March Favourites!

As another month draws to an end, it's time for another favourites post!
I must admit, a lot of my favourites from February, which can you read about here, have followed me into March and I've continued to love them! There are surprisingly few beauty products this month, most likely due to the fact I've not tried anything new recently... I've pretty much stuck to the same products that I've been using for the past few months, or at least to the ones I've already mentioned... There's no point in talking about them again now is there? Onto my March favourites...

I've fallen head over heels for the Urban Decay On The Run palette (£37) this month, it's been an absolute dream in my makeup collection and there hasn't been a day where I've not used it... I won't bang on about it too much, but if you want to know more than have a look at my review from earlier in the month here! There are certain aspects of the palette I've been especially loving, such as the bronzer, lip gloss, eyeshadow in the shade Resist, and my absolute favourite element, the Perversion mascara... My oh my, it's brilliant. I've used the mascara every day since buying the palette, and it's beautiful... I can 100% see myself splurging out on the full size one pretty soon... Definitely recommend!

Winged eyeliner... Some fear it, some see it as a hassle, others can't get enough of it... I'm the latter! After many many attempts, I think I've finally gotten the hang of it enough to apply it most days without worrying about spending hours getting right or smudging it across half of my face... My all-time favourite has to be the Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner Pen (£6), with it's charcoal black pigmentation that has the ability to last all day, paired with it's fine tip capable of creating the perfect wing, I'm obsessed... 

Moving onto skincare, I've been using the Liz Earle Brightening Treatment Mask (£16) almost every day this month... Having stepped into Spring, I felt like my skin needed a little brightening and springtime radiance after the harsh winter months, and what better way to do it than my beloved Liz Earle mask? It instantly makes my skin feel fresh and smooth, and I love it... 

A little bit of random favourite, and something I've not really discussed on the blog before, is haircare... Shampoo to be precise... Since getting my hair completely dyed blonde as opposed to highlights, I'd noticed that the colour had picked up the natural red tones in my hair... It started to look a little brassy, and I wasn't keen on it at all... After talking to my hairdresser, she recommended I try out the PRO:VOKE Touch of Silver: Twice A Week Brightening Shampoo (150ml at £3.19) and Daily Nourish Conditioner (200ml at £2.19). The shampoo contains violet pigment to treat yellowing, fading and dullness in hair colour, as well as actively neutralising brassiness in blonde hair. It's best used for people with blonde, grey or white hair, and it's worked brilliantly! After two washes with the stuff, I really noticed a difference in the colour of my hair, and the brassiness subsided almost immediately! I've also been using the conditioner as a follow up, which prevents colour fading while repairing damaged hair and protecting its structure. It's also super cheap, so you can incorporate it into your regular haircare routine rather than swapping things out completely! If you've got blonde hair like me and want to keep it looking at it's best, I'd recommend this in a heartbeat... 

Moving away from products and onto non-beauty favourites, I've been obsessing over The 1975 so much over the past month! Love, love, love... Particularly the songs Chocolate and Girls have been playing on repeat on my Spotify playlist, and I've been listening to the rest of their stuff as well... Normally I'm not one to listen to this kind of music, although if I hear anything remotely catchy I'll be guaranteed to be singing it all week long...

My final March favourite; Gossip Girl... After deciding to finally jump on the bandwagon after mock week, I've been watching it non-stop... Thankfully, my friend Becky has all six seasons on DVD (thank God for Becky) and very kindly let me borrow them... I've become obsessed, watching an average of four episodes a day (let's hope this doesn't affect my A-Levels...) and I'm currently just past mid-season 2... I'm not going to lie, at this stage, Chuck doesn't quite do it for me... Dan on the other hand... Can someone please find me a real-life Dan? 

That's all for my March Favourites! There aren't very many I know, but it's quality, not quantity, right? What have you been loving this month? Leave a comment and tell me!

The Daily Face

It's no secret that I'm a massive makeup enthusiast... I'm pretty sure there's not a day that goes by where I'm not wearing makeup, unless of course I'm either sick or running extremely late... Yet even then I still manage to sweep on some foundation and mascara!
My love of makeup doesn't stem from being insecure, although I do admittedly look less zombie-like without it. I'm comfortable in my own skin, just like everyone should be, but there's just something about makeup that makes my eyes widen and my infatuation grows.
Maybe it's just my inner child who likes drawing and painting... on her face...

I always like experimenting with makeup, trying new products and techniques, but when it comes to an everyday look for sixth form, I never stray too far from what I know best...

Naturally, starting off by applying the Laura Mercier foundation primer (£29) which I'm in love with! I can't quite believe I used to skip this step all the time... What on earth was I thinking!? Using a primer is something I would always recommend, especially for those longer days when you want your foundation to, you know, stay on your face for the entire day... I've noticed great results with this primer, and the best thing is definitely how long it lasts. Only the slightest bit is needed; my smaller 30ml sample tube has lasted since October and is still going strong! That being said, it is on the more expensive side, with a 50ml tube being £29... However, its sheer brilliance and ability to last what seems like forever makes it worth it. 

Next, foundation... I bounce from one to the other all the time, depending on the time of year and how my skin has been behaving... Recently due to the slight improvement in the weather, and with Spring approaching, I've been reaching for the L'Oreal Lumi Magique Light Infusion foundation (£10.99) in shade Rose Pearl without even noticing. I love the way this foundation looks on my skin and makes it look more dewy and fresh... It doesn't look at all caked or overdone, but there's just something about it that makes my skin glow, and I can't get enough of it!

Moving on to concealer, I've found myself alternating between the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer (£4.19) and L'Oreal Lumi Magique highlighter pen (£8.49), sometimes even using both! Despite it's thicker consistency that I was convinced I wouldn't be so keen on in near-Spring, I've been applying Collections miracle of a concealer on a daily basis. It instantly wipes away any signs of tiredness under the eyes, and also covers blemishes wonderfully. Using the highlighter pen has also been giving results that I've been loving, especially under the eyes and on the cheekbones....

To set my foundation and concealer, I use the Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder (£3.99) (surprise, surprise!). I instantly repurchase this without even thinking about it, and doubt I'll ever find an alternative that I love more! I always buy it in the shade 001 Transparent, as my foundation does a good job of providing colour to my face already, there's no need to add more...

Sticking with the face for a little longer, I always always always contour. Always. I know some people aren't fans of contouring, or only do it for more special occasions, but the definition it gives to your face is something I'm personally a massive fan of. Since purchasing the Urban Decay On The Run palette (£37), I've been sweeping the bronzer under my cheekbones in the hollows of my cheeks... Did someone say prominent cheekbones in minutes?

Full eyebrows are an absolute must... What's the point in doing your makeup if you're not going to fill in your brows!? My brows are as blonde as anything, and there are quite a few sparse areas... I've been using the Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil (£2.99) in 002 Hazel, as well as the Fix eyeshadow shade in the On The Run palette to fill them in... Call me crazy, but it works...

After curling my eyelashes, I apply a single coat of the L'Oreal Miss Manga mascara (£8.99) on both my top and bottom lashes, and boy does it work wonders! My lashes instantly go from pretty much non-existent to long and voluminous! After discovering the Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara (£7.99), I've also applied a single coat on top of that, and oh my goodness... Simply, a match made in mascara heaven!

This routine typically takes me twenty to thirty minutes or so in the morning, and I feel ready to face the day! If I have a bit more time then I may be slightly more tempted to sweep some blusher on my cheeks, or even add some neutral eyeshadow and winged eyeliner... For a typical day I tend to stay relatively natural, there's no point in overdoing it for school!
Also, I promise I'm not sponsored by Rimmel or L'Oreal! It just so happens that the majority of my most-loved products are theirs! 

I hope you've enjoyed reading my everyday makeup routine... I definitely loved writing it! Are there any products that are staples in your routine? Tell me in the comments!

3 To Try: Concealers

Concealer... The ultimate should-be-staple in every girls makeup bag to banish blemishes in an instant and cover up those dreaded dark circles... Finding a concealer that does all of this while avoiding creasing, being too thick and cakey and also not being a bank-breaker can be a challenge, especially for those who are just starting out in makeup.

The first of my favourites, and the one I've used the longest is the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, priced at a mere £4.19. The packaging is simple, albeit a bit rubbish as the writing always scratches off it... The concealer is of a thick consistency, perfect for disguising those unwanted and unsightly blemishes. It also doubles as a great undereye concealer, and creases are minimal. Unfortunately there are only four shades, although they are very versatile. I'm able to wear the lightest of the bunch for the majority of the year and the warm medium shade in summer. In my opinion, it's a concealer that needs to be in your collection, you can't go wrong with it!

The Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer is a thinner one, but still has all the great qualities of a higher coverage concealer. A slightly more expensive £5.49, it's still a great cheap option. As the name suggests, it's a real eye-opener, using it's highlighting properties to brighten up the undereye area leaving you looking more awake and fresh! I would recommend this more to people with a darker skin tone, as even the lightest ivory shade is quite dark and unfortunately doesn't quite cover redness or spots all that well. Nevertheless, it's a perfectly good concealer, and one to try.

Last but not least, the L'Oreal Lumi Magique concealer. Strictly speaking, this is more of a highlighter pen than a concealer and isn't of great use for blemish coverage, unless of course you want to highlight your spots? I thought not... This product is better used to highlight the appearance of the eyes, as well as a great highlighter for the cheekbones, brow bone and also cupid's bow. The most expensive of these three, at £8.49, it unfortunately comes in only two shades - light and medium. Being a highlighting concealer though, multiple shades aren't always necessary. The formula is light and doesn't appear caked under the eyes, and the packaging is something a little more special with it's rose gold case. All in all, a lovely highlighting concealer!

I'm aware there may be even better concealers out there, but I'm yet to try them! These are just my personal favourites, and if you have any recommendations of your own then please leave them in a comment! 

12 Random Questions...

Switching this week up a little, I've decided on doing a question tag rather than In A Nutshell! Honestly, I've had the most boring week but wanted to keep up with Sunday posts regardless... I hope you enjoy finding out a little bit more about me as opposed to finding out what I got up to this past week!

1. What do you order at Starbucks? I hardly ever go to Starbucks, mainly because there aren't many near me and admittedly I'm a Costa girl at heart... Whenever I find myself there I always order a caramel latte, with extra caramel of course!

2. What was your favourite subject in school? That's a bit of a tricky one... I've always loved Science, although GCSE English was also one of my favourites... Not to mention History and Geography... I'm sounding like a nerd now...

3. What would you name your children? Ever since I was little I've always loved the name Oliver, but no girls names ever spring to mind...

4. Favourite song at the minute? I actually have two... I know I'm very late to the game but I've been obsessing over Girls by The 1975, and also Paris by Magic Man, a recommendation from a friend. If you've not heard either, go and listen to them right now! 

5. Have you ever been out of the country? Yes! I've been to Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece and Egypt, and Scotland if that counts?...

6. Do you have any siblings? My younger sister, Abby, who's five years younger than me.

7. What's your favourite shop? I can't resist Primark's cheap prices, but I'm a massive fan of New Look, H&M and Next.

8. Favourite restaurant? Oooh this is a tough one, either Nando's, Pizza Express or Chimichangas...

9. How tall are you? I'm 5"5

10. What side of the bed do you sleep on? Considering I only have a single bed, I sleep on all of it!

11. What was your first teddy and it's name? The first teddy bear I can remember having is a blue bear, appropriately named Blue Bear... I was a creative child... I still have it to this day!

12. What's one of your nervous habits? When I'm nervous I tend to fiddle with my hands and look at the ground... Both of which are very annoying nervous habits that I can't seem to shift!

Review! Urban Decay: Naked On The Run

I am a massive fan of Urban Decay, it's easily one of my favourite "high end" brands! It's no surprise that as soon as I heard about the limited edition Naked On The Run palette, I immediately turned on my laptop and did some shopping! I absolutely adore this palette, what's not to love about six new eyeshadow shades as well as the other exciting products included? Swoon...

I'm in awe of the stunning rose gold packaging of the case, as well as the bronze/green marbled effect on the cover that somehow just seems perfect for this palette... Admittedly, it's not the most compact 'on the go' set and can be considered slightly bulky, however this can be forgiven by the products inside, and the fact it's much more easy to carry as opposed to everything being separate... I'm also a fan of the massive mirror inside the palette itself, it takes up the whole of the inside cover and is a great quality mirror, perfect for applying makeup on the go! If there's one thing that frustrates me about doing my makeup some place that's not my bedroom, it's usually the lack of a large mirror... This set fixes this problem perfectly, and is in my mind one of the many reasons why you need this palette in your life!

Moving on to what's in the palette itself, there are six brand new gorgeous eyeshadows, that are all extremely highly pigmented and are of the same amazing creamy, blendable quality that we all know and love from Urban Decay. From left to right, the shades are named and described by Urban Decay as follows:

Dive: a metallic rose with golden shimmer

Fix: a soft warm brown matte

Resist: a metallic taupe

Dare: a medium brown matte, darker than fix

Stun: a metallic bronze with light gold microshimmer

5050: a cool toned beige with silver shimmer. This shadow is larger than the others, in the bottom right hand corner as it's also described as being a perfect all-over shade. 

I love that there's a mixture between matte and shimmer shadows, as you can really complete any look with them, whether it's day or night, rest assured you have a lovely range to work with! I've also been loving using the shade Fix to fill in my brows! Due to its matte consistency with slight taupe undertones, it works beautifully as a brow filler as well as an eyeshadow, bonus!

The palette also contains a blusher and bronzer duo, which I believe can be purchased from Urban Decay as a separate palette. The bronzer is in the shade medium, which admittedly I was slightly concerned about... Having lightly coloured skin can be an issue when trying to find a good bronzer, as it's often too easy to purchase one that's far too dark and appears muddy on the skin. Despite my doubts, I'm absolutely in love with it! A little definitely goes a long way, with only the smallest amount needed on the brush. Although the bronzer is matte, it appears to have a slight satin consistency and is a dream to blend! All in all, it's a winner!

The blusher is also lovely, as its described as vibrant pink with light shimmer. Blushers aren't usually something I go for, and similarly to the bronzer, only a small amount is needed to brighten up your face without looking like a clown! Another big thumbs up!

Also included in the palette are three other products, a travel-sized Perversion mascara, a travel-size 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in the new shade Stag, as well as a full size Naked Lipgloss in the new shade Sesso. 

The Perversion mascara is a lovely product, and the formula is amazing. It's not dry but it's also not too wet, and it's ability to glide nicely over pre-existing coats of mascara without clumping makes it perfect as a day-to-night mascara! I have a feeling I'll be looking into purchasing the full size product!
The 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil, as the name suggests, glides on like a dream. The shade is very wearable, being a dark brown satin pencil, and also blends nicely for a smokey effect. It's not the shining star of the set, but it ties everything together nicely. 
Possibly my favourite aspect of this set, the Naked Lipgloss in Sesso. I don't tend to use lipgloss very often, as I find they don't give much colour and it's difficult to find one of a good quality. This lipgloss has changed my opinion immensely! It gives a lovely colour and shine to the lips, and almost has a slight plumping effect. It's not sticky and doesn't leave my hair stuck to my lips. The shade is described as rose with pink shimmer, however the shimmer is very light and not overbearing.

Left to right: Lipgloss in Sesso, eye pencil in Stag, Bronzer, Blusher, 5050, Dive, Fix, Resist, Dare, Stun

I purchased the Urban Decay: Naked On The Run palette for £37 from Debenhams, however it can also be purchased for the same price from Feel Unique. I'm absolutely in love with it, and can't recommend it enough!

Have you tried this palette or any of the products it contains? What did you think of it? Or are you simply an Urban Decay lover like myself? Leave a comment and let me know!

In A Nutshell | Back to Normality...

Another Sunday rolls around! Who can believe we're a week into March, I certainly can't!

Unfortunately there's not much to talk about regarding my week... With it being my first official week back in school after half term and mocks, most of my time has been spent getting back into the swing of things and focusing on work.

I went for another driving lesson on Monday, and I'm really enjoying them! I thought that learning to drive would be stressful and leave me in tears a lot of the time, but it's exactly the opposite. This was also the first time I drove myself home after my lesson, and I think I did pretty well considering it was 6pm rush hour in the pouring rain!

This week also saw a slight change, one I've been excited to undergo for a while now... I've been getting half-head blonde highlights since I was in Year 9 (early, I know, but I've always wanted blonder hair!) and recently I've been getting a little bored of how it looked and decided it was about time something changed. Not to mention the fact £40 every 8-10 weeks adds up, and is a price I can't afford to pay when I become a Uni student in September... I still wanted blonde hair, but a cheaper solution... I took the plunge and dyed the rest of my hair blonde... All of it... I went for a slightly darker shade however, so that my roots don't look too dark when they grow, but also still have the highlights in the main body of my hair from the last time I got it done. The difference isn't striking, although it's different enough that I'm more than happy with it! 

I got the majority of my mock results back this week, and overall I'm generally pleased! Chemistry was a major miss (let's not talk about that...) but considering I did very little revision for it I'm not overly disappointed... Can I also mention how frustrating it is to be 1% away from the next grade boundary!? 1% away from an A in Biology... SO close! I also got a B in Geography which I'm very happy about!

I'm sorry for a pretty rubbish post this week, but we all have those uneventful and dull weeks, right? I can't promise that next week will be any more exciting, so I'm considering switching it up a little and possibly doing some kind of question tag if I end up having nothing interesting to write about! Hopefully that won't be the case, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it...

Lush Haul!

There's hardly anything I love more than relaxing in the bath after a long day, burning some candles and reading a good book... The only thing that could make it better? Lush, of course!

Lush bath products are amongst my favourites, although I rarely stray too far from bath bombs and bubble bars... I'm hoping to change this soon though, and try out some of their other products in the near future! 

This haul is entirely made up of bath bombs and bubble bars, so if they're not your thing then I apologise in advance - I just love them far too much!
I also have some things from the Valentines range, which unfortunately are no longer stocked... I ordered from Lush online a few days before Valentines Day, as I knew I wouldn't have the chance to get to the shop before then...  I also aimed to have this post up sooner than this, but due to busy schedules and mock week I've been restricted in the amount of time I had to simply sit down and write... Now, onto the haul!

The first thing I added to my basket was the Unicorn Horn Bubble Bar. I've been eyeing up this product for a while, especially on Instagram, and knew I had to have it. Lush use the description "Gorgeous pastel colors and a shimmering luster create enchanting pink waters with silvery trails sparkling through it", and the appearance definitely lives up to that expectation! Although I haven't tried any of these products yet, I'm more than excited to! One downside, is that I was expecting a slightly larger product... Whether I got dealt a short straw and was handed a small bubble bar, I don't know, but I'm still pretty excited!

Next, also from the Valentines range was the Lonely Heart Bubble Bar! The golden shimmer is definitely my favourite aspect of this product, not to mention the fact it smells amazing! The only downside is the size, in that it is one of the smaller Lush products. I'm not entirely certain about red bath water, but I'm trying it regardless!

The third and final purchase from Valentines is the Floating Flower Bath Bomb. After reading reviews, I have high expectations of this bath bomb, as it's supposed to smell simply amazing! Plus, any bath bombs that have bright colours such as this excite me greatly, as there's nothing I love more than brightly coloured bath water!

I also ordered the Twilight bath bomb, which is massive! It's described with the phrase "let the sun set on worries" and that's exactly how I plan on using it! It's appearance is deceiving, as although it's a light pink colour on the inside, it gradually gets deeper further into the centre, much like the twilight time of day. Lavender is also used in this product, and the bath bomb is designed to help you sleep after... It sounds, simply, Lush...

Finally, is the Phoenix Rising bath bomb, described as a "mystical, shimmering purple and green layered bath bomb that rises in the water on a cloud of exotic spice fragrance", sounds magical, doesn't it? 
"Its rich, cinnamon fragrance will also lift your mood if you’re feeling out of sorts" - that sounds like my kind of bath bomb! In retrospect, I should have used this during my mock week, although now it's something extra to look forward to!

Another thing to add, is although that ordering from Lush online was an overall positive experience and the package arrived within a few days, I was slightly disappointed when the Unicorn Horn Bubble Bar arrived with the tip in pieces... I can't blame Lush though, only Royal Mail!
I was also slightly annoyed by the fact the products arrived with no packaging on them individually, and I was a bit stumped on how to store them... I opted for wrapping them in clingfilm allowing me to see what the products are easily but also meaning they don't crumble in the basket I store them all in, which is working well, especially considering they last between 12 and 18 months! 

Are you a Lush lover like myself? Have you tried any of these products, or have any recommendations as to what I should try next? As always, let me know in the comments below!

In A Nutshell | Mock Week & Friday Fun

I am more than thankful to be on the other side of my very stressful mocks, after having an average of two exams each day of the week, I've never been so busy! Despite my lack of sleep, inability to concentrate and having the dreaded wobbly table every single time, they seemed to go okay... With a few exceptions of course... Mocks are a learning curve, and they've not only highlighted what I need to focus my revision on, but also how to time manage - something I struggled with, leaving a few questions unseen and unanswered... I guess that's what mocks are for though, right?

I also continued with driving lessons this week, and although I was nervous to drive on proper roads with other cars and pedestrians around, I actually had fun! Managing to 'successfully' drive, albeit stalling a few times and almost turning left instead of right was something that made my week...

Once mocks finished on Friday, a celebration of sorts was in order... Considering we had no revision to do, and no impending homework, I threw a sit-off and sleepover for my friends and myself... We played board games, watched Grey's Anatomy on repeat and bounced on the inflatable beds like children... Having no responsibilities for a whole weekend was taken advantage of, and it also made me increasingly grateful for the amazing friends I have... Sometimes you need to just laugh and forget about the rest of the world!
I also displayed my amazing culinary skills the next morning (well, not really but still...) by making scotch pancakes, or drop scones as some call them... Pancakes make everything better! 

What's made your week? Let me know in a comment!