Five Favourites (August)

My first favourite is the First Aid Beauty Daily Face Cream. It's oil free and light weight (it says so on the bottle). It soaks into my skin leaving it feeling moisturised but not greasy. I was trying to find something in the drug store which was more affordable and easier to get hold of, but nothing was as good as this baby. It's definitely a staple of mine now.

Well if you were around a few posts ago you will already know the love I have for The Body Shops Instablur. If you didn't click HERE where I explain everything. It's a must have for those with oily skin.

I have had this Sleek blush in Suede for a while. It's an old favourite of mine which has found its way back out of my stash and back into my everyday makeup routine. It just gives me the most natural blush I could ask for. Sleek blushes are amazing, very pigmented and very affordable (£4.49).

I have also spoken about this MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 foundation in a previous post. If you want to find out more about it click HERE, but in short; I love it, it's oil free and gives me great coverage.

Now for my food favourite. If you didn't know already, I went to Paris earlier this month (click HERE for blog posts on that) and while I was there I came across my favourite childhood biscuits. BNBN's! I bought a few packets home, my favourites are the strawberry ones but they are now all finished (hence there is no photograph). If anyone knows where I can buy them in the UK please let me know in the comments! I would be eternally grateful :)

I hope you liked this post! I will be back again soon :)

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The Beauty Blogger Tag

Nobody actually tagged me.. but I thought I would do the beauty blogger tag so you can get to know me a bit more :)

1. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?

I have naturally curly hair and I never know what to do with it!

2. What is your natural hair colour?

My hair is brown with a little bit of blonde.

3. Do you dye it yourself or go to a salon?

I have never died my hair and I don't think I ever will. One time I was going to die it dark brown. My mums friend told me I wouldn't get my natual hair colour back so I decided against it.

4. How often do you wash your hair?

It depends on how I want to wear it. Usually every three to four days.

5. Do you wear the same style every day or change it?

The way I style my hair is pretty basic. It's either up or down.

6. Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to a salon?

I usually do my own.. but sometimes I do enjoy taking a trip to the salon.

7. How often to you change your nail polish?

With work I can't really do much with my nails, but I always like to have my toes painted. I just paint them whenever they need to be redone!

8. Do you polish your toes in the winter, too or just in the summer?

Both.. but more so in the summer. I can't stand unpainted toe nails in sandals. 

9. How long does it take to put on your makeup?

On a day to day basis I would say about 20 minuits? Well I hope it doesn't take me any longer than that!

10. What do you do first? Face or eyes?

Face. I find it easier to visualise my final look when I do my base first… 

11. Do you "collect" makeup or just buy what you need when you need it?

A bit of both really… but I definitely buy stuff with the intention of using it.

12. How often do you wear false eyelashes?

I have never worn false lashes.. I haven't a clue on how to put them on. It looks too fiddly.

13. Do you do a full face of makeup every day?

Not every day. Only when I'm going out.

14. Do you wear makeup when you are home alone (or with family)?

No way. I like to give my skin time to just be itself.

15. Will you leave the house without makeup?

Yeah, but only if I'm running errands locally or going to see family or something.

16. How many high end products do you have?

I don't have tuns of makeup.. but I have never counted my high end products. I have some MAC, Urban Decay, Bobbie Brown, Lipstick Queen, Benefit, Smashbox, Nars, Estée Lauder.....

17. How often do you wash your makeup brushes?

I was hoping this question wouldn't be in here. The answer is.. not often enough. I just wash them as and when I need to really.

18. Do you plan your OOTD every night or decide when you are getting dressed?

Sometimes the night before if I'm trying to be organised. Most of the time I'm throwing clothes around my room that morning.

19. How often do you change your handbag?

It depends on what I am carrying etc. But I usually stick to the same one until I get bored of it.

20. What time do you get up & go to sleep?

It varies. Most of the time I sleep in the early hours of the morning. That will change when I go back to uni though.

21. How often & when do you workout?

I joined the gym this summer and went to the gym about five times. I know. I am dissappointed in myself too!

22. Left-handed or Right-handed?

Right-handed.

23. How tall are you?

5'3"

24. Do you speak a foreign language?

I wish I could say yes, but no :(

25. How many pets do you have?

I have a dog called Bonnie :)

26. How often are you on Blogger?

Everyday.

27. Do you read the comments posted on blogs?

Sometimes. I always read the comments people leave on my blog though! <3

28. Do you keep a list of products to try as you see other posts?

Yeah I do. Usually the ones I really want to try just stick with me though.

29. How did you come up with your blog name?

I just put the two words of what I wanted to write about together and voila!

30. What kind of camera do you use for photographs?

I have the Cannon 600D.

31. How often do you clean your house? (Daily, weekly, other)

Other. Hahaa.

32. What is your favourite colour?

Oo. I'm not sure atm to be honest. I quite like purply pinky plumb colours though.

33. What is your favorite beauty/fashion magazine?

I haven't read a magazine in ages! I heard Company magazine is good for bloggers, so I'm thinking about starting to read that :)

34. Do you swear?

Sometimes.

35. What are you doing with the rest of your day?

I just got back from work. So I will be relaxing for the rest of the night!

I tag Sam from Beautifie and Farzana from Text Book Beauty to do this post. I also tag anybody else reading who wants to do it!

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A New Foundation

Finding a foundation is difficult. Well it is for me and my oily skin. I went around to quite a few counters; Bobbie Brown, Estée Lauder, Chanel and MAC, and I collected some testers. What I really liked about the testers I was given, is the fact there was enough product in there for me to test out the foundation over a few days, so I could make up my mind about whether I would buy it or not. I would definitely recommend doing this, as much as it can be a long process. There is nothing worse then spending money on a high end foundation and then deciding you don't like it.

In the end I decided to buy the MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 in the shade NC40. It gives a satin/matt finish, it's oil free and gives a medium to full coverage. Before I use this foundation I always apply the Body Shop Instablur to prime my face, and finish up with the Soap and Glory's One Heck of a Blot Transparent Powder. I love the finish.

It was £21.50 and I had to pay a further £4 for the pump. I know, it's a pet peeve of mine when you have to buy the pump separate too... but it was worth it.

My favourite way to apply this foundation is by using my Sigma Duo Fibre F50 brush. I have never used something like this to apply my foundation before... but I am loving it. The quality is great, it's really soft and I haven't had any problems with shedding.

I find the best way to apply my foundation (one pumps worth) is to add little blobs around my face (e.g. cheeks, forehead, nose and chin) and then blend it all in with this brush. I have tried putting it onto the back of my hand and dipping the brush into it.. however that makes the foundation come on too thick!

If you have oily skin let me know what your favourite foundation is and the way you apply it in the comments! :)

Thanks for reading! I'll be back with another post soon.

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The Natural Look

Lets face it, we can't all always paint our nails with fancy colours and patterns. Whether it's because A. we don't have time or B. it's not practical for work.

I recently had acrylic nails, so now my nail bed is very thin and doesn't look to great. So instead of just going for a clear nail polish, I have been gravitating towards 'peach manicure' by Natural Collection. It has a hint of pink which gives my nails a healthy look. It dries really quickly and was really affordable (£2 or £3). So for that, you can't really go wrong.

InstaBlur

A life changer, yep, that is how I would describe 'Instablur' by The Body Shop. Whether you choose to wear it with or without makeup, it takes the shine away. It's the only product I have tried so far which has made me feel somewhat "normal" by preventing me from looking like I've smothered my face in oil... It's now a holy grail of mine.

I use an oil free moisturiser and then I apply 'Instablur' to my T-Zone area. I even use this on no makeup days because it saves me from being embarrassed about my shiny face! It is clear, so can be used on any skin tone and is said to be a "5-action perfector".

What it claims:

Shine control 12h- Although it claims to do many things shine control is the one that stands out most to me. I can get about 8-10 hours shine control, depending on what I am doing. I don't mind having to top up my powder towards the end of the day.

Reduces appearance of pores- This product has a silicone consistency so it sinks into the pores and makes the skin feel smooth.

Blemish hiding- There are some blemishes this product can't completely hide, but over all it does give my skin a smoother finish.

Complexion unifying- Instablur smooths over the skin helping to make your base look flawless and well put together.

Makeup extending- Even though I have oily skin I haven't really experience my makeup not lasting. So I don't feel I can comment on this.

Overall I would give this product a 5/5 and I would highly recommend it to those with oily skin.

Thank you for reading, I will be coming back with another blog post very soon!

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My Trip to Paris | Part Three

The day of the The Eiffel Tower!

I love the way carousels look. They're so decorative and pretty.

Riven Seine. You may recognise this view from part one of my trip to Paris. It's beautiful!

I couldn't actually fit the queue in one photograph... but we were in it for 2 hours!!! So you can only imagine how long it was. (If you're planning on going to Paris I'd advise you book your tickets for The Eiffel Tower in advance!) On the plus side- the tickets were also really affordable.

We 'only' went to the second floor because when we got to the desk, the top floor was closed for a short time. We were told we could buy tickets for the top once we got to the second floor. Once we got to the second floor, I started to feel a little scared and decided the second floor was high enough for me! Haha. I know, I'm a chicken.

All the queuing was well worth it in the end, and the fact we were 'only' on the second floor was fine because the views were still amazing!

 To conclude our day, it made sense to go back to the place we were sure to get some good food!

This post is the last of 'My Trip to Paris'. I hope you enjoyed having a look at what I got up to! I had an amazing time and really enjoyed spending some quality time with my Mum and little sister.

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My Trip to Paris | Part Two

We headed to the Love Lock Bridge. I enjoyed seeing it and locking our locks of love to it. It came with three keys, so we all threw one each into the river and made a wish.

... and we saw this guy. Who demanded money off me after I took his photograph.. Hahaa! Cheeky.

The Louvre museum is right next to the Love Lock Bridge.

Here is my little sister (Hannah), my mum and I.. I think this may have be the only photograph we had taken which wasn't a selfie. (Oh.. Excuse my hair.. Blowing in the wind again).

I saw the Mona Lisa is real life! It's not the best photo of it in the world but the crowd of people who were itching to see it made it quite difficult to get a good shot.. I also took a selfie with it! As you do.

This chair looks cool.. I want one!

It was so grand inside.

We were exhausted after being on our feet all day, so we finished our day off at an Italian restaurant. Yes, I know.. terrible seeing as we were in france. It was delicious though!

The last part (part three) of my time in Paris will be coming in a couple of days. I hope you're enjoying what I got up to so far! If you missed part one then just click here.

My Trip to Paris | Part One

As you may or may not know, I went to Paris with my Mum and little sister, Hannah. So I wanted to share what I got up to with a series of blog posts. Hopefully if you're going to Paris this will give you some idea's of things to do and places to visit!

On our day of arrival we didn't really do much. We were all completely worn out. We ended up at a restaurant and then went back to our hotel and crashed out. So I've skipped day one. 

Avenue Des Champs-Élysées.

Arc De Triomphe.

The ceiling of Arc De Triomphe. Beautiful.

Yes! I finally got to go into a Sephora. The store was PACKED and it was so overwhelming, so I didn't buy anything which was a little disappointing at the time.

Heres my Mum trying out some YSL mascara (she doesn't usually wear makeup, but she really liked it).

We stopped for crepes with nutella, yummy!

The Eiffel Tower! I'm not gonna lie, I got so excited when I saw it for the first time! I really felt like I was in Paris.. Haha.

The River Seine.

This little blue cart looked cool.. So I photographed it.. Haha.

On this night we decided to go on a boat cruise down River Seine. We really enjoyed it and it wasn't expensive either.

Excuse my hair blowing in the wind. Heres a photo of my little sister and I.

Later that night we went and ate at a restaurant called Indiana. We didn't just appreciate the food.. we also appreciated that we were able to read and understand the menu!

I hope you enjoyed what I got up to so far. Part two will be coming soon. Click here if you would like to see some more photos on my instagram.

P.S. Also, please like my new facebook page! <3