however I said no to myself after reading one scary article too many and have sworn off the sunbeds (maybe not forever, I'll try to anyway) so this summer I have embraced the fake tan. I suck at applying and upkeeping fake tan. I suck at it so so so much. It's so much effort and no matter how hard I try, it always ends up streaky and flakey and disgusting. So I went full out and got St Tropez (usually St Moritz) and it's actually working out not toooooo badly. The Gradual Tan works a lot better for me than the other tan I bought from them (see post here). It comes up really well and it's a lot of pain to apply and upkeep and the colour is natural and nice.

 Finally for this months favourites is this book which I have wanted to purchase for months and months. It finally came out on paperback, I saw it in Waterstones, the rest is history. It's 'Not that Kind of Girl' by Lena Dunham. I loved her so much in Girls so I just had to read this. I read a massive chunk of this book on a train journey to Brighton with my boyfriend the other day and I couldn't stop laughing. One bit really tickled me, it was something about social media I think, but it was jokes and I'm really enjoying it, and reading again as a whole! I also read the Life with a Sprinkle of Glitter recently which was a good read and also visually enjoyable.

 Thanks for reading! Please leave and comment and follow for more from me!

Everyday Face

 Can I just firstly say how proud I am for this still-life set up. I can without a doubt preach that this consists of my daily face. I am one of those beings who chose 10 more minutes in bed than 10 more getting ready, I know, shame on me. I have managed to get applying my make-up into a 5 minute routine, and tends to get me through my working day (or whatever I'm up to, usually work though).

 Starting off with a cleaning and moisturising combo, I apply Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, which is one of my favourite foundations on the high street. I apply this with honestly, whichever of my brushes is clean, but I usually use my Sigma flat kabuki brush or one of the Real Techniques brushes. I then use the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer which is again, my favourite concealer on the high street. It's beyond amazing and covers up my eye-baggles and blemishes well and lasts long on my face. I dab this onto my face in all the right areas I want it on, then use a clean concealer brush from my collection (not to brag, I have a few!). I really don't like using my fingers to apply makeup so I will rarely.

I then set this with my old trusty favourite, the Mac Mineralise Skin Finish Natural. I have been using this for years and years. I've never really tried anything else in the powder department, which is something I am looking to change, but for now, this will do amazingly. I then use Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder with my large Sigma powder brush. Lost count how many of these I have gone through!

 I then apply on my eyelids the Mac Paint Pot in Painterly, another product I have used religiously for years. This everyday face line up seriously hasn't changed much over the years, just the foundation to something cheaper as girl couldn't afford Dior and Mac for everyday foundation! I don't tend to bother with eyeshadow everyday, if I do I will use my Urban Decay Naked 2 or 3 palette for something quick and easy. I do always however apply eyeliner to the top lip, and I use (not pictured) the Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner.

 Quick swipe of Benefit's Gimme Brow to tame the 'brows, and a swipe or two of either Benefit Roller Lash or Maybelline Lash Sensational which both do the same thing, curl and lengthen my lashes. I honestly love both, but maybe Roller Lash a tad more..  THEN last but not least, I give Mac Fix + a good spray on my face.

 It may change a little but mainly 100% this is my everyday makeup line up. It's quick, easy and works for me. I have used the products for many years now, and I love love them.

Which products are in your Everyday Face makeup routine?

Thanks for reading! Please leave and comment and follow :)

Creamy Highlighters

 I love highlighters and how dewy and lovely they make your face look, especially for night outs or date nights that I usually go on with my boyf. I haven't at all been using highlighters that much for a long time, apart from the odd High Beam mini in them Benefit kits I'd get for Christmas, but recently I have been using them a bit more. I definitely prefer a creamy based highlighter, and these two are my favourites, so I thought I'd post about them!

 First up is Benefit's Watt's Up! which is an amazing highlighter. It's easy to use, not massively easy to blend I find sometimes, but never the less, an amazing product. I usually wear this one everyday, as I just love the look it gives. I will either wear it with Hoola bronzer to contour or the Boujour bronzer, you know, the chocolate one. I prefer Hoola but for an everyday face I will just wear the Boujour one as it doesn't break the bank at all and lasts for ages!

 Secondly is the Topshop Glow which I bought on a whim as I haven't personally really heard about it that much. It's a beautiful colour and it's easy to use like Watt's Up. I'd wear this more for evenings when I'm making an effort, which isn't often at all, but it's nice to doll up!

 I would love to try Mac's Soft and Gentle as I haven't before but have been lusting over it for some time right now. My love for highlighters is growing and hope my collection does so to in time.

What highlighters would you recommend? Which are your favourites?

 Thank you so much for reading, please comment and follow for more upcoming blog posts.

February Favourites

OH YES IT IS! It's the marble effect tray and pot that's everywhere at the moment! I know, but I just could not resist it, especially to home my Zoeva Rose Gold Luxury brushes I received from Luke for Valentines Day.

 This month I have been loving most the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation. I use this everyday and especially during February as I have been skint and haven't really owned any other foundations as I have used them all up. Literally all of them.. my Diors, Chanels, Macs, ALL OF THEM! Which is a nightmare. Feeling a massive high end foundation shopping spree coming soon, as I do love owning a variety of foundations rather than just one. But yeah, this foundation is amazing, does the trick for a lovely day wearing foundation, I love it.

Secondly I've been grabbing my Benefit products so much this month, especially the Gimme Brow, Hoola bronzer and my new favourite mascara in the world Rollerlash. Rollerlash is bloody amazing. I will be doing a separate review post on it soon but let me just say, it's brilliant, I love it so much.

 Then finally, I have been loving this Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipstick, I picked it up after I watched a Zoella video, can't remember which one, pretty sure it's a Boots haul video, and bought it straight after. She usually has that effect on me, and it's a beautiful product.

 And of course, I have been loving this tray and this pot. How lovely do the brushes look in them, look! I also picked up another H&M home pot for my other brushes as well.

So there it is! My February favourites. Thanks for reading! Please comment and follow if you enjoyed this post!

Sunday Primark and Boots Haul..

 

Because I work during the week, and commuting to and from London, I have zero time to do anything apart from get home, have dinner, wash and then sleep, I now live for the weekends. This Sunday I went to town and even though it's after payday, I have zero money (thank you iPad I bought last month and Amsterdam trip next month), so I went to three shops and then was like, 'No Laura, you need to go home now before you spend absolutely all your money in one go', So the three shops I went to were Primark, Boots and then the Pound shop. No I'm not showing what I bought from the Pound shop, unless you're into Mr Muscle Bath cleaner, furniture polish and cloths (?!), but I do love a good pound shop trip, guilty pleasure!

In Primark I bought two underwear sets, didn't seem appropriate to show but mark my words they're really cute and pretty. I also bought this large wash bag and a small, pencil case type one. I am off to Amsterdam next month with the boyfriend so I bought this to use for it. I am a sucker for anything nautical or with an anchor on it, don't know why, always been obsessed with anchors, have a large one tattooed on my ankle, anyway, how sweet is this bag. They had like a whole set, but I refrained and just got this one. I was torn between a really sweet looking Minnie Mouse one, and this, but this won purely on the size and the material, as the Minnie Mouse one felt really quite cheap. And I got this little cute sparkly pink one to use as a pencil case for work, as I constantly lose my pens and USB sticks around my pit of a bag, so this will hopefully contain them all for quick finding in time of need purposes.

Then into Boots.. Firstly, I went to find the new Bold Collections in my local store and there were two brushes left, the oval eyeshadow brush and the tapered blush brush. Don't know whether this was a blessing in disguise as I would've bought more if they were there, but how mad is that?! They're gone already! When I was buying them the woman said it's bizzare how popular these brushes are, so I'm excited to finally (whenever I have money) to try more out, but for now, this one will do! I also saw my No7 voucher was going to run out so I had a browse over at the No7 counter, haven't been there for yonks, and found this. London and commuting and lack of sleep has ruined my skin, so I wanted a little skin pick me up to use everyday or so, just so I don't look so dead and bland all the time.. read the box.. sounded good, so bought it. Hopefully it works!

I also have been on the hunt for a face mask to again, revive my skin, and I've been loving Soap and Glory lately so I looked at them picked up their 'No Clogs Allowed' face mask, which again, sounded good on the box. I will force myself to use this, a while ago I treated myself to a Liz Earle face wash, the one with the cloth everyone loves, and I haven't used it yet... I KNOW, I will soon.. I just have been so lazy lately, I really need to kick myself up the backside and start looking after my skin again, stop with the face wipes every single day as my only way of getting off my makeup (and in the shower obviously)..

Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading my post. I will probably try and post a review on the products at some point, if they're good or not! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Nice Clean Brushes..

I'm usually extremely lazy with makeup brushes because I have loads but I don't.. Like I have brushes which I love and use every single day, but I need to use them everyday, so I need to pick days to wash them when I know I won't need them the next day, If you get me. Maybe I need to invest in duplicating my everyday brushes so I can have them on a roster so they get cleaned more regularly.. HMM! We shall see.

 My brushes are all mainly Sigma, as they're reasonably priced and I find them easy to clean and use. I haven't bought any lately in about, years as I come to think about it, as these were all bought when I first discovered beauty blogging and YouTube so spent all my teenager weekend job wages on them, so they last well as well! Bonus! My most recent brush purchases have been Real Techniques and I am dying to buy their new Bold Metals collection but I need to wait till payday, and after paying off bills, rent and a trip to Amsterdam me and my boyfriend have been planning, I doubt it'll be likely I'll be able to get them.. all.. maybe one or two..

Honestly, how good are you with the cleaning of your brushes?

July Favourites '14

Welcome back to myself. I haven't blogged in aaaages as I recently been awfully ill with this horrible virus which made me incapable to do anything but moan and cry, it was horrible. Then when I got healthy it was catching up with work and everything I missed so HERE I AM with my first chance to sit down and blog. This is my first monthly favourites thing, I always love reading them and always run to Boots or where ever with people's favourites and my shopping list. So here it goes!

1 - Vaseline Spray & Go - I've seen these knocking around for ages but only bought it the beginning of this month and loved it. Moisturising is an absolute chore, let's be honest, but this handy spray makes it slightly more fun. Even catch the boyf using it!

2 - Viva La Juicy Fleur, Juicy Couture - I've blogged about my love for Juicy Couture perfumes before and my mad collection of them but this month all I've been wearing is this scent. It's so beautiful and is great for the summer weather we've been having.

3 - EOS balm in Blueberry - I've had a EOS for aaages now in Strawberry Sorbet and love it but I went into Urban Outfitters the other day and discovered my local one now sells these amazing things too! Was hard not to walk out with 2, at £5 a pop they're not the cheapest but my god they're good.

4 - MAC Mineralise Skinfinish - Medium - They have just redesigned the packaging so I couldn't get my hands on one of these for ages, had to switch to MAC Studio Careblend pressed powder which wasn't as good in my opinion but now I have Mineralise Skinfinish back in my life I remember how good it is and probably wont go to anyone else for my face powder!

5 - MAC lipstick in Coral Bliss - I had a few MAC lipsticks (potential blog post there wahaaay) and my all time favourite is Angel (not because it's Kim Kardashian's favourite MAC shade too...) but recently I've been reaching for Coral Bliss, which is good because I got it ages ago randomly and had never touched it, hate that. I have too many lipsticks for my own good thanks to back to MAC, but I shall try to use them all..

6 - Rimmel Stay Matte foundation - I picked this up in Savers randomly and thank god I did. I don't usually like 'drugstore' foundations, I had incredibly bad skin as a teenager so I don't want to risk aggravating it on cheap makeup so I usually stick to high end foundations, but this is just like MAC's Studio Sculpt foundation without the price tag. Definitely glad I took a chance on this!

 There it is! My July Favourites! Hope you enjoyed and has made you inspired to go spend some money, as it does to me reading these things!

this halloween..

I know it's late but better late than never I guess! But for this Halloween I went as the freaky Jigsaw Puppet thing from Saw. I had so much fun being dressed up as him, way too much fun infact, and it has definitely been my favourite halloween costume in a long time. I watched a few Saw Puppet tutorials online but felt they were all too extreme and black eyeshadow makes me look like a drag queen.. so I just did my normal going out makeup with a tad more darker eyeshadow, then added the Saw details such as the puppet mouth lines, slight red lipstick and the red swirls on the cheeks.

Overall I thought my attempt was a successful and loved my little bow tie ;) I also wore these stocking socks which were black with red bows at the back so I thought that was a nice little touch. Everyone was coming up to me like OMG THE PUPPET FROM SAW! so that was funny. I went out the night before Halloween instead of actual halloween, as I had a fundraisor and actual halloween is also a night full of stress, queues and drunken idiots... not very fun.

I don't have any full length images of me (I know how annoying), however I do have these shameless Instagram selfies! Forgive me!

Hope you enjoyed this post! And hopefully some more posts coming soon, once I get this work load under control! Safe!

in the stone age...

so i have no internet at my uni house for like 2 weeks, and i'm already going nuts, feel like im in the stone age again. i am currently in the uni library checking my facebook, twitter, blogger and also watching the latest keeping up with the kardashians as im going crazy without watching it. I can't believe how busy the library is already and it's the just start of the year. I'm pretty sure they're all freshers as well. It's been twice I haven't been able to get a computer due to it being busy so it's literally scaring me for when deadlines are due... they should have a third year only floor so third years can always get a space.

this morning i went into town and was meant to only buy a new golf visor for the annual cheer and american footballer pub golf social that i attend as i'm a uni cheerleader, but i bought a few other bits....

I went into Boots and bought a new Real Techniques brush, the blush one, as I looooove these brushes, they're amazing, and i'm slowly trying to grow my collection. I also have run out of my MAC mineralize finish natural powder and I don't have any internet to order another one, and don't want to online shop using the public university computer, so i bought the Rimmel Stay Matt powder in transparent as i have heard good things about it and it was only £3.99. I also wanted the Matt black new Barry M nail varnish but it wasn't on offer! I only ever buy Barry M when it's on offer, so i'm keeping my eyes out for an offer to pop up.. I also bought a new Benefit You Rebel Lite, this is like the third time i've repurchased it, I love it and it's perfect for everyday uni wear.

I then went into Primark which is rare as it angers me beyond life, as it's messy, the customers are vultures and the staff hate life. It was fairly early in the morning so it wasn't as busy so I braved it... I found these footsies slippers thing, with BAMBI HEADS ON THEEEEM. They're so flipping adorable! I also bought a new sports bra, joggers and some tights, pretty boreee. I could've bought this bedsheet as well, it's navy blue but with PUGS all over it! It wasn't the nicest but it had pugs on it so I wanted it, but I managed to resist it and walked away, something very rare when i'm shopping!

omg wish i could do this at home in bed, it's so cold and i'm so tired! I have no makeup on as well and i look like a drug abuser without it so i'm literally ducked down incase I see anyone I know...

I also have about 15 books on blogging, social media and new media marketing I need to read whilst i'm catching up on all my programme i've missed due to no internet so I need to multi-task like a motherlover right now.

I'm also working on some next posts so get excited people!

Until next time!

what did the postman bring me today...

student loan is in, so what is the first thing i do? order myself the urban decay naked 2 palette, and it FINALLY CAME!

 

I've been after it for ages, and have been in debate with myself over whether or not to get the first original one of the second one but i went with the second one after reading and watching about 600,000 reviews on it (thank you each and every blogger who has made a review and comparison post/video on the naked palettes, lifesavers!).

since there isn't a house of fraser near my uni house, which is odd as i thought there was a HOF in every single town, I had to get it delivered and if I spent like £20 more I would get free delivery so I had a look around the site and came across their mascara section. I ran out of my YSL shocking which was my high end mascara of that time, I try to refrain from buying and keeping more than one expensive high end mascara at a time since mascara should be refreshed every so often, and if I had a huge collection of them I'd never use them all up and wouldn't have the heart to chuck them! so i had a look, was eyeing up YSL's babydoll mascara, then googled 'What mascara does Kylie Jenner use?'

Yes I'm being serious, I did google that.. I love her okay...

to discover that she always raves about the Lancome Hypnose Star mascara, so I bought it. One step closer to looking like Kylie Jenner! I haven't used it yet so I will have to do a nice little review on it! It also came with a little facial bottle, guessing it's eye-make up remover and a mini crayon khol pencil in noir. I'm not a huge eyeliner pencil fan but i shall definitely try it out I guess! why not!

Sorry about the AWFUL quality, hopefully a new camera is in sights..

the final two items the Postman kindly brought to my door were my 2 FREE Disney DVDs. YES ABSOLUTELY FREE! I never ever have used them Disney Reward vouchers that you get when you buy the DVD, no idea what they did, until one day I entered them in to see what happens and I had enough points to receive 2 free DVDs! SAFE! I chose Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland. I love these two films! My Disney collection is looking so good right now, I literally am a child I swear! Mental age of 5!

so that is my haul, I really hate my camera's quality. I've had this camera for about 7 years now so i'm looking into swapping it in for a newer model. it was only £50 when I first bought it and it's shocking haha. I'm really wanting to invest in a DSLR whatever they're called, but I don't know where to begin! need to research some decent camera models and brands!

Thanks for reading, hope you liked it and see you next blogpost!

Makeup Wishlist: Chanel, YSL and Urban Decay

I love makeup so much. I may not be the best at applying it but never the less I still love buying and using makeup. My favourite all time brands are MAC, Chanel, Dior and Benefit, and I love Sigma brushes. I've collected a rather hefty collection but I shall never stop wanting more makeup.. Here are a three of my current wants:

-Vitalumiére Aqua - Chanel.

I LOVED Pro Lumiére so much and still so gutted they discontinued it. I also used the Matt Lumiére but nothing beat Pro Lumiére. I haven't ventured to Chanel since as I was hesitant to fall in love with another foundation and them discontinue again but I really want to try the Vitalumiére so badly.

- YSL Babydoll Mascara

NOT just because Cara Delevigne is in the advert but I really want this mascara. I used to have the YSL Shocking and I wasn't a huge fan of it as I wasn't keen on the brush but it was a gift so obviously I still used it until it ran out and really fancy this mascara. As soon as I get paid i'm getting my mitts on this.

- Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette and the All Nighter Spray

 I really wanted the first Naked palette but over £30 is a lot of money for a makeup palette, however I've been eyeing up the 2nd one for a while now and really want it. I see it more as an investment! Because then I wont have to buy similar shades in MAC to fill up my palette, which are now £10 each, so three eyeshadows would be £30, and with this I'm getting way more for that price. So this is what I'll be thinking to myself as I blow £30 on makeup...

I have a feeling that as soon as I get paid next Friday, John Lewis is going to be getting a visit... Although I don't think there is a Urban Decay concession in Southampton unfortunately... Online order it is then! OH OH OH also heard that MAC is coming to Southampton actually, so goodbye all my money... But hey! At least my makeup SHOULD look decent now!

Until next post!