Sephora Face Complexion Brush

Back in the summer, on one of my trips to France, I had a mental shopping list of everything that I needed wanted to buy in Sephora. Naturally, I went a little overboard and ended up buying  quite a few thing that definitely were not on my list, but were items that I was adamant I had to have. The Sephora Face Complexion Brush was one of them, and let me tell you that it really is a little gem.

I had been on the look out for a cleansing brush for a long time, but could never quite justify some of the high prices of the ones that were on my wish list. I was also a little wary of spending that much money, just in case it did absolutely nothing at all for my skin. Luckily this was only around the 6 Euro mark, so I just chucked it in my basket. 

To incorporate this into my cleansing routine, I use my regular Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm to remove the main bulk of my makeup. After this, I apply a little of my beloved La Roche Posay Effaclar Foaming Gel to my face and start to work it into the skin with this brush. It is definitely a match made in Sephora heaven. The brush helps to easily distribute the product around my face and get into all those difficult knooks and crannys, like around the nose area. It isn't at all too abrasive on my skin, which is something that I was worried about. Once I've finished, a quick rinse and it's done. I'll deep clean this once a week with my makeup brushes and it cleans like a dream. 

I'm head over heels in love with this brush and it has become a staple in my skin care routine. You can find this on the Sephora website here.

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The Popular in 2014 Post

Well hello there 2015, how quickly you came around. As I wake up this morning with tired eyes and a sore head, I thought it would be nice to reflect on 2014. The past year wasn't my best blogging year, there were some months when I didn't post at all, simply because my heart wasn't in it. However, I'm firmly back in the swing of things and can't wait for this years antics. Without further ado, here are my five most popular posts from 2014...

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel

This was one of my most favourite buys of 2014 and it has been a game changer. I wasn't surprised that this was in my most popular posts, as us beauty bloggers tend to go wild for French pharmacy product.

A Weekend In Amsterdam

Back in April I was lucky enough to go for a weekend in Amsterdam*, thanks to my Fiances job. Amsterdam is one of my most favourite destinations and I know I'll be going back for a third time sometime in the future. Travel is a huge hobby of mine, so I loved writing this post.

Makeup Revolution Make Believe Palette

Every single post about Makeup Revolution has been huge in the past year. They really have taken the beauty world by storm and have quickly become one of my favourite brands. This palette was one of the first products I had from them, and it's still a firm favourite today. If you haven't tried MR yet there are a ton of products for everyone and they're so purse friendly.

Battle of the Base: Foundation Edition

At the beginning of the year, I had a rummage through my stash and found that I had quite a few foundations. I realised that I used these all for different reasons, some being full coverage, some being natural and others being slightly different shades for summer. I decided to put them all to the test and figure out which I used the most. It was quite fun doing this post and I think Ill definitely be doing more.

Makeup Revolution I Heart Makeup Goddess of Love Highlighter

My most popular post in 2014 was for this little beauty. I'm really not surprised that this was the one that everyone loved the most. As a highlighter fiend, I added this to my collection with no hesitation and it seems that you all loved it just as much too.

So those were my most popular posts of the last year. I just want to thank you all for your continued support and I look forward to continue being a part of this lovely community.

I hope that you all had a wonderful night last, and wish you all a very Happy New Year!

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The Wedding Series #5: The Guest List

Some of you might have noticed that on my Twitter I have been extremely excited lately, and for a good reason. We have finally set a date and booked a venue for our wedding! Eeeeekkk! It's all starting to feel very real now and I am in full wedding planning mode. 

As we have quite a way to go until the date, 24th September 2016, I'm concious that it's going to come round really fast. Plenty of people have told me how quickly it is going to be here, so I'm starting to get everything together now and hopefully I'll be organised in plenty of time. I thought that today I would share my thoughts on one of the bits that I have found the most stressful and that is writing the guest list. 

After finding a venue, putting together a guest list has been without a doubt the most stressful part of planning our wedding. I have sat down to write ours and have found my mind going blank or getting half way through and being distracted. I also had to take into consideration the numbers that our venue would allow. For example, we have booked a package deal which allows us to have 60 guests, and then any extra guests on top of that have be paid for per head. This was fine with us which is why we booked this package, however, it is so easy to get a little carried away. 

Things to take into consideration:

 - Work out the number of guests that you want to invite/that your venue will allow?

- Prioritise people. As horrible as this sounds, some guests will be more important than others. Start with your immediate family and then continue from there.

- Understand that not everyone will be able to make it so set an RSVP date.

- Decide whether you will allow plus ones and children. Everyone counts towards numbers.

- Make two lists, one for your ceremony and reception, and one for your evening reception.

- Have you spoken to them in the last year? If it's a no and without good reason then do you need them at your wedding?

I'm so pleased that ours has finally been done and all that is left to do is send the invites. I've got a couple more wedding related things going on this week, so there will be more posts in the wedding series soon :)

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ELF Tone Correcting Powder in Cool

A while ago, I placed quite a large ELF order and whilst I didn't need anything in particular, curiosity got the better of me with quite a few items and this was certainly one of them. I didn't need a new ace powder by any means, but when do I ever need half the makeup items I buy?

The Tone Correcting Powder is designed to give a healthy, balanced and radiant complexion as a result of the different tones within the powder. ELF claim that the powder evens out skin tone, at the same time as giving a matte and brightened complexion. If you wanted to, you could use the colours individually to counteract different needs on the skin, for example green on and redness and yellow on dark circles. However, I find it is best to use them all together and swirl my brush around the pan. I have noticed that it does brighten my skin and reduces the appearance of my pores. My favourite thing though is that this is amazing at setting my under eye concealer! It is worth it just for that!

Having oily skin, a powder is a must for me and finding one that can keep the oil at bay is a never ending quest. I have found that whilst this does reduce the excess oil, I do need to ensure that this is in my handbag as I will need a top up after around 4-5 hours. I apply this in circular motions all over my face with my trusty Real Techniques Powder Brush, paying a little more attention to my T-Zone. When swatched, this powder can look a little grey and ashen, so I was worried that this would translate onto my face, but it actually blends out to be invisible and is less detectable than some so call 'translucent' powders.

Overall, I have enjoyed using this powder and would be tempted to buy the Warm and Shimmer versions to see how they compare. For £3.95, you really can't go wrong? You can purchase this from the ELF Website - link

Have you tried this powder? 

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This Week...#2

I have been a little bit quite on the blogging front over the past week. Truth be told, I wasn't really feeling it and didn't want to publish half hearted posts. Time has come around really quickly since my last (and first) "This Week" post, but I have to say I have been rather looking forward to writing this weeks, as I have had a very full on week. 

Went back to my hometown: Travelling back to Leeds is always something that I look forward to, whether it be for a day or a week. Been a Leeds girl born and bred, I always feel so comfortable back there, and love seeing how the city is constantly changing.

Celebrated my Dads 50th Birthday: This was my reasoning for going back home, and we had some amazing celebrations. It was so lovely to spend some quality time with my parents and brother, and catching up with old friends.

Completed my training for my new job: This has been such a long time coming! I was offered the job in the January and have only just completed the training. It has been quite stressful and difficult at times, but it has all been worth it.

Got a haircut: This isn't the most exciting thing in the world but it is a big deal to me. The last time I went to a hair salon was October last year and my hair was desperate for a trim. Having really thick hair is such a pain, but now it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Discovered new beauty favourites: I had got myself into a bit of a beauty rut and was finding it hard to get out of it. When I was packing my makeup bag to go back to my mum and dads, I made sure that I put in items that were barely used or brand new as opposed to my everyday items. It ended up working really well and  have got some new favourite items.

I've really been enjoying writing these weekly summaries, even if I do ramble on a bit. What have you been getting up to this week?

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On Wednesday, We Wear Pink

Okay, so that wasn't supposed to the title to this post, but when I realised that I was going to be posting it today and that it was pink related, it really couldn't have been anything else. Right? 

Well, on Monday I was looking through my makeup collection, trying to switch up products in my bag ready for my weekend away and for the spring season. It dawned on me that I own a lot of pink makeup products, mainly lipsticks and glosses but there were other things thrown in there too. To be really honest, I'm not sure why I own them because I never wear them. I thought that I would grab a few products and attempt to make them work for me. I was pretty pleased with what I came up with and think that my pink products are going to get a lot more lovin'.

For my base, I used my newly purchased and much loved L'oreal Lumi Magique foundation in Rose Beige and MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW20.

The eyes was where I was really worried about placing pink eyeshadow because it made me think of when I was about 12 and was in love with a very chalky and powdery eyeshadow that was the most ridiculous shade of hot pink. I used my Sephora Colour Pop-Up Makeup Store, which you can read about here. This is wonderful for any makeup look as it has all sorts of shades and finishes. You can use any other palette with pinks in, as I'm aware that you might not have this. If you wanted to purchase it, it is only available from the European Sephora website or on Ebay. I used two of the pink shades, one being more peachy and the other being a soft pink, I mixed the two and really softly applied them to the lid, so that there would be a hint of colour but nothing too much. I blended out with a neutral matte taupe and I finished with a highlight and mascara.

For my cheeks, I decided not to apply my usual bronzer as I wanted the blush to be solo. I applied MAC Fleur Power Blusher with a stippling brush to add a natural flush of colour to the apples of my cheeks.

Lips was where I knew I was going to struggle, because I had so many pinks to choose from. I ended up choosing Maybelline Colour Sensational lipstick in Fuchsia Flash. This is an extremely bright blue toned pink and it was a little much for the look I was going for. I decided to just dab it onto my lips and blend it out with my fingers to give it a toned down look.

So, that was my pink wearing post. I think I'm probably going to wear this look a little more often throughout Spring. What do you think to wearing pink?

Don't forget to enter my Blog Birthday Giveaway here :)

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Retro Makeup: 1920's Flapper Girl

At the weekend, whilst watching my current favourite TV show, Mr Selfridge, I had a little bit of a brainwave. I was thinking about my blog name and how I should have really put more thought into it when I first started. All the while, I was admiring the pretty makeup on the ladies in Mr.S and I came up with a new series. In honour of my blogs name, each week I am going to do a makup look based on different decades. I have always had a love of retro/vintage things so I'm really excited to be doing this series.

To kick things off, I have started with a 1920's Flapper Girl makeup. Before I started  did a little research into the sort of makeup that was worn in the 20's and it was quite interesting to say the least. I loved finding out about the brands that were around then and are still around now and the products that they had on the market. In fact, I really enjoyed reading about it all so I'm probably going to do a separate post on it all, to save this one from being really long. On to the make up look...

From the pictures that I saw and from the TV shows that I watched, this was the look I came up with. one thing I did notice was how bold the shades were, that were used, especially for a time when a females rights were not a high priority. The dark eyes and very red lips were what I really wanted to capture, along with the porcelain skin, something very different to my everyday look.

Products used:

Rimmel Match Perfect in 103 True Ivory. This is a few shades lighter than my normal foundation, so it worked well.

MAC Coquette Eyeshadow for my brows. 

Sleek Au Naturel Palette. Shades Toast, Regal and Noir.

Urban Decay Zero 24/7 Liner

MAC Opulash Mascara

MUA Creme Blush in Dolly

MAC Russian Red Lipstick

NYX Clear Gloss

I had so much fun doing this and really like the way it came out. I can't wait to do the other looks for this series!

Dont forget to enter my Blog Birthday Giveaway Here!

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Beauty Things I'm Bad At

Since starting this blog my beauty skills have come on leaps and bounds, as I'm sure most other bloggers have. However, there are still plenty of things that I'm pretty terrible at. No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to get myself to do these things. Maybe sharing them with you all will help me get better at them. A girl can dream! So here are the beauty things I'm bad at.

1. Looking after my cuticles.

I'll keep up to them for a few weeks and then I just leave them. Then I wonder why my manicures never look nice. No mater how much my mum tells me off for not looking after them, I will never learn.

2. Self Tanning.

Those bloody streaks! Even if a formula promises to be streak free I can guarantee it will streak on me. No amount of body scrub and moisturiser will sort me out.

3. Maintaining my brows.

I have to admit, I have got better at this but I'm still not great. I love how my brows look after getting them shaped but I just cannot pluck them myself! They grow so quickly too that I need to be able to learn to do this.

4.Sticking to my cleansing routine.

I cleanse every single day, but I did get into the habit of double cleansing most days ans using a plethora of products. However, I keep forgetting that second cleanse and my skin doesn't look great for it.

5. Washing my makeup brushes.

I do this once a week too, but I should probably do it more. I never do a daily clean using a daily brush shampoo and with the ones that are available now. It would literally take me an extra two minutes.

6. Sleeping on damp hair.

I know, I know, Slap wrists! I just can't get out of this habit. I have such thick, long hair and it takes so long to dry it properly! Need. To. Stop.

7. Not wearing lipliner.

This is something that I always forget! I know it's not a major deal but I wish I could remember as when I do, my lipstick looks ten times better!

8. Drinking water.

This is something that I'm determined to get better at! I never really drink water never mind getting the recommended daily amount. When I do drink it I feel so much better so it is something that I need to make sure I do.

9. Pedicures.

I hate doing pedicures. I just find it such a chore, and a bit of a pain to be honest. I'm hoping that I can sort this out before summer comes around and the pretty shoes are a must.

10. Sharpening liners.

Again, I know that this isn't a major deal but it is something that I do a hell of a lot! I will literally wear an eyeliner down to nothing to the point where the creamiest of liners is dragging across my eye/lips. Not good! It also means that a lot of my liners go unloved because I can never be bothered to sharpen them.

So there are the beauty things I'm bad at. I'm hoping that by writing this post I will have some motivation to get my act into gear and change some of this! Maybe I will do a follow up post in a few months to see if I have improved. 

What are your worst beauty habits?

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Spring Beauty Wishlist

Ahh Spring. The most beautiful of all seasons. I love this time of year when it feels as though we are transitioning from the cold, harsh winters and the light at the end of the tunnel is a pastel hue that just screams spring! Pretty much everything about spring pleases me, from the fashion, to the scenery and of course, the makeup. I thought I would share with you the beauty items that I've been lusting after for the up and coming spring season.

1. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Radiant Magenta

I love a bit of blusher and these blogger hyped ones are firmly on my radar. The shade that I'm lusting after the most is Radiant Magenta. I think that this shade will look really lovely throughout spring.

Link: SpaceNK £28.00

2. The New Black Nail Polish set in Cream Puff

Five pretty pastel shades that look deliciously sweet. These will look so pretty throughout spring and will complement any outfit. I know that these will definitely be adorning my manicures in the very near future.

Link: SpaceNK £20.00

3. DKNY Be Delicious City Blossom Urban Violet

Wow. That's a mouthful. I tested this little beauty out in boots a few days ago and ever since I've not been able to stop wanting to smell it. I know that might sound a bit weird, but it really is beautiful. If you've not tested this yet then go your nearest boots asap.

Link: Boots £37.00

4. Eyeko Mascara Wardrobe

In spring/summer, I like to wear a very minimal eye makeup. I prefer to add a neutral shadow, no liner and very defined lashes. I think that it gives a bit more of a wide eyed look, which is one that I favour. I think that this little set of mascaras will fit the bill just perfectly.

Link: Harvey Nichols £21.00

5. Topshop Lipstick in Peach Sundae

How cute is the name of this lipstick? I love to wear deep, vampy shades in the colder months but always look forward to the pastels and coral shades. This is just the prettiest lipstick and I'm pretty sure I don't have anything like it in my collection. This will definitely be my most worn shade once purchased.

Link: Topshop £8.00

6. Moroccan Oil

This is an all year rounder for me, but even more so in spring. I don't know about you, but I tend to do a lot more with my hair in the spring/summer months. After the cold months when my hair is constantly worn down, I like to wear it up in pretty buns and braids which can take its toll on my locks, so this treatment is a must.

Link: Feel Unique £31.85

So there we have my Spring Wishlist. I'm pretty sure that I will be adding some more items in the next few weeks. What are your spring must haves and lust afters?

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Recent Purchases!

Finally! A new blog post!

I'm finally feeling better and got round to filming my second YouTube video today. I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to share with you some of the bits and bobs that I've bought over the past few weeks. It's not too much but there are a few homey bits and some beauty items that I've been wanting to try for a while.

I'm still new to the whole YouTube and filming malarkey, but I am really enjoying it so far. I'm hoping to get better at editing though but I'm sure that will come with time.

Can't wait for the next video! You can watch my videos and subscribe to my channel here :)

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Where have I been?

Another one of those "Where have I been?" posts. I hate writing these sort of posts because they always leave me feeling a little disappointed in myself, but as I was on a roll with my posting schedule, I thought it would be fair to just give you a little update.

Last week I started with an almighty cold which doesn't go very well in hand with my asthma. I was feeling a little under the weather but still felt well enough to continue with my everyday activities. Then as the days went on, I started to feel much worse so took a trip to the doctors to be told I had a chest infection. Great. I was prescribed antibiotics but after 5 days these had no effect and I was actually feeling a lot worse. Another trip to the doctors and I found out I had a severe viral infection which had deprived me of sleep. This has been making my anxiety become much more frequent, mainly because I don't really deal with illness very well and because I have just been so tired. 

I'm starting to feel much better now and I'm very much looking forward to getting back into the blogging routine. I've been more disappointed that I haven't been able to keep up with my YouTube channel as I've only posted one video on there so far and was really looking forward to doing some more uploads. I promise that I will get back into the swing of things very soon!

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RL on YouTube!

It's finally happened! I put myself on YouTube! After watching a lot of my favourites on there for a while, and seeing some of my most loved bloggers enter the video world, I thought it was about time that I did too! I'm hoping that I will love filming videos as much as I do blogging, and that it will be something that becomes a big part of my life. At the minute, I don't have great lighting or a great editing software bud I've tried my best with it, and hopefully I will learn more long the way :)

I would love it if you could show my channel some loving and subscribe, which you can do here :) 

If you're on YouTube, feel free to leave your links/channel names below and I'll subscribe. I love finding new favourites on there :)

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