#3 What's on my nails?

Hey Everyone,

Two blogs in one day - gosh, I'm spoiling you guys! (Or I'm still procrastinating!) I just had to show you my new nail polish which I bought in the sale a few days ago - I'm obsessed with it!

This is Illamasqua's Nail Varnish in the colour Speckle. Isn't that so cool? I'd read reviews that these nail varnishes weren't very opaque - and I totally disagree. The standard two coats worked just fine for me! 

This effect is just so unique and the pastel lilac is a nice change from my usual darker nail varnishes. 

I was able to get this shade in the sale in Selfridges and I would definitely recommend this if you can still get your hands on one!

I hope you enjoyed this (short) post and have a lovely evening! 

Emma

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#1 Face of the Day

Hey Everyone,

I hope you all are well and all had a fantastic christmas! I feel as though I'm always making excuses for my lack of blogs - but again, I'm sorry for lack of regularity; I have been skiing and at home with my family (that's a good enough excuse - right?) Also, warning in advance, my posts won't be back to normal until my exams are finished in January! However, we all know what revision is like and I am the Queen of Procrastination :P So, I'm hoping to put up a few odd blogs here and there! 

Let's get started! As, you can probably guess I had a bit of make up given to me over Christmas so I wanted to do a look which shows a few bits that I got :)

So, as you can see this look is pretty much the same as what I do everyday! You will also notice that I dyed my hair! Yay! I've wanted this colour for sooooo long and I love it so much! 

I haven't included all my make up in this photo - just the new editions to my collection.

Starting on the left - I managed to grab these super cute Shu uemura "S-curler" in the Selfridges beauty sale; they are really awesome as they allow you to curl every single lash! Only down side is that it takes slightly longer to curl!

Further along the top there is the Giorgio Armani Maestro fusion make up - I've had my eye on this foundation for a long time and I finally caved! Except a review coming soon!

Next, there is the Dr Lipp original nipple balm for lips. I decided to try this cult product after my friend Allie (Living life in Docs) recommended it to me, after she had it as a sample in a birch box :P So far I like it - slightly on the thicker side though but it is very moisturiser for the lips.

Below that, there is the Alexa Chung for eyeko set; which I am in love with! The mascara really lengthens my lashes and doesn't move all day -  but is surprisingly easy to remove! Then the eyeliner is really great - it stays on all day and like the mascara, is easy to remove. But what I really love about it is that it doesn't make my eyelashes crispy after applying it! 

On the bottom line; there is this super cute butterfly box :D Just the packaging makes me happy! From this set from Paul and Joe, I used the lilac powder eyeshadow shade in the certain of the eye (to tie in the purple in my hair :P!) It is a very subtle shade - that adds just a hint of shimmery lilac; this will brighten up my eyes.

Then finally, saved the best until last, I was lucky enough to receive the NARS eye and cheek palette in At first sight. This palette is stunning and I love that all the shades are extremely wearable. For today, I used the bottom left eyeshadow shade in the crease and the top left shade to highlight the inner corner. 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the blush I used! I used Illamasqua's Powder blush in Hussy - these blushes are extremely pigmented, so you only need the smallest amount! 

I'd love to know what make up goodies you got for Christmas! Please comment below :P

I hope you enjoyed this post and you are having a lovely day!

Emma 

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First impressions: Glam Glow Youth Mud Treatment

Hey Everyone,

Today I'm going to be talking about my first impressions of a product that I have been wanting to try for a long time! As the title gave away it is the Glam Glow Youth Mud Treatment!

Can we just take a second to admire the box! I know that sounds strange but the box itself feels very luxurious (going well with the product inside!)  

There is just so much attention to detail - which I love; especially as you are paying a lot for the product! The box is also slightly textured - kinda rubbery! 

So, the product itself comes in this very chic little metal tub :D! Which is really cute and feels (again) excellent quality! The only downside to this product is just how small it is! Fifteen grams for £25! That doesn't sound a lot! However, I have used it now 4 times and I have only just dented the top! You really don't need a lot of product for it to do the job :) 

So, with that in mind, this size is ideal for those of you who travel a lot :)

There is quick look at the product itself - doesn't look very appealing. However, I really like the smell; it smells like a spa :P 

I like the fact it comes with a stopper - I caution you to be careful with this; as I lost mine down the sink :(

Here is a picture of it on my face for the first time! 

As soon as I had smoothed the tiniest amount over my entire face, my skin started to tingle and warm (slightly). At first, it was pretty much colourless and I thought I had not applied enough. But within a minute it started to grey in areas and almost white in others! Apparently, this is to show that the product is working and the grey patches show you that the masque is pulling all the grime out of your skin! Which is pretty cool!

After a few minutes I couldn't really move my face and it was completely dry in 6! The small flakes in the masque act as an exfoliate; so when you remove it my skin felt super clean and cleansed! 

I honestly didn't really feel an instant difference - other than that my skin felt really clean! But in the morning it had brought out all my under-the-skin spots :(. However, once those had gone my skin felt tighter and brighter :D! And I guess the spots show that the masque had worked in cleaning my skin of dirt! I reckon with continued use this masque could improve my blemish prone skin!

Final note, this masque is perfect for my combination skin so I don't find it too drying! However, if you have a dryer skin type - I would suggest a masque that doesn't remove so much of your natural oils! 

So - is it worth the money? I would say yes! It is the most clarifying masque I've ever used, and I've used it 4 times now and my skin is loving it! I reckon as well - because you only need the tiniest amount, that my 15g pot will last me a very long time! So making it worth the money (in my eyes anyway!) It adds a bit of luxury once a week to my skincare routine! 

I hope you enjoyed this post and are having a lovely day!

Emma 

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Meeting Vivianna does make up and Lily Pebbles!

Hey Everyone,

Today's post is all about my trip to London (again!), but this time I went to the Kiehl's meet up and met Anna (Vivianna does make up) and Lily (Lily Pebbles). I can't believe I just typed that! I have been reading their blogs forever and watching their videos for longer! It honestly felt like meeting old friends :P - they were such lovely girls to meet! 

I just like to say a huge thank you to Anna and Lily for doing the meet up, and to Kiehl's for holding the event! The evening was awesome - I particularly enjoyed the 20% off  and that lovely elder flower beverage that was being served :P (easily pleased!)

So, I traveled to London with my best friend Allie (Living Life in Docs), leaving Brighton station just in time to catch our train! 

We arrived in Covent Garden and we were starving! So, naturally we searched for a near by Starbucks - I swear we are like homing pigeons to that place! 

Of course I got my holiday favourite Turkey feast panini, and I branched out and got the Orange Mocha (tastes like liquid chocolate orange with caffeine!)

We made a quick stop at Space NK before the event, and made the error of testing the Hour Glass Mineral Veil Primer :O! It's beautiful! Allie had to drag me out before I spent all my money! 

When we arrived at Kiehl's the excitement was over-whelming! I think my phrase was "I'm going to wee myself with excitement!" Thankfully I did not :P 

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take many pictures at the event :( I was preoccupied getting my skin consultation from the lovely Jillian, and purchasing some Xmas pressies for my boyfriend and sister.  

There are three reasons I love Kiehl's: 1) The staff are always so helpful and friendly 2) The products are amazing and 3) They always give you loads of samples of their amazing products! :D

And at this event they delivered this and more! Even as I write this blog I have already tried 5 of their samples (review coming soon) and enjoying the lovely scent of the Patchouli and Fresh Rose Body Lotion! 

As, I said I did do some Xmas shopping at the event, but I also couldn't not indulge in a product for myself (with the 20% off!) So, I did! I've tried this amazing treatment before, and put off buying it as it is pretty pricey. But as the event was on, I thought why not!! :P 

And I used it last night and it truly is wonderful. My skin this morning feels really pampered! 

After, the event, Allie and I went on a little adventure around London. We went to M&M world (which I had never been to), Hamley's and Liberty. 

I had an amazing evening, and again thank you to those mentioned for making it happen!

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a lovely day!

Emma

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Using new MAC products!

Hey Everyone,

If any of you are like me, in the sense that, as soon as you buy a new make up product you HAVE to try it! This is what this post is about - I bought these MAC products (See London Haul) and I had to make a look with them!

This is the completed look - pretty simple nothing out of the ordinary for me. This could be a day look for me or an evening look, though for an evening look I'd pair with a stronger lip.

The new products used were MAC's Sketch and Carbon eyeshadow, with Pro Long wear Foundation (NC15).

I used my normal priming technique, then blended carbon and sketch into the crease really softly (could be built up for more drama). I lined my eyes as usual, using the Stila stay all day waterproof liquid liner in intense black.

I absolutely love these two colours! Carbon is a staple (being a matte black) and can intensify any eye look. Sketch is a wonderful redy tone plum :) which is perfect for the winter season! 

The foundation I have always loved as it lasts so well on my skin and photographs well too! :) 

I hope you enjoyed this look and have a lovely day!

Emma 

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London Haul!

Hey Everyone,

This is going to be my first haul post! So, I don't do big shopping hauls very often - I normally accumulate lots of things over a period of time! (Poor student!) But as I was in London, I thought "Why not?" :P

Here we go - first stop was MAC :)

I love MAC products - and these three products have been on my MAC wishlist for a long time! Firstly, I bought Pro Long wear Foundation (NC15), I've never owned this before but I had tried it many times (from my sister!) I also bought two pan eyeshadows - Carbon and Sketch.







Next stop was Space NK, another shop I'm obsessed with :P There are so many things I want to try out, but when I saw they stocked the Glam Glow Youth mud Treatment - I had to get it! This has been talked about a lot on the internet and I caved! A full review will be posted soon on this!



















Also made a stop at Muji where I bought two of their tinned candles! Winter berry and Black tea, and Cinnamon and Mandarin -  both to me are awesome winter scents! I also bought a small notebook - for blog writing purposes :P










Finally, in a moment of weakness at the train station, I stopped at Lush. I had planned to wait until I got home to purchase these, but I bought some Xmas presents and decided I'd get something for myself too. I got the Melting Snowman Bath Melt (which I had last year and loved it!!) and the new Santa's Lip scrub which smells amazing!



I hope you enjoyed this post and have a lovely day!

Emma
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The Countdown has begun...

Hey Everyone,

This post is to get everyone excited about CHRISTMAS!!! Around this time of year, I honestly turn into one big kid :P and I just get sooooo excited for Xmas Day! :D 

Here is a picture of me yesterday, getting ready to open the first window of my advent calendar! :D (I know this picture makes it look like I'm not wearing a top but I am!) I not only have that advent calendar - I have 3! 

And it is time to get out your Xmas Jumpers, yay!!

I ended up picking this one from Boohoo - which I just think is great! :D Not only is it a gorgeous forest green but it also has a quote from one of the best Xmas movies of all time! (Do you know which one?)  

More pictures of my feet! I decided to paint them a nice festive metallic red from Butter London called "Knees Up". I just feel so Christmas-y! :D

Then, finally, I have started burning a festive smelling candle in my room! :) (You know I love candles!) 

Cinnamon and Mandarin - smells like Xmas is coming people!

I'd love to know what you guys do to start feeling festive! Let me know in the comments! :D


I hope you enjoyed this post and have a lovely day!

Emma
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Trip to London!!

Hey Everyone,

I hope you are all well and enjoying your weekend :)! So, as you can tell from the title of this post I went to London yesterday! I love London (especially the shopping!) and I just wanted to share my trip with you :)

I had a very early start so I could catch my train, which left at 7:49 a.m.! But I had enough time to take a quick picture of my outfit and make up.
Firstly, I'm wearing my leather jacket from River Island (which I mentioned in my Investment series), Top Shop cardigan and Snood from French Connection. My top and jeans are also from Top Shop (Leigh jeans). Finally, my boots are from Levis.
I curled my hair with my curl formers, which I slept in over night :)!
My make up I kept pretty simple and won't go into too much detail. I'll just say what is on my eyes: Kiko Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow in 06 and I used Urban decays Dark horse eyeshadow (from the original Naked Palette) in the crease. Then, as usual, I draw my cat flick with Stila stay all day waterproof liquid liner in intense black. Finally, for mascara, I layered two to make them extra full and long lasting. Using Clinique's high impact mascara in black and over the top of that I used Maybelline's the Rocket Volume Express mascara in waterproof.

After, shopping (haul coming up!) we went to Belgos in Covent Garden for lunch! I love muscles, and I had with chips and a peach flavoured beer! 

The show was amazing! Jude Law was good live - very surreal seeing such a famous actor in the flesh! (:P). 

Overall, I had a wonderful day and I am so grateful to my parents for taking my sister and I!

I hope you enjoyed the post and have a lovely day!

Emma

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#1 What's on my feet?

Hey Everyone,

I hope you are all well and all had a lovely weekend! Today's (late post - sorry!) is going to be a similar concept to my "What's on my nails?" series, just this is what is on my toes nails! :) So if you don't like feet then you may wish to turn away from this lovely photo below!

Sorry for the state of my feet - I have had this nail polish on for a bit now :/ I am wearing Clinique's red red red (07). This is one of my fave reds of the moment and it shall be used greatly over the Christmas season! It is extremely pigmented, one coat will do you but I always do two just for longevity purposes! Then as always I used my Sally Hansen Double Duty as a base and top coat :)

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a lovely evening!

Emma
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Tricks to brighten your face!

Hey Everyone,

Today's post is going to be some tips and tricks to get that fresh faced look (which we all crave on those early mornings!) 

Okay, when I said brightening I didn't mean that bright! Photo on the right seems more realistic :) A bright and fresh looking face can make all the difference to how you feel and how you appear to others. We all have those days when your face needs a good pick me up! 

The most important aspects of the face to get right are the skin and the eyes! Start with your regular foundation and don't skip out on concealer. This will make tired eyes look not so tired. 

Now the fun bit - I started by priming my eyes with MAC's paint pot in soft ochre. Then to set that, I would recommend using a matte neutral shade all over the lid (Walk of shame - third along from the left in the Urban decay Naked basics palette). Remember nothing too strong in the crease as we want to open the eyes - I used a bit of Naked 2 (same palette fourth along from the left) for a bit of definition. Then, to highlight the inner corner, I used a bit of Virgin (first shade in the palette). 

Now for eyeliner - you don't have to do this step, but a bit of black liner on the top lash line really helps to make your eyes look bigger! I flicked mine but that's just me (I used Stila's stay all day waterproof liquid eyeliner in intense black). For the final touch, I took my NYX Jumbo eye pencil in Milk to use in the waterline, if you find that white is too harsh for you, swap it for a fleshy tone pencil instead. 

Finally, we have to show the skin some love! I would suggest using a nice pretty pink blush - I used the Daniel Sandler Watercolour fluid blusher in the shade Cherub. This leaves the skin with a very natural flush and then to finish off, I used some highlighter! What better way to brighten the face than with some the Balm Cosmetics Mary-Lou Manizer. Just make sure to blend with your fingers or used foundation brush to make every thing seamless!

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a lovely day,

Emma
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Brushes that do the work for you!

Hey Everyone,

This post is going to be all about make up brushes! So day to day, I see people who have put too much blush on or their eye shadow isn't blended properly etc. This can be easily fixed with the tools you use! I know there is a saying, "A good artist doesn't blame his/her tools!" But in terms of make up - I don't think this is the case. The brushes I am going to mention today, literally changed my life!  

From the top - down

*Louise Young LY34* *Real techniques contour brush* *MAC 217*

I honestly believe if you invest in any one of these brushes - it will will make application of products so much easier! You really can be your own make up artist!

Louise Young LY34 - this isn't called the "Super foundation" for nothing! It makes foundation application so quick and easy. Does all the blending and placement for you! As far as price goes, £24.00,  it is worth every penny and will last you a very long time!

Real techniques contour brush - This brush is sold as part of the core collection, which also includes the buffing brush, foundation brush, detailer brush (£21.99). All these brushes are also amazing but the contour brush really stands out for me! I think this is the best brush for newbies to contouring; as it is a nice rounded shape which means it will blend the contour in seamlessly. No awkward lines here! And it can be used for application of blush! 

MAC 217 - I felt that this brush deserved to go last....this brush makes blending eye shadows a joy! It seriously does all the work for you! I love it so much I have two! For £18.00, yes some may think that is pricey for an eye shadow brush but trust me it is worth it! Blending becomes effortless and makes any eye look instantly more professional.  

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a lovely day!

Emma

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Review: L'Oreal Paris New Nude Magique Eau Teint

Hey Everyone,

I hope you are all well! I'm super sorry for my absence the past week and a half...I have been up to my eye balls with uni work and general life. Too busy to blog (for shame!) Hopefully I'm back now for a while and I will try and give you regular posts! But first a quick update - I now have a JOB!!! Yay! I had been looking for work for almost 3 months! And finally the lovely people at Primark Brighton decided to give me a break! Just feel like such a weight has been lifted :P That's enough about me....

It universally known that I am a self-proclaimed beauty snob! It's true! I didn't used to be - until I began to try more expensive products. So, I am hoping that with this blog, that it will encourage me to branch out and try (and review) more affordable products.

So, as shown in the title, I will be reviewing L'Oreal Paris New Nude Magique Eau Teint. This product has already been talked about a lot in the beauty community. It appears to be loved by many! I am still on the fence. I seem to have a love hate relationship with this foundation. N.B. I have combination skin, prone to break outs in my chin and nose area.

I've been wearing it on and off now for 2 weeks. I wear the shade 100 Porcelain - the colour match is pretty good for my extremely light skin (as you can see from the photos below), however, the colour range is limited. My first impressions were it has a very light weight feel on the skin and has a very runny (watery) consistency. This is why it recommends to shake the bottle before use. It then dries to a powder-like finish and the coverage is light. I found that the best way to apply this was with my hefty LY34 foundation brush from Louise Young. I did not like using my fingers as it felt greasy and did not blend well. The only issue with application I really have is the bottle design - if you aren't careful when pouring there is the potential for a lot of wasted product.

The finish is very natural, semi-matte. This is what first encouraged me to try this foundation, as I love foundations that can control the oil on my face. Overall, it does do this - for the first 5-6 hours of wear time. If I didn't powder, then I could definitely see it wearing away around my nose.

This is one of the issues I have with high street foundations - there staying power never seems as good as higher end brands. This is why I disagree with this idea that this foundation is a dupe for the Giorgio Armani maestro foundation. I have only tried GA once, but it's staying power was a lot better and felt more matte on the skin, so did not end up looking greasy. To the right, is a picture after 6 hours wear time, with a powder touch up. Another note, this foundation did not break me out (which was nice) and is removed easily with a regular cleanser.  

  

Obviously, I don't know how it would be on dryer skin types but I would recommend trying it out in the shops. In conclusion, I'm not totally disappointed with this £6.99 (normal price £9.99) foundation and I'm sure I will continue using it. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a lovely day! 

Emma

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#3 Is it worth the investment?

Hey Everyone,

So, it's time for another installment of "Is it worth the investment?" I'll link the first one that explains the series. Today's post is going to be on watches! So a nice short one...

So this is my baby - my Micheal Kors! It is the MK-576; it has rose gold and silver detailing. As you can tell (by me calling it "my baby") I definitely think this is an item worth investing in! And just watches in general. I think once you get into the habit of wearing one it becomes a must :P They also make an awesome accessory to any outfit!

I would say a definite "YES" to investing in a nice watch which can be worn day or night.

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a lovely day!

Emma

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Autumn Look!

Hey Everyone,

So, I got a make up look for you today! I love the warm and redy brown tones that are always big this time of year. I made this look wearable for the day as it puts some excitement into a standard everyday look! Doing your make up in the morning shouldn't be a chore - it should be a pleasure!

You'll have to excuse my eyebrows - they are becoming a tiny bit crazy (may be due a tidy up soon!) As you can see it is pretty simple and clean. But I'm still rocking my feline flick, which you all know I love! But instead of the liner being black, I actually used my Bobbi Brown Long-wear Gel Eyeliner in Caviar Ink (27) which is a blackened brown shade. This I think makes a nice change and it ties in all those lovely warm browns I use as shadow.

I used pretty much all MAC eye shadows from my palette - I used Brule all over the lid, Mulch all through the crease and over the top of Mulch I used a bit of Cranberry (just to give it a wash off that gorgeous redy shade). Then, finally popped a bit of Espresso right in the outer corner and some of Urban decays Virgin (from the Naked Palette) in the inner corner. I made sure this was all blended nicely using my MAC 217.

The lips are very simple - lined with MAC's lip liner in Subculture, Tom Ford lip stick Blush Nude (which I mentioned in my Autumn Lipsticks), with Buxom Cream Gloss in White Russian over the top.

I better mention the skin - I used L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint (a review will be coming soon!) and for the rest see my everyday make up routine.

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a lovely day!
Emma
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