Party Season Make Up

As my lovelylovely friend Lucy said, we all need to know how to nail that perfect party look 'without looking like a drag queen'. As it is the Festive Season, it is also the time for all that sparkles, glitters and twinkles. This can only mean one thing: shimmer eye shadows and lip gloss.

1. First thing's first. The Face. Think of your face as a blank canvas; making that first mark is always the hardest and so you need to prep the surface first. One of my absolute favourite products is concealer; seriously, the right one works wonders. I have been loving Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer. I use it in the colour '2 Light". I personally blend this into my skin using a Real Techniques Foundation Brush (I know, I know, the wrong brush but it's so good!), or even sometimes I just use my fingers. I apply this under my eyes, around my nose and wherever else I might have blemishes or any redness.
2. From here, foundation. As it is a party look, I think that a foundation which has illuminating features makes your face have that little extra glow and means that you are left looking even more radiant. The Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation is perfect for this; it has a slight shimmer with it, which not only wakes up but does also give your skin a lovely complexion.
3. At this point I would move on to eyes. If you have an eye shadow primer/base, now is the time to use it! If not, don't worry just take a bit of extra care when applying. If you're going for a sparkly finished look, I would use a matte shade as a base; this will enhance the shimmer and help the top layer blend better. I am currently really loving he MUA Undress Me palette; it is very similar to the Undress Me Too Palette which is a Naked palette dupe, however  I feel that the Undress Me palette could quite easily be a dupe as well! For all eye shadow needs I absolutely adore the MAC 217 brush, (it has served me better than any man ever could!) Blend your shimmer eye shadow from the inner corner of your eye to your brow bone, blending into the crease of your eye. 
4. Over the top of this I would then advise, not even suggest, advise, you to apply a little of MAC's Vanilla Pigment into the inner corner; this really opens up your eyes. Also apply this to your brow bone; it works as a wonderful highlighter. At this point fill in your brows however you wish!
5. Now Mascara. I have absolutely been. loving Avon's Mega Effects mascara so will be applying lashings of that. don't forget to curl them beforehand! This means your lashes will look even fuller and longer once mascara is then applied. 
6. As it is Winter, I also like to give my cheeks a bit of sparkle with a slightly shimmery blusher. I go for reds/pinks during this time as it gives you a nice natural outside glow. I would use either a Sleek blush or Avon Face Pearls. 
7. During this process I would have applied some lip balm of some sort (the amount of lip balms I own is beyond ridiculous; didn't stop me buying two more today though...). This just means that your lips are really ready for lipstick/gloss. I would go for some form of red; I'm really liking Sleek's Rioja Red Matte Me Lip Gloss; it is a very vibrant red. If red isn't for you, maybe try a shimmer gloss such as Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker. Whack one of these on and you're ready to go! 

Bare Minerals Makeover

One of my closest friends, Emily, and I won a makeover at Bare Minerals and it was so good! the girl who did it was lovely and it felt so nice to have my make up done. We were both a bit worried about it as we weren't actually sure what it would entail.
All of the make up is so lovely though; it is a bit pricey but as the name suggests, it is all minerals. Even their eyeliners are a powder which you can mix up with water. It all feels so light and lovely on your skin; I didn't want to take it off! My skin looked really natural and I loved the eye make up.  I went for  an natural smokey eye which is what I tend to wear on a daily basis; I was so pleased with the end result!

Are you a Bare Minerals fan?

xoxo

Boots 'Soap and Glory' || Offer

So it is that time of year again where Boots do their big reduction on a beauty blogger's favourite product: the massive Soap and Glory, for want of a better word, box-set. This year it is entitled 'The Yule Monty Gift Set' [which at the time of writing that I have only just got the pun!].
The reason for this post it to let you all know that tomorrow Boots are reducing this product from £60 to £27! That's a massive saving of £33!!

This set includes some different pieces from last year:

Sugar Crush Body Wash

The Righteous Butter

Heel Genius Foot Mask

Hand Food Hand Cream

Peaches and Clean 3-in-1 Cleanser (originally pink and 4-in-1 but that's another matter!)

Thick and Fast Super Volume Mascara

The Scrub of Your Life Body Buffer

Butter Yourself Body Lotion

Sexy Mother Pucker XL Lip Plumping Gloss in Pink Out Loud

Could it get any better?!

Will you be getting yours? I know I will!

xoxo

A Day In the Life #2 || Birmingham Christmas Market and The Nutcracker!

So last weekend with the lovely dancing girls, (which if at any point I mention CMD (Classical and Modern Dance) that's who I mean) went for a trip to Birmingham to the Christmas Market and to then see Birmingham Royal Ballet's Nutcracker!
It was such a lovely day and everyone had a great time. The Market was sooo much bigger than I was expecting! I haven't ever been properly to Birmingham so it was all a new experience for me. ME and my lovely new friend Charlotte got some mulled wine in the most adorable cups (which we then kept!). We tried some tiny little pancakes (sadly my camera memory ran out at this point so no photos of them :( ). I had mine with vanilla and cherries with icing sugar on top; they were heavenly.
I absolutely adore watching ballet performances, a love which probably came partly from my sister as she always used to take to the Royal Opera House to see various performances. I had only previously seen Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker so was beyond excited to see a traditional version. I was by no means disappointed! Karla Doorbar played Clara, one of the main parts and she was amazing!.
The whole day was lovely and it made me feel really festive and excited for Christmas! I am now going to apologise for the picture heavy content coming up...which will have been cut down!

 Mulled Wine!

What are your plans for Christmas?

xoxo

Call that Crafty #1 || Button Initials

Back in the summer when I seemed to have endless amounts of time, I was trying to keep busy by being crafty and making things. I had often seen button initial canvasses in shops and thought to myself that I could do that; so I did!

What you need:

• 1 canvas (whatever size you want/colour/pattern. I just used plain white)
• Buttons; I used a combination of buttons and sequins
• Pencil
• Needle and Thread (preferably white, or a colour that won't be seen; unless you want it to be!
• Glue (in case of sequins or gems etc)

What you do:

1. First sketch out an outline. You of course don't have to do this, but I found it much easier to have an outline. I googled for the right kind of font that I wanted as I struggled to get the shape quite right.
2. You can now begin to sow your buttons and sequins on! I started with smaller ones in the corners and then worked my way into the centre of the shape with the bigger ones.
   It took a lot of placing and re-placing to work out the positioning I wanted so you may want to try different buttons in different places before sewing them down. 
   
   
   
3. I then just kept filling in the shape gradually, re-arranging as I went along until I was happy with the positioning.
   (This is now going to get a little picture heavy..!)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   The Finished Product!
   
   
   
   
   
   

I think these would make lovely Christmas decorations and are inexpensive if you already have all of the things lying around which I'm sure most of you do!
What initial will you do?
xoxo

Poundland Revlon Nail Varnishes

I know that everyone loves a bargain; don't lie, you know you do... So when I popped into Poundland for a general look (or for fake tan for a TOWIE themed night at the SU...) and saw these babies I couldn't resist! Revlon nail varnishes retail for £6.49 in Boots and so this was a massive saving of £5.49 on each one!

From left to right: 360 -Mischievous, 004 Sheer Nude, 185 - Sweet Tart and Matte Suede 933 - Emerald City 

Go and check out your Poundland today!

xoxo

A Day In The Life #1

I'm a bit behind on my post schedule so hopefully there will be another one of these going up very soon!
Not the week just gone but the week before was reading week and most of mine was spent holed up in my room, wrapped up in blankets and scarves with cups of tea working on my essays. This sounds quite cosy but was a lot of work!
I did however discover love for Sleek! And oh was I late on joining that black-cased band wagon. I also managed to get myself a job; hoorah! Look out for me a catering event/bar near you! To celebrate, I took myself off to Starbucks and got myself my first Red Cup. I had a salted caramel mocha with the new espresso base and oh my, it was divine. If you haven't had one of these bad boys, I am telling you to go asap. With cream, caramel sauce and salted caramel on top, you can't go wrong!
At the weekend my parents came up to stay which was lovely. We had a really nice meal at Ask on the Saturday and did some lovely shopping on Sunday (with more Starbucks!). We had a lovely walk through the gardens which had a lot more in it than I ever realised with greenhouses and Eden Project-esque domes! I got a lovely candle which I'm sure I'll be posting about soon.
All in all it was a pretty good week; very productive and lots of treats!

Have you had your first red cup yet?

xoxo

Magazine Freebies #1

November sees some great items coming free with some of our most-loved magazines! And I know how we allllll love a freebie! The December issues of Glamour and Elle are most definitely not disappointing. 

Glamour:

   

Not only is the gorgeous Katy Perry gracing the cover but it also comes free with a Kate Spade for Nails Inc. nail varnish worth £11!


Credit to www.pretty-in-pink-blog.com for this photo. 

I personally went with the navy shade; I was having an internal battle between that and the metallic nude!

Elle


Elle has had the brilliant idea to brighten us up in this drab weather with three different lip glosses from Benefit! From top to bottom the shades are Coralista, Hoola and Dandelion. I definitely have my eye on Coralista...(and let's face it all three). 
   
Not to mention 25% off at Kurt Geiger!

Have you got yours yet?

xoxo

Sleek Blush - 'Rose Gold'

I just hadhadhaddd to make a post about this blush; it is absolutely gorgeous! I bought it after seeing it on a couple of other blogs and thought I would go and check it out. I fell in love with it instantly. It is a lovely pale pink rose colour with hints of gold (hence the name...well done Karina) and it looks so nice on as well. In some lights it just looks like a kind of damson shade, but then in the light the gold hints sparkle and it just looks beautiful. 
If you're looking for a new blusher I definitely recommend this one. Everyone raves about Sleek blushers; now I know why! 

Sleek Blush - 'Rose Gold' - Superdrug £4.49

What are your favourite Sleek blushers?
xoxo

Autumn Favourites

This is one of my favourite times of year, (despite the cold dropping to below double digits and it being pitch black dark before half 5). Autumn make up and clothing, I feel, is definitely one of the best. After all the bright and sunny colours of the Summer, everything moves into much more darker, warmer tones.
As I love Autumn, I thought I would share some of my favourite Autumnal products!

Lips
(From left to right) Bellapierre Super Lip gloss in 'Raspberry'. Revlon Lip Butter in 'Peach Parfait', Maybelline Baby Lips in 'Cherry Me', Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in '005 Crush', Sephora Lipstick in 'No.19' and MeMeMe Cherub's Blush Cheek and Lip Tint. 

 Face
Rimmel Stay Blushed in '001 Pop of Pink'

(From left to right) Garnier Moisture Match - Combination to Oily Skin, Benefit Triple Performance Moisturiser, Clinique All About Eyes and Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief

Hair
(From top to bottom) Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Split End Protection Mask and L'Oreal Elvive Smooth and Polish Mask

 Nails
(From left to right) Leighton Denny 'Nude', Barry M Nail Paints in 'Raspberry' and 'Indigo' and Sinful Colours in 'Winterberry'

And of course cosy clothes!!

 What are your Autumnal favourites? 

  xoxo