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.

Some bits from Miners Cosmetics

The very lovely people over at Miners Cosmetics send me their products to sample and review every month or so and I am incredibly lucky to be able to say that and also that we've had this partnership for about two years now. I am a big fan of their products (and I'm not just saying that) I used their eye shadows and concealer to death!

So this month I received a nice parcel after a long day at work and I was so excited to rip it open and try the new goodies inside. 

This month's package featured the new Autumn/Winter edition of the Unique You magazine and four new samples perfect for this season picked out by their brand ambassador, Hayley Sparkes. 

Here is the latest magazine, I'm looking forward to flicking through this on a lazy evening in. 

I received: 

A liquid liner 

A powder eyeshadow 

A lipstick 

A kohl pencil eye liner 

Starting off with the liquid eyeliner. I like that it comes in a small, hard plastic tube so it's easy to transport and pop in your clutch bag if you're going out for the night. 

The colour of it is a really dark blue which at first I was a bit wary of. I usually only wear black eyeliner so it was nice to try this. I have very light blue eyes anyway so the dark blue against the light blue looked really edgy. 

The fluid comes out nicely. I personally prefer a thick, bold, statement eye look so with this you may need to apply the colour a few times to get the look you are happy with. 

The nib is quite small and thin making it more precise however I found it quite hard so irritated my eye so I had to be quite gentle the next time I used it. 

This is the colour after one dip into the tube and one swipe across my hand. 

Next onto the lipstick. 

The one I got sent is called Kiss Me Quick and is a lovely soft pink shade. 

This is a part of their moisture effect range. It feels so smooth and silky to apply and doesn't leave my lips feeling dry at all. 

This shade has lovely coral undertones so will work differently on everyone creating unique shades for the wearer. 

This is the kohl pencil eyeliner in the colour blue. This is a much lighter blue compared to the liquid eyeliner. It has quite a creamy, easy to apply consistency  which I like.  Like I mentioned before about the colour of the liquid liner, I'm a bit nervous about trying new and bold colours but I'm sure I'll pluck up the courage to try this on a night out.

Lastly is the eyeshadow dip and define in the shade Damson Dust. This unscrews, one end is an eyeshadow brush on the lid and the bottom is filled with a metallic eyeshadow powder. 

I think this is a such a good idea to have the brush and powder included as one. I really like the metallic purple shade of this. You could wear this on it's own or use a darker purple or bronze to create a smokey eye. 

I've swatched all of these products.  From left to right is : 

Dip and define eyeshadow powder 

Blue liquid eyeliner

Moisture effect lipstick 

Blue kohl eye pencil. 

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

I got my hurrr did

A few weeks ago I made a post about having a change with many aspects of my life but firstly my hair. (here)

So I took the plunge and made the cut (pun intended) and had a restyle. I popped into a salon across from where I work and showed them some pictures of what I like, what I don't like and also how much I wanted to spend! 

This is before. I have massively thick hair, and it has bleach and colours on it to make it into a caramel/honey brown colour. I didn't have any layers cut into it so it looked like a giant heap of hair. 

I abuse my hair with straighteners, curlers and a hair dryer so it often looks and feels quite dry. As I have such thick hair as well it can often get quite frizzy and unruly. 

So after two and a half hours of sitting in the hairdressers chair, three Ok! magazines later I left with my new hairdo feeling very happy and confident. 

It is a lot shorter than it used to be and I'm still getting used to not being able to tie it up. 

I had some nice layers cut in and a few colours pulled through all over too. I'm really happy with how it looks and feel confident too. 

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

My October in photos

My Instagram hasn't been as active as it could have been over October. What with my work life and person life being rather busy I haven't had a lot of time nor have I done anything photo-worthy! So here are a couple of my instagrams from the last month.

I love chocolate as much as the next girl and I was excited to try these out when my mum came home and handed me these. They taste like dark chocolate then you get this strange raspberry after taste in your mouth. 

These Gü hot chocolate cartons are so nice! They're very rich in chocolatey taste so you don't need a big mug of it. Delish! Perfect winter treat with a sprinkling of marshmallows. 

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