MAY FAVOURITES

Lets start with the cliché - I'm finding it hard enough to believe that May ever existed, so I haven't quite got my head around how it can possibly be June already but alas, it has come so lets get on with it and enjoy the Summer months. I wanted to do something a little different this month as I didn't really have many beauty items that were standing out to me like normal and I liked doing a more lifestyle type post previously (here), so I thought I'd make this a little more life chatty. So, here are some of the things that I found myself loving throughout May. 

1. Sister Time - Now that I don't live with my sister, Hannah anymore I really miss her, so it's great when we get to spend some time together. We also often work different days but luckily throughout May she had a lot of weekends off which meant that we got to spend more time together which was really nice. We did the usual, shopping, sleep overs, watched films and ate bad stuff. You can read about what we got up to one weekend 'here'.
2. Grand parents time - There doesn't seem to be a weekend that goes by that my boyfriend, Jamie and I don't spend time with at least one of our grand parents. I love spending time with them and hearing their stories, either of how life used to be or just funny little things that have gone on that week. They do so much for us so I love just spending time with them and enjoying their company, especially as you can just tell how happy it makes them, which is so amazing to see. 
3. Game of Thrones - Jamie and I were very late to the party and Hannah was even later; I've only just got her into them and I think she's only just on season 2. Jamie and I started watching them around Easter time so we just about caught up before Season 5 started. It's something that I look forward to every week. When I re-watched the first season with Hannah recently I still really liked it and the last couple of weeks have been especially good and I love when you get stuck into a series like that. 
4. Curly Hair - I had my hair cut really short, to my jaw line back in October and although I did really like it, it wasn't really me and I didn't always feel myself with it. It's now grown to just touch my shoulders and I'm feeling much more myself and more pretty and girly. I've been adding curls to it with my ghd's quite often lately and I really like it. It's quick to do, just curling random sections and adds a good amount of volume to the hair.  
5. Check Shirts - I used to dress up a lot all of the time just to do simply things, like go shopping, but lately I've been loving dressing a little more relaxed and casual. I've been loving checked shirts as they're so easy, casual and comfy but also a little stylish in their own way. They have been useful this time of year when you want something cool if the weather is warmer, but still covered a little as it's just too soon/too chilly to be flashing elbows and shoulders all at once!
6. Tanya Burr Nail polish - I first bought Tanya Burr nail polishes last year and really loved them then. I loved the shade Bright and Early and it's one of my favourite all time colours; it's a bright pink/coral shade. I've really been loving Mischief Managed, New York Night and Peaches and Cream. It was the only nail polish brand I used in May. They last really well, a lot better than other nail polishes that I've tried and I just love the shades and textures.   

Hope you all had a great month and I hope June's another good month!

SHOPPING MY STASH

Isn't it funny how we get so excited about buying new make up and then often, not too many weeks or months later, we've sentenced it to a life of just sitting in our draws with all of our other neglected make up. We anticipate the arrival of bigger and better things and often forget about our once loved products.

After months of claiming that I need more blusher, as I don't own many (clearly owning nearly every Benefit blush doesn't qualify), I remembered that in actual fact, I have two Sleek blush palettes with a total of six different shades, surely that's more than enough?! A similar train of thought followed about neutral lip colours, somehow I forgot I have tonnes of lip glosses that fit the bill. 

Over the past week I've decided to start using more of these forgotten products and I'm really enjoying rediscovering items that I once loved. A couple of these products are ones that I never really used much but want to make more of an effort to use. So far I've been really enjoying using Tanya Burr's lip gloss in Chic as an everyday shade. I want to keep trying to use more of my lip glosses as they complete your look and are so quick and easy to use. Another that I used to love is the Bare Minerals lip gloss in Rebel; a natural 'your lips but better' colour.  I've said in previous posts that I'm not the biggest  pencil eye liner wearer, yet obviously I had to buy the Urban Decay eye liner set last Christmas (you can read my post here) I've recently started using Urban Decay's Perversion eye pencil, which you can see in my 'everyday make up post', but I still want to try and use more of the other colours that I got in the set. These three browns should be easy to use for everyday natural looks. The Bare Minerals Warmth is absolutely gorgeous as a bronzer; it's the perfect product to warm up the complexion, for so many skin tones. Even if you are really fair you just need a tiny amount of product and it makes your skin look so naturally fresh, radiant and bronzed. The only reason I don't use it much is because it's a little more time consuming, tipping out the required amount than your ordinary solid pan bronzer. Another Bare Minerals product that I want to use more of is the loose mineral eye shadows. Surprisingly they're really quick and easy to use and not at all messy. I used to just pat on  the shadows all over the lid and then blend a matte shade or the Bare Minerals Warmth through the crease. My favourite Bare Minerals loose shadows are Queen Tiffany, Tan Lines, Bare Skin and Queen Phyllis. Another eye shadow product that I need to make more use of are the Naked palettes, especially Naked 3. There was so much hype about this palette when it first came out that I just bought it because you feel like I should and when you've got 1 and 2, you obviously need 3... I really love the shades when I do use them, it's just one I forget to make use of. The LUSH Lip Scrubs are one of those things that seem cool, but rarely actually get used. I want to use it more often to exfoliate my lips, especially as I'll be applying more lip gloss now, so I need them to be smooth and a better base for lip products. The final product I have is the REN Clarimate Invisible Pores Detox Mask. I'm pretty good with my skincare but useless with masks, I can never be bothered. I think I may have to set myself a target of using a mask once a week.

What products have you rediscovered and love or which ones do you not use enough?

WHAT'S IN MY TRAVEL MAKE UP BAG

I don't normally use a make up bag at home and prefer to keep all of my make up in my draws, as I just have far too much for any make up bag to handle. Last week I had the dreaded task of having to decide which make up products to take with me on holiday - which honestly felt like I was choosing which child I wanted to take with me. I was also terrified that things would get broken during the journey, so it took me a lot longer than I'd like to admit to choose between my beloved eye shadows. 

I did take quite a bit more than what is photographed but these were the only products that I used. First, I used MAC's Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage for my primer as it is really hydrating and spending all day out in the sun means you can't get enough hydration to your skin. For my foundation I used Bare Minerals Ready foundation as it's so quick and easy to apply, gives great coverage but still doesn't look or feel heavy on the skin. I set my foundation with Bare Minerals Mineral Veil to control any extra shine, so I didn't look like a hot mess in the equally hot weather. I used MAC's Pro Longwear concealer under the eyes and on any imperfections. I also used MAC's Prep + Prime Highlighter in Radiant Rose under the eyes and as always MAC's Emphasize powder to set it. I used Bare Minerals Stroke of Light to highlight areas of my face, to look more glowy and summery. To bronze my face I used Bare Minerals The First Resort bronzer, there is also a highlight shade in there which I used as a blush and highlight. 

For my eyes I used MAC's Painterly Paint pot as a base. As I was on holiday I decided to experiment a bit more with some colour, so decided to bring Sleek's Del Mar Palette and managed to use the green, blue and the coral and orange shades.  I also used Urban Decay's Naked Basics palette to compliment the brighter shades and also used the dark brown and black on my brows. When I wasn't feeling too colourful I stuck with my trusty Make up Geek eyeshadows, in Peach Smoothie, Coco Bear, Creme Brule, Cosmopolitan and Mocha. For mascara, I like to bring a waterproof one as I'm one of those girls that does apply a little make up throughout the day, so waterproof is essential. I chose Maybelline's The Falsies mascara, as we all know Tanya Burr raves about it so I thought it would be a good time to try it. I liked it but I wouldn't rate it as highly as she does. 

I love a bright lip for summer but I didn't want to deal with applying lipstick and then worrying about eating and drinking at dinner, so I just used a tiny amount of Bare Minerals Go the Distance lipstick, by just dabbing it on my lips to give a slight stain of colour. 

Finally, The Urban Decay Chill setting spray came in very handy, both when setting my make up and to use just to refresh and cool me down throughout the day. 

Have you been away lately? What are your holiday make up must haves? 

HANNAH'S PROM OUTFIT AND MAKE UP

Yesterday (30th June), was my sister, Hannah's sixth form prom. I did her make up for her, but she refused to do anything with her hair as she didn't want to look "too done up," It's prom! but okay Hannah... It's funny how different sixth form prom seems to be from your end of school year 11 prom, where most girls are wearing huge dresses, curls and tiara's etc. I didn't go to my sixth form prom as I was on holiday, but it seemed like a pretty good night that I wish I had gone to, so I was glad Hannah went to hers. 

Make up

She told me that she wanted something on the darker side, so not the traditional pretty prom, glittery gold make up. We chose to use MAC's Club eyeshadow, as it's so pretty yet also kind of grungy/dark pretty. The photos really do not do it justice.  I used MAC's Painterly paint pot and then Quite natural on the lid to help intensify the Club shadow. In the crease I used Make up Geek's Peach Smoothie, Creme Brule and Cocoa Bear, to give the eye some warmth and definition. The warm red/orange shades were also a nice contrast with the green and blue in Club. I also used Make up Geek's Immortal Gel liner and Lancome star mascara, with individual eyelure lashes, which looked amazing with her already naturally long voluminous lashes, Gosh some people are just sickening aren't they?! For her brows I used Charcoal Brown Eye shadow by MAC.

For her complexion, I used Bare Minerals Brightening Primer, Bare Minerals Ready foundation, Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer and MAC's Prep and Prime Highlighter in Radiant Rose to brighten up under the eyes. I set this with MAC's Emphasize powder. To conceal any imperfections I used MAC's Studio Fix Concealer. For Powder I used Bare Minerals Mineral Veil, MAC's Give Me Sun to bronze and contour and Benefit's Coralista and Hervana blush mixed together. To highlight I used MAC's Soft and Gentle. For her lips she kept it simple and low maintenance, with Benefit's Coralista gloss, as they were eating a meal at prom and no one has time to touch up! 

Outfit

Her dress is from a concession within Topshop, you can find it here still in stock. It was £35, which is pretty reasonable for a Topshop dress and especially for prom. It has gorgeous gold glitter running underneath the floral pattern which looked so pretty in the sun light.  Her shoes were from New Look, but a while ago so probably are not longer available. Her nail varnish is Tanya Burr, New York Night, she chose a dark colour to keep with her "I don't want to look too pretty for prom" look. 

she is the worst person to take photos of as she hates having them taken so much, but I managed to get a few good ones, where she actually looks pretty happy and not like she wants to kill someone. 

Has anyone else got a prom this year? If you do I hope you have a great night!

TANYA BURR LIPGLOSS REVIEW AND SWATCHES

I hate to admit it but although I am a fan of Tanya's youtube tutorials, I wasn't exactly excited for the release of her nail varnishes and lipglosses. I like lipgloss but never really bother wearing it because I'm too lazy to touch up throughout the day. Another, I'm sorry Tanya, but I just presumed that they wouldn't be that great quality wise. I take it back, I promise! 

I narrowed it down to three shades to start off with and to try them out and see if it was worth getting more. Luckily they were on 3 for 2 at the time... I definitely did not purposely wait for this offer - okay I did. I chose Chic, Picnic in the Park and Exotic Island. All of the shades that I chose are a cream formular with no shimmer, just incredible glossy! Chic is a perfect nude shade; a beige pink shade that isn't too light on the lips but just gives the perfect finish to either a natural make up look or a heavy eye look, where you only want something subtle in colour on the lips. Picnic in the Park seems to be one of Tanya's favourites as she always seems to be wearing it. It's a pretty bubblegum, but easy to wear pink shade. Both Chic and Picnic in the PArl are the perfect 'pick me up' shades that you can easily wear if you're feeling like you're looking a little run down throughout the day or want to pretty up your make up. Exotic Island is possibly my favourite shade, as it's such a gorgeous magenta colour, with so much pigmentation. It's easy to wear in the day and would also look amazing for a more dressed up look, either as a statement lip with a more neutral eye or if you wanted something more dramatic it's still wearable enough to pair with a heavier eye. 

I was really impressed with the scent, finish and longevity of these glosses. As everyone else has said they do have the sweet strawberry scent, which seems pretty unique. Once applied on the lips they are very glossy and not sticky, yet they seem to have enough texture to feel like they wont just immediately disappear off the lips. On me, without eating or drinking much they seem to last a good few hours, with the gloss fading but the colour, especially of Exotic Island stains the lips so you are still left with the colour. They retail for £6.99, which I think for the quality and amount of product you get, is pretty good. I have compared them to a high end brand and these are far better. The high end lipgloss contained half the amount of product and only stays on the lips for about an hour and fades a little patchy. 

At first I found the applicator a little stiff to easily apply to the top lip, as it just didn't seem to be flexible enough. This doesn't bother me, it's just something I noticed, but after using them more I've got used to it. I've also noticed that 1 of my glosses is a slightly different size to the other two, the lid is longer, which is pretty strange but still, who really cares about that when it works great.

Chic 

 

     Picnic in the Park

  

   Exotic Island

I love these lipglosses and obviously now I need want more. I've got my eye on Vampire Kiss, Lets Travel the World and possibly Just Peachy, although I'm not sure if it's too light, so if you have tried it let me know! I also like Afternoon Tea and maybe Aurora... Okay lets calm down now before I list all of them. 

You can get Tanya's range from Superdrug or online at feelunique. 

                                   Which shades are your favourite?

"IT JUST HAPPENED"... MAC, TANYA BURR, KIEHL'S, NARS, LUSH, LAUREN'S WAY...

I had been pretty good at not spending much lately and using up products I already had, so I hadn't really bought much for a few months. This month I ran out of a few things and succumbed to the hype and needed to try a few other products and didn't really realise it was all adding up so much, not horrendously for most but more than I expected so it's safe to say I'll be going back to the boring world of saving money.

First, Lauren's Way had a 20% off weekend. I'm not exactly running low on fake tan but it's become the only one that really works for me so I thought I'd take advantage as I will eventually need it. I decided to try the new Rapid 60 minute tan and the Glam Tan Darker than Dark. I've only ever had the Darker than Dark foam tan before so I hope both of these are just as good if not better.

My skin has completely flipped lately and started to go from normal and very pleasant to blemish prone, sensitive and dry. I think I had some kind of reaction but I have no idea what from but it caused the skin around my eyes to go very sore and dry and the rest of my face very sensitive (eeww)? I decided to try the Kiehl's avocado eye cream as it's got such good reviews and the avocado makes it sound so soothing and nourishing, which I needed.  Luckily House of Fraser were having 10% off and I also got an extra 10% off with unidays, so I had to also order NARS Sheer Glow - obviously. I've been wanting to try it for a while now and the discounts brought it down to around £24 which seemed a tiny bit more reasonable than its normal price tag! I also got an eyeshadow from MAC called plumage, a dark green blue colour, as I'd also wanted it for a while and definitely don't have anything like it, plus I needed to spend a little more to get free postage - I'm a sucker for free postage.

Next was Superdrug. As Tanya Burr's range were 3 for 2, I had completely run out of reasons not to try them. I bought Picnic in the Park, Chic and Exotic Island for lip glosses and New York Night, Bright and Early and Peaches and Cream for nail varnishes. I'll definitely be posting a separate post showing them properly and reviewing them, so if you're interested, keep your eyes peeled! I also picked up some Ardell lashes as they were also on offer... such a bargain hunter! I was running out of moisturiser, after forcing myself to use up the hundreds that I already had, so I bought the Dove one. It smells good but I wont be repurchasing it as it has parabens in, which may or may not be bad but I'm not going to take the risk! Likewise, the Ponds cream also does, so maybe I just need to check ingredients more!

Speaking of parabens, Lush have now started to re formulate some of their products which did contain parabens, without them, yey! I really liked the Mask of Magnaminty but when I realised it contained parabens it really put me off and I wasn't going to repurchase but as it's now self preserving I just had to. I also bought the Tender is the night massage balm, which with some sniffs smells a little like old women, like really floral and not too great but in others it's quite nice... Probably would have preferred a different scent, but it's a good shape and when you're in lush you have no idea what you're actually smelling!

Are we done?! I think so.

I'm not going to do any more shopping for a while (I make no promises). Overall I saved a lot as everything I bought was on offer, apart from the Lush bits, so there's my justification.

I'll most likely be reviewing a lot of the products mentioned individually. Have you tried any of these, or different colours, scents etc?