My November in photos

November went by as quick as a flash. I worked quite a bit and I also started doing the 100 Happy Days photo challenge during as well. Basically that is when you take a photo of something that made/makes you happy everyday for 100 days. I can get stuck in a rut or grumpy mood so being able to see a good thing which makes me happy everyday will help me see the good in the bad. 

So here are my instagrams from the month of November so you can have a little snapshot into my photographic life! 

I met up with my lovely friend Sophie on Bonfire night. She came from London where she studies for a few nights and we went for a few drinks. 

This was an old picture of a vibrant red leaf I saw on an autumn walk. 

Raspberries are probably my favourite fruit and they look so nice as well! 

I went for a meal with my best friend Vicki. We both had the same sweet potato and red pepper burgers. 

This bubble bear bath bomb from lush was nice. It's not quite in the league of my favourite Dragon's Egg though ;)

This little optimistic photo just to remind me that everything that may seem bad now won't last and will get better. 

My little puppy sleeping on the sofa. 

Another little optimistic post from me. 

I made a lovely white tea with a slice of lemon before bed. 

I had a full day at work all on my own so my friend Vicki popped in on her break and bought me a cup of tea. 

My dog. 

A costa, a magazine, such a hard day at work..

On a family dog walk on a Sunday and the clouds looked so cool. 

My friend Titch turned 20 so I made this little photo collage. 

The day after was my best friend Vicki's birthday and we went to Frankie and Benny's. 

Vicki and I looking super cute with friendship bracelets. 

Quick show of hands who used to race raindrops down the window?

I saw these in a local deli my friend works at. Raisins or grapes?

Mexican food is probably my all time favourite. We had a Mexican night at home with Mexican rice, nachos and fajitas YUM! 

Purple/grey sky on the way to work one morning. 

The sunset on the way home from work looked so pretty. 

My manager got me a peppa pig advent calendar.

Salisbury Cathedral in the sun. 

Whilst shopping I treated my parents and myself to some costa hot chocolates. I had the white hot chocolate and they had the brownie one and the black forest one.

So that was November! I hope you all had a good month. 

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this post! Love, A x. 

Everyday makeup

I thought I'd do somewhat of a tutorial on how I do my make up for the daytime whether it's a day out shopping or just going to work. 

Here is my non make up face! 

I start off applying cleansing my face with a tea tree face wash from Boots. And I then apply my normal moisturiser. Once this has soaked in I then apply my primer. 

I use the Gosh classic primer which comes as either a gel or a cream serum and I've got the gel. I like to use a primer as it helps the staying power of the make up and also gives my face that finished look. 

Once that's sunk in I then apply my concealer. I use a Collection concealer in the shade fair. 

I apply it on my dark circles underneath my eyes, on any spots, blemishes and problem skin areas! 

Using a beauty blender I pat this into the skin. 

Then I apply my foundation and powder to set. 

I use Rimmel London's Wake Me Up foundation in the shade Ivory. I dab into the skin and using a stippling brush I blend it in. 

This is after primer, concealer and foundation. 

Then using a tiny bit of the blush from the sleek palette I applied that to the apples of my cheeks for a rosy, daytime glow. 

In this photo I have no eye make up on. I then one or two coats of Maybelline's One By One volum' Express mascara. 

This is a great drugstore mascara, probably my all time favourite actually. It's not too wet, it's a plastic wand is moveable around your lashes too. 

This is after one coat of mascara.

I slicked on a bit of clear lip gloss and I was ready to go! I hope you liked this post! Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below as I don't usually do this type of thing! Love, A x. 

Matte berry nails

I love berry shades especially in the winter I think wine, berry and burgundy shades come into their own. I haven't painted my nails in a long time as they've become a little bit short and also I must admit I have been a bit lazy and just couldn't be bothered.

I used these this Barry M shade in Raspberry and a Rimmel London matte top coat to create this. 

I used two coats of the Barry M colour and then when they were tacky and almost dry I then used the matte top coat and waited about twenty to thirty minutes until my nails were fully dried to do normal things again.

Ta da! The finished look. 

Here's a closer shot. I really love the matte effect.

What's your favourite winter colours? 

Thanks for reading I hope you liked this post! Love, A x. 

Sleek face form contouring kit review

Hello! I hope you're all well and have had a lovely weekend! A few months ago I bought the Sleek contour, highlight and blush kit in light. Before I purchased this I had seen it floating about and I heard a lot of very good reviews about it so decided to take the plunge. Beforehand I hadn't really tried contouring, I always found it really fascinating how you could practically transform your entire face and bone structure.

First of I shall mention that this kit comes with a bronzer/contour which is a very matte colour. A highlight and a pink blush. I got this for £9.99 from Superdrug.

I actually really like the packaging for this, like the name, I think this kit looks very simple and sleek. I am so clumsy so automatically feel a bit nervous holding this in case I drop it and everything inside breaks up. Inside there is also a mirror too which I don't use, I feel I need a larger mirror as I'm not very good at it..yet!

Here's the inside. I really like the contour and highlight shades but I feel the blush is a little too pink and glittery for my liking.  So if I do use it I use it very, very sparingly. 

As you can see all the shades are incredibly pigmented.

I started off with no make up whatsoever on here.

I've applied a collection concealer under my eyes and on my blemishes. Then I applied a light layer of Rimmel London Wake Me Up foundation. I then used a Real techniques angled brush to apply the contour underneath my cheekbones as I've sucked in my cheeks while pulling 'duck face'. I applied the contour on my jawline and on my temples too to give my face a slimmer appearance. It gives a really nice sculpted and well defined effect. 

I apply the highlight above the contour, down my nose, on my Cupid's bow and beneath my eyebrow arch. It is a very light, glittery pearl shade. It gives your face a lovely, natural glow. 

I then apply the blush to the apples of my cheeks and blend well. 

You can see the defined line down my cheek bone. I really like this kit although I'm not very good at contouring yet so with time I hope I'll get a bit better and will be able to challenge Kim K in the contouring stakes!

Have you tried this contour kit? If so what do you think of it? 

I hope you liked this post, love A x.

My favourite perfumes

I love how one subtle waft of an old scent can take you back years, to a time and a place in an instant. I walked into a room last week and it smelled exactly the same to a place I stayed on holiday in Cornwall when I was about six years old. The actual reason behind this is because there is a part of the brain called the olfactory bulb where emotions, feelings and memories are stored. Our brains form a link between a smell and a memory hence why a quick whiff of So...Sinful can rush you straight back to 2006 in a flash. 

I am a big fan of mainly sweet, floral scents and very rarely splash out on very expensive scents so these are great gift ideas from Boots, Superdrug and most department stores. 

Starting off with the first perfume I ever bought.

This is Calvin Klein's Euphoria. 

I remember having a sampler of this from a magazine when I was about fourteen and loved the floral and fruity fragrance. It starts off with sweet, fruity tones like red berries and pomegranate. It has great lasting power settling into a soft, lingering scent containing patchouli, amber and mahogany. 

I recieved Beyoncé's Heat perfume as a gift. Without sounding ungrateful I wouldn't have naturally purchased this for myself as I don't usually buy celebrity fragrances but I was very pleasantly surprised by this one. It is a sweet fragrance with top notes of vanilla, orchid, magnolia and peach. It also includes notes of almond, musky cream and then settling into sequoia wood and amber. 

I can't find the bottle for this one anywhere I think I've left it in my locker at work! Carolina Herrera's 212 comes in a gold cylinder type bottle which I'm actually not too keen on because I like to display all my perfumes, standing up against one another. It opens with fresh, albeit a little soapy smelling, floral and citrusy scents. The middle notes consist of rose, white flowers and freesias. Equally the musky scent starts to slowly creep in here too. Finally the base notes are the musky white flower. 

For Christmas last year my parents got me this set of lovely sample perfumes. And the perfume you like the most you go back into Boots with and can get the full 30ml size for free! 

To be honest I actually really liked all of these perfumes the ones that stood out most to me was Carolina Herrera's 212 and that's why I got the full size one. I also really like Orange by Hugo Boss which I've had before and Paco Rabanne's Black XS. I think this is such a great gift idea if you don't really know what to get someone but still want to get them something really nice. 

As mentioned above I have had Hugo Boss's Orange perfume before. I purchased the gift set from Boots for £25 for myself which contains the 50ml size eau de toilette and a body lotion so it was such a bargain! 

 

This is a very sweet, fruity fragrance. Sometimes because it is very sweet I think a little spritz will go a very long way.  

This is Viktor and Rolf's Flowerbomb which I am absolutely obsessed with. It was a bit more expensive compared to other perfumes I've bought so save it for special occasions. Like the name states it has floral notes like jasmine, rose and orchid in it. I like this scent because it's very sweet but not in a sickly type of way. I love how it has a fantastic staying power as well it could quite easily stay on my clothes, hair or skin for a good 24 hours. 

So these are all my perfumes that I've used and loved. What are your go to scents? 

I hope you liked this post. Love, A x.