MONTHLY FAVOURITES | SEPTEMBER 2015

Oh. My. God. It has been sooooo long since I last blogged, I have been wanting to get a post up for ages but I have been finding it difficult to find spare time at the moment to get it done. But I have finally got round to it and my blog has had a wee make-over too - I hope you all like it, it's taken me a while to get it looking the way I wanted it to but I think I am finally getting somewhere.

I thought I would dive back in with a September Favourites post since I've been away from blogging for a while there are so many things I want to tell you all about so I might as well bung them all in one big post! 

Urban Decay Naked Illuminated in Aura - £22.50 

I seen this highlighter in the shop and I swatched a bit on my hand and fell in love instantly! It’s a shame it doesn’t really show up in photographs (I did try..) but in person it is beautiful. It gives the skin more of a sparkle than a dewy look as the glitter particles are quite big - but there is nothing better than a bit of sparkle! This also looks great dusted over your legs arms and chest when getting ready for a night out.  

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara - £17.50
Urban Decay Describe this mascara as BIGGER. BADDER. BLACKER. and they hit the nail of the head! This is such a good mascara, it really lengthens and thickens your lashes which is a miracle for me because I have the worst lashes ever. I could easily get away with not wearing falsies on a night out with this. It has a really big wand which has proper bristles rather than plastic, which I love. I have used this every day since I got it and I think I could be close to running out *cry* but I will definitely but this again. 10/10 Urban Decay, Well Done!

Anastasia Beverley Hills Dipbrow in Medium - £15.00

I mentioned this in a previous haul post before I had had the chance to properly get a good feel for the product. BEST THING I HAVE EVER BOUGHT! I feel like I am forever raving about this, I tell everyone that they need it in their lives. This is a game changer for your brows. I had always used a brown/grey eyeshadow for my brows before this. Use a small angled brush and you will be able to easily get the perfect brow in just a few minutes. Just remember with this a little goes along way and you can end up looking like coco the clown if you don't use this sparingly.

River Island Paris by Night Perfume - £12.00

This perfume is a hidden gem! When I wear it I always get people asking what perfume I have on and people are always shocked when I tell them that it was only £12.00 and from River Island. It really reminds me of the new YSL Black Opium, which I also love, except this is a fraction of the price. If you are a fan of light, floral or fruity scents then this one is definitely not for you. It is quite a deep, musky scent – If you like Alien or Black Opium then definitely give this a shot.

Left: Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Violet -  Right: Silk Creme Foundation in Beige Ivory

Laura Mercier Silk Crème Photo Edition Foundation - £35.00 

The Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundaton has been my favourite for a long time! It has now been re-formulated and rebranded as the 'Photo Edition' and is now being offered in moisturising formula or oil free formula. I repurchased at the start of the month and I have to say I still love it just as much. I was colour matched to the shade beige ivory the very first time I used it and again when I bought this time so the colours have stayed the same for anyone who was contemplating re-purchasing the new stuff. This is a medium coverage foundation and creates a gorgeous, flawless base for the rest of your make-up. Great everyday foundation! I do wonder how they have justified bumping the price up by £2.00 though....

Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Violet - £19.00

This is one of my favourite colours of lipsticks that I have ever bought. I have never been able to find a violet/purple shade that looks so bright once it has been applied. it is bright, long lasting, feels comfortable on the lips and I can't really say much more about it - the colour speaks for itself really. Can't wait to try more of these - I have the Coral one on my wishlist!

I put together an everyday make up look using the products I have just spoken about - Sorry about the lighting, I have lost the charger for my camera so I had to use my phone for pics and the quality isnt the best. 

This weekend there are lots of 10% off in the big department stores online and in-stores so , this would be the perfect time to pick up anything you have had your eye on or anything I have mentioned above. 

What have your favourites been this month?

Love,

THE LIEBSTER AWARDS

I couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be nominated for The Liebster Awards by the
lovely Georgie on her blog Becoming Georgie. The awards are for the small blogging community
with under 200 followers to get themselves noticed by other bloggers and gain some
potential followers! 

The Liebster Awards comes with some rules that you must follow:

Thank and link the blogger (blogs) that nominated you
Post an image of the award that you like the most on your page
Answer the 11 questions the blogger that nominated you has asked
Link 5-11 blogs that have less than 200 followers
Create 11 questions for them to answer
 Notify the blogs via their social media sites and link them to your blog


So, first things first lets answer the questions that Georgie has asked:

1) What is the best compliment you ever received?

I can’t really think of one specific compliment – but I love when people compliment my make-up. I always like to spend a lot of time on my make-up especially for a night out so it’s nice when someone else notices this and has something nice to say.

2) If you could be any age for a week, what age would you be and why?

The year I finished uni was a really fun year – I didn’t really have anything to worry about and just
had a great year doing lots with my friends….so 21! I think most of my close friends would probably pick this age too as we talk about how great it was all the time. So many funny stories that we will all remember for the rest of our lives.

3) What does being successful mean to you?

Not having to look at the price tag when I’m shopping – superficial, I know. But at least I’m being honest! Haha. I think that once you are making enough money that you genuinely don’t have to worry about what you are spending that is when you know you have made it. Also I would say that enjoying what I do with my life is also a big thing – I am quite ambitious but I would never do something that I hated just because I felt I could be more successful than doing something that makes me genuinely happy.

4) Do you like spicy food?

I am a huge fan of spicy food – I really don’t get why people wouldn’t like it! People who order a
boring korma when they are in an Indian restaurant are odd.

5) Tell about the best thing you have achieved.

Last year through my job I was given the opportunity to train to marry people – I agreed and went through the training but was very apprehensive about this and overcoming my nerves for this was a big thing! I have now conducted several ceremonies and actually really enjoy it! Something I never thought I would do – but I feel a sense of achievement after every ceremony as it is very personal and means so much to the couple. It’s lovely when you get nice feedback and very rewarding.

6) Do you prefer summer, spring, autumn or winter and why?

Definitely summer is my favourite season! Love music festivals and the light nights – also
shopping for festival clothes is THE best! If I could live somewhere hot 24/7 that would
be amazing! Unfortunately Scotland isn’t the warmest – and it rains A LOT!

7) If you could only keep 5 possessions what would they be and why?

1.     Phone – can’t be without this ever.

2.     Eyebrow Pencil – my natural eyebrows aren’t great.

3.     Mascara – my natural eyelashes aren’t great.

4.     Sketchbook & Pencil – I find doodling therapeutic.

5.     Struggling with the last one………..Internet Connection? – self explanatory.

8) If you won the lottery what would you do?

The first thing that I would do is go shopping – like straight away! Going shopping and not looking
at the price tag on anything is my dream! Then after a good few days of spending and a couple of holidays I would start up my own fashion/beauty business, something I aspire to do but winning
the lottery would make life much easier.

9) If you were the president/prime minister what is the first thing you would do and why?

Stop benefits for people too lazy to work. It really annoys me that some people who don’t work are
better off than those who do, it makes no sense.

10) If you could witness any event in the world - past, present or future what would it be and
why?

Hahahaha, I think there’s a few night’s out over the years that I would like to go back and relive that
I don’t have much memory of…

11) What would you consider a perfect day?

Bed. Dominos Pizza. Horror Movies. All Day.

Thank you again to Georgie for nominating me on this tag! I hope you enjoyed reading my answers. The blogs I would like to nominate for The Leibster awards are:

lipstickandlaughter

charlievictoriia

abbielouisebeauty
laurenselwood
laneyrisner

My questions for you to answer....

1.    Why did you start your blog?

2.    IF money was not a factor, what would be your dream job?

3.    If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?

4.    If you have a really bad day, what’s the one thing that can brighten it up?

5.    What is your most prized possession?

6.    If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

7.    Do you like or dislike meeting new people? Why?

8.    What would you do today if you knew you could not fail?

9.    What is your favourite thing to do first thing in the morning?

10.  Is there something you love to do, although most people dislike it?
11. If you could, what would you tell 10 year old you?

Looking forward to reading your answers! :)

Love,

THE FESTIVAL EDIT

Festival season is well and truly upon us - and this is without a doubt my favourite time of year for shopping - its a time when you can be a little more out there and usually wear a little more summery clothes. Living in Scotland this is a very rare occasion! I have just bought my ticket for Creamfields which is at the end of next month so I've been starting to be on the lookout for outfit inspiration and I thought I would piece together some outfits to share with you and hopefully these will also help to inspire you for your festival outfits this year as well...

Wellies - Ted Baker (similar here) - £59.00

Shorts - H&M - £19.99

Top - Boohoo - £10.00

Jacket - Boohoo - £25.00

Floral Crown - Boohoo - £6.00

Sleeveless Duster - New Look - £24.99

Playsuit - River Island - £15.00

Gladiator Sandals - Topshop - £52.00

Sunglasses - ASOS - £12.00

Necklace - River Island - £30.00

Tshirt - Topshop - £22.00

Shorts - Mango - £9.99 (SALE)

Converse - Schuh - £48.00

Bandana - ASOS - £6.00

Sunglasses - River Island - £13.00

I hope this has helped inspire you for festival season! 

Love,

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS CONTOUR KIT

My first impression of this palette was “MEH! What’s all the fuss about!” But, then I seen photographs of myself on a night out wearing it and my face appeared much slimmer and a lot more chiselled than it usually does – SCORE, IT WORKS!

This palette is definitely for people who are looking for a more subtle, natural contour. I think to achieve a more dramatic look you would have to go for the cream kit as I think it would be a little more pigmented.

I have been using the shade ‘Fawn’ first off and using to sculpt my under my cheek bones, temples and under my jaw line. This colour is very subtle and usually day to day I have just been using this and it is enough for me – then on a night out or if I’m going for a fuller face of make-up I have been going over these areas with ‘Havana, which is the darkest colour in the palette, to add a little more definition. After I have sculpted my face I then go in with the lighter shades to highlight. First I use ‘Vanilla’ on all the high points of my face – cheekbones, bridge of the nose up to forehead, cupids bow, chin and jaw bones. I then use ‘Banana’ round my eyes – the yellow tone works well to hide any darkness that you may have under your eyes. Then I finally go in with ‘Sand’ which has a slight shimmer to it and I use this on the top of my cheek bones and on my brow bone.

I’m so glad I bought this and I could not recommend it any more to people reading this! It might be slightly on the pricey side at £38.00 but its sooooo worth the money. I feel that with other products I have used for contouring they all seem to have an orangey tone to the bronzers making your face look like your caked in make-up. The sculpting shades in this palette are very cool toned and are so natural looking on the skin. I don’t rate the shade ‘Sand’ very much though – I wouldn’t care if I never seen it again. I have loads more highlighters that I would rather use, I prefer a highlighter to make your face look glowy and bright and this one just doesn’t do that. They also sell the pans separately which is a great bonus so if you use one shade up quicker than the others you can buy a new one for around £10 rather than having to buy a whole new kit.

Love,

MY MICRO-WEAVE HAIR EXTENSIONS

I've been getting extensions in my hair for a little over a year now. Before this I had tried a few sets of clip-ins and one of the halo hair pieces but I felt that none of these felt secure in my head - and really just looked fake - probably because I was so terrible at putting them in. After this a few years back now I thought I would try pre-bonded hair extensions. This is a method where individual pieces are glued to the roots of your hair, the bonds should be tiny and undetectable to the eye but I was stupid enough to have gone to a mobile hairdresser that I found on Gumtree that after finishing my hair extensions it became clear that she must have had very little experience, the bonds were huge, the hair was crap and I was very disappointed - and so was my bank balance. I think I kept these extensions in for about two weeks before I sat myself on my bed for four hours with a bottle of nail varnish remover to try and get them out of my head - I was desperate, I hated them! I swore I would never get hair extensions ever again.

18 " Triple Weft Micro-Weave from Genie Hair Extensions Glasgow

A few years after this (last year) I decided that I hated my fine, boring hair and I was willing to give extensions another go - this time taking a little more care and time in finding someone who had a little more experience and hopefully this time I would be happy with the results. I looked on INAA.com to see who there was in Glasgow offering hair extensions and I came across Genie Hair in Partick. I had a look on Facebook and seen that they had loads of pictures that looked good so I made an appointment. I have now had my extensions done here four times and have been happy with the results every time. I think I would find it very hard now to go back to boring flat hair - I love my long hair too much.

The first two times I got the pre-bonded extensions and they used 150g of Beauty Works Celebrity Choice bonds for this. The hair was great quality and lasted about 4 months before I had to have them removed - this was more down to them growing out rather than the hair being in bad quality. I think on people who's hair doesn't grow as fast they could have got longer out of these extensions. They recommend 4-6 months before you have to have them removed.

The third time I went I decided to try the micro-weave method. I feel that having the two sets of bonds in my hair one after another made some parts of my natural hair very fine and, fearing going bald, I thought I would try this method which is much less damaging to your own natural hair. The hair used for this method is Hair Couture by Sleek Triple Weft - again 150g of hair. This method uses strips of hair and little micro beads threaded on up to the root to hold the hair in place. The only downside to this method is that you need to have a maintenance appointment every 4-6 weeks to have it tightened as it does loosen off slightly - you don't have to have this with the bonds. 

I have preferred the weave so far - I feel it blends better with my natural hair and makes it very hard to tell that I am actually wearing extensions. The only thing that I do miss when having the weave in is wearing my hair up. This method makes it very difficult/impossible to wear your hair high on your head, which I used to do all the time. You can do this with bonds after you have had them in for about a week. I'm thinking next time I'm going to get bonds again for a change so that I'm able to wear my hair up from time to time.

What have your experiences been with Hair Extensions, I'd love to hear them!?

Love,

MAKE-UP HAUL: BOOTS & CULT BEAUTY

Hi Everyone, for this post I thought I would do a sort of haul post of the make up bits and bobs I have picked up over the last couple of weeks. There are a couple of more expensive items in there that I have had my eye on for a while now and the rest of it is mostly stuff that I have picked up on a couple of recent trips to Boots. I feel like this has ticked a good few products of my wishlist for things that I'm dying to try, but I've still had to reign myself in and regain some self control
in the spending department....so unfortunately the rest of the list will have to wait until another day.

Anastasia Beverley Hills - Pro Series Contour Kit

Light/Medium - £39

So, I've not actually used this palette yet and I will do a full review once I have had a good play about with it and see how I get on. I've heard great things and following Anastasia Beverley Hills on Instagram when they are constantly posting selfies of girls looking flawless wearing their products it was only a matter of time before I was sucked in and jumping on the ABH bandwagon. It seems like this is just one kit that every girl should own. When this arrived the other day I was like a little kid at on Christmas day! The packaging is lovely and I can't wait to try it! I am usually a fan of a cream contour product so decided to be a little different with this purchase and I went for the powder one. I've heard the pigmentation and staying power is great so I'll keep you posted on how I get on. 

Anastasia Beverley Hills -  Dipbrow

Medium Brown - £15

This is another product from ABH that I had been after for a while. I always hear Jamie Genevieve talking about this and see her using this in her YouTube make-up tutorials and her brows are unreal! I'm not sure if it is down to the product or down to her amazing skill as a make-up artist but her videos definitely sold this to me. Again I haven't had the chance to try this out yet as it only arrived the other day but again I will probably do a post on this and how I end up using it. Hopefully it will end up being more of a 'how to' post rather than a 'how not to' but we will see...

Eldora False Eyelashes

M105 - £7.50
These lashes have been popping up all over my Instgram with loads of different make up artists using them and especially Jamie Genevieve as mentioned above. They caught my eye as they are a little more out there than ones you can get on the high street. Other lash brands that have caught my eye on Instagram have all been based in the US which put me off ordering due to delivery costs so when I realised that this company was based in the UK I jumped straight for my bank card and ordered some! I believe you can only buy these lashes online at the moment but the delivery was very fast so its not that big a deal and also they are priced round about the same as lashes on the high street too. 

Revlon Photo Ready Airbrush Effect Foundation

002 Vanilla - £12.99

I was after a foundation for everyday wear that wasn't going to break the bank and would still keep my skin looking great throughout the day. I don't know if I'm the only one, but when I'm just going to work or just popping to the shop I don't like to go with no make up on (I would scare everyone away) but I also don't like to use my expensive make up when no one is really going to see me? This foundation seemed like a perfect fit for this and also, didn't break the bank - always a plus! I've used the PhotoReady foundation before and it is a great drug store foundation, probably one of the best that I've used. I would say this foundation is light to medium coverage if you build on it and it also had little micro flecs of glitter through it that makes your skin look glowy and luminous.

 Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick

Rose - £7.99

Revlon was on 3 for 2 in boots so as I was picking up the foundation I picked up another couple of things too - I'm never one to pass up a 3 for 2 deal! I've always been a big fan of  Revlon lipsticks - both the Colourburst lipsticks and their lip butters are both great so I was intrigued by these new Ultra HD's. I picked up the colour Rose. A pretty browny/pink Kylie Jenner type colour. The formula is very creamy - possibly a little too soft, but it smells and tastes amazing so that more than makes up for that small flaw.

 Revlon Photoready Kajal Eye Pencil

Charcoal - £6.99
Ever since I seen Victoria from In the Frow using this eyeliner in a recent tutorial I have been dying to get my hands on it! I think the colour is so unusual for an eye liner and it looked great with the pink shimmery eye make up that she used. I'm definitely going to be trying to re-create that look with this. The colour is called charcoal but it is more of a mid grey colour - I think it will be a great alternative to black liner with the summer months coming in.

Loreal Infallible Mattifying Primer

£7.99

I've never really used a primer before, sometimes I will use one if im getting ready for a night out to minimise my pores but It's never been something that I've done on a daily basis. I needed something to make up a 3 for 2 offer so thought I would give this a go. I wouldn't say that it's fantastic - it doesn't hide my pores, but that's not what it says its for I suppose, but it definitely makes my skin look mattified and I would say it increases the staying power of my make up too. 

Loreal Infallible Mega Gloss

509 You Know You Love Me - £6.99
I spotted these new Loreal lipglosses recently in-store and the first thing that stood out to me was the packaging. I think they have done a really good job on this product at making it look more expensive than it actually is. I'm not really a lipgloss girl but it looked pretty so I thought I would give it a go - and I wasn't disappointed. The Mega Gloss slides on to the lips and doesn't feel horrible and sticky like most glosses. I like to wear this with my Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in 28, looks great together! The shape of the wand makes it really easy to apply too since its kind of shaped to your lips.

What have you been buying this month? Any recommendations for products I should be adding to my wishlist?

Love,

ESTÉE LAUDER DOUBLE WEAR FOUNDATION REVIEW

Last month I ran out of my trusty Laura Mercier Silk Crème Foundation – and I was devastated when I went to repurchase and realised that it has been reformulated! I was tempted to repurchase the new formulation but decided after long being faithful to my fave high end foundation it was time to jump out of my comfort zone and try something new. I asked some friends for some recommendations and one said to try double wear as she swears by the stuff and said that the coverage is fantastic! I had also heard that this product was named the number one foundation in the UK so thought I had better give it a go.

When payday finally arrived last month I made a visit to my local House of Fraser to the Estee Lauder counter to be colour matched. I picked a great day to do this as they had 20% off, so managed to grab myself a wee bargain. Now, I was wearing fake tan when I went to be matched which I know is not a great idea for someone who can rarely be bothered to tan but I had a night out coming up so I had no other option. The MUA at the counter matched me to the colour ‘Pebble’ which is a very warm pink tone. This colour looked great on my skin in the shop and matched my freshly tanned skin perfectly – although I have tried this foundation with no tan and it made my skin a horrible grey colour and looked very dirty on my skin. Lesson learned – I’ll never get matched with tan on again!

I have to say though – when I can be bothered to tan – I love this foundation! The coverage is the best I’ve ever had from a foundation and it definitely lives up to its reputation. My main tip for using this product would be a little goes a long way! One covering of this foundation on your face is enough – if you start to go over, it can get too thick and can start to look cakey on your face. When worked in properly it gives a very flawless matte finish. This is great for me as I am not a fan of foundations that are too dewy, I feel that they make my T-zone very oily far too quickly, meaning having to do too many touch ups during the day. The double wear claims to stay put for 15 hours. I haven’t worn this foundation for 15 hours straight but for the times I have worn it (possibly 10 hours?) it has definitely not moved from my face – and I have no doubt that their claims that it will last 15 hours are nothing but the truth.

Overall, this is a great flawless, matte, full coverage foundation & it photographs well. It can feel a little heavy on the skin at times so I wouldn’t recommend this for an everyday foundation but perfect for any events, nights out or occasions that you may have coming up. I will 100% repurchase this foundation…..just possibly in a slightly lighter shade next time!

Anyone else used this foundation? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Love,