Sunday, 31 August 2014

My Travel Make Up Bag 2014

As you all know, I went on holiday to Devon for a week with my family a few weeks ago, so I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek into the make up it took away with me. 

Base
I took my Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation which you all know I love, for when I wanted a medium coverage and my Avon CC cream which has a SPF of 50 for if I was going to be at the beach or if I was going to be out in the sun all day and didn't want to wear too much make up. 
For concealer I took my Soap and Glory Kick Ass concealer and my Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch for under my eyes and my Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer for if I got any spots and needed something a bit more heavy duty  - luckily I didn't have to use it! 
I chose my Rimmel Stay Matte powder to set it all in place. 

Cheeks
For cheeks I took two of my Revlon Photoready cream blushes, the pink one is the shade Flushed and the coral is the shade Coral Reef. 
I took my Bourjois "chocolate" bronzer and Sleek Contour and blush palette for bronzing/contouring and highlighting (I didn't use the blush) and my Sleek Blush by 3 palette in the shade Lace as another blush option. 

Eyes
For my brows I use the shade Cappuchino from my Sleek Au Natural Palette which is the Mac Omega-esque shade (3rd from the right on the top row). I then set them with my Maybelline Brow Drama. I took my lash curlers, my Maybelline The Rocket Mascara and my Rimmel Scandleyes eyeliner in nude for my waterline. 
Lips
I took my Tanya Burr lipgloss in Picnic in the Park which is my fave shade EVER but unfortunately whilst I was on holiday, the tube broke which left me super disappointed as I couldn't use it! I miss it so much! I took two of my Revlon lip butters in the shades Sorbet and Juicy Papaya. My orange lip option was the Bourjois lip crayon in Orange Punch and my red lip option was the Revlon Matte Balm in Striking. I took my Maybelline Colour Sensational gloss in Cashmere Rose, my Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch and finally my MUA bright pink lipstick. That's a lot of lip products! 

Brushes


L-R, Real Techniques buffing brush, random Hello Kitty blush brush, RT blush brush, unknown brand blush brush
L-R, eyebrow brush from eBay set, RT base shadow brush, RT powder brush, small blush brush used for highlighter from Superdrug own brand set. 
L-R, RT deluxe crease brush, bellapierre cosmetics no. 35 eyeshadow brush, angled brush from Superdrug, RT contour brush. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing the make up I took on holiday with me. I definitely didn't need all of it and did take quite a lot but I did use most of it. Thanks for reading, Chloe xx

August Favourites



Books
I have two book favourites for August, the first is Past Secrets by Cathy Kelly. This book is about not letting your past define you or keep you from living in the here and now. It is an uplifting, inspiring book with a touch of magic. I'm definitely going to read more from Cathy Kelly.

My second book favourite is The Teashop on the Corner By Milly Johnson. Milly is my favourite author ever and I saved this book to read when I was on holiday. It is about a few very different people who meet and make friends in 'The Teashop on the Corner'. Its funny and sad - one of my favourite books ever!
 

Beauty 



Beauty-wise I've been loving my Maybelline The Rocket Mascara (I have the waterproof one). It's basically my perfect mascara. It doesn't smudge, it holds a curl all day, separates my lashes really well, doesn't flake, gives me tonnes of volume and length and makes my eyes look bigger and more awake. 

The Maybelline ColourSensational Shine gloss in Cashmere Rose has been my go-to lip product this month, I wore it almost every single day whilst I was away on holiday. It's just a super easy product to use, you don't need a mirror to apply it and it makes your lips look healthy whilst adding a bit if colour without liking fake, too glossy or 'plasticky'. It's not sticky either which is always a bonus. No one wants to be the girl with her hair stuck to her gloss. 

This month finally saw the release of some new Maybelline Baby Lips in the UK - the Neon Baby Lips! *cheers* and I was super lucky to receive one from my lovely friend Hannah, in the shade Strike a Rose (which was the shade I had my eye on anyway - she knows me so well!). The way I've been wearing this is by putting a fairly thin layer on and not building it up to be too glossy but using it as a stain. Doing this creates such a pretty effect and gives your lips a naturally rosy pink tint and you can't really tell there is anything on your lips at all. I feel like the theme to my make up this month has been quite natural and healthy! 

Sidenote: I've just realised how many Maybelline products I've been loving recently. I really wouldn't class Maybelline as one of my favourite brands either! 

On to something by a different brand... I've been loving my Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Coral Reef. I love wearing coral blush in the summer, I think it looks super pretty and I love the formula of these Revlon ones. They're somewhere between a cream-to-powder and a dewy wet finish and make you look naturally flushed and healthy without looking shiny or sticky like some other cream products. 


On to a body-care favourite, I am a HUGE fan of the Body Shop Body Butters and loved the raspberry scent when they brought it out limited edition 6/7 years ago so as you can imagine, I was thrilled when they brought it back! The scent is amazing and fruity and delicious - a perfect summer scent and really moisturising too.


 
Nail Polish 

In August, I've only painted my nails 5 times, which for me, is very strange! My favourites however have been Barry M, Elderberry which is a gorgeous blue-grey shade. Perfect for winter (yes, I know it's August) if you don't want something dark too dark. 


Next up is this Miss Sporty polish (which annoyingly doesn't have a name). I love this polish, the brush is lovely and wide which makes it really quick and easy to apply. 2 coats and you've got a beautiful cobalt blue which will last for over a week.


Last but not least is Essie, Pansy. A bright blue-toned pink. It's girly, summer-y and fun. What more can you want? 



Youtubers 

I know I mentioned her in my July Favourites but I just HAD to mention her again... EssieButton. More specifically - her vlogs. Estée and Aslan have been travelling for most of August around places like Norway, Sweden and Denmark (just to name a few!) and I have loved watching their adventures SO much! 

I have also really gotten into watching Gabby from VelverGh0st. If im honest, I wasn't sure I would like her at all but I love her beauty videos and her vlogs. She is so similar to me its crazy and oh my god her cat is the cutest thing ever!!
 
Achievements 

August was quite a busy month for me (I feel like I say that every month!) but I went on holiday and had quite a few days out, trips to the beach and to Dover Castle which required a lot of walking (for me anyway). More posts on all of that soon!

Things I'm looking forward to next month...

I don't really have anything specific planned for next month but I am hoping to go shopping a couple of drives and maybe for a little walk too. I'm not sure when Starbucks bring the Pumpkin Spice Lattes out but when they do, im definitely going to get one! September is probably my second favourite month of the year. Points to whoever can guess my favourite month!

How was your August? Do you have any plans for September?
Thursday, 21 August 2014

My Holiday - Part #1

Sorry this post is so late, I've been recovering from the 'doing' of it and was too poorly to write about it. We travellled down on the Saturday and stopped off at Southampton to see my amazing friend Alice. 

Then we carried on driving down to Devon and finally arrived at our caravan after driving for about 10 hours - yawn! I was SO exhausted. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
On the Sunday afternoon we drove down to Torquay. 








 

We were planning to go to Torquay museum but it was shut as it was a Sunday so for some reason I decided I was desparate to go on the big wheel. It was a super windy day and the little pods were swinging around all over the shop. Not gonna lie, I was pretty scared being 60 metres up in the air but I braved it and survived the ordeal. 

We then had ice cream and I opted for the caramel and fudge flavour. Mmm. And got Fish and Chips to take back to the caravan. 

Holiday adventures... To be continued ... (Wow... The suspense, Chloe....) 



 

 

 

 

Colchester Zoo

A few weeks ago (this post is sooo late - sorry!) we took a trip to Colchester Zoo which is about an hour and a half from where we live. Here are a few snaps I took from the day:
 
 




 






 


 
Hope you enjoyed seeing what we got up to that day. Obviously I had payback/PEM afterwards and my ankles were swollen after the long car ride home but over all I had a really good day and I am so grateful for my wheelchair making things a lot easier, less painful and tiring for me.
xx
 

Barry M Mediterranean


Excuse the weird angle of that shot but I wanted to make sure you got a good idea of the duochrome-ness of this polish and were able to see the pink and the gold! 

Anyway, can we just take a moment to appreicate how beautiful this is. It kinda reminds me of something Carrie Bradshaw might have worn in Sex and the City 2. Very Arabian/Mediterrianin (hence the name)

This polish was released as part of Barry M's Aquarium Colkection earlier this year and I just had to get my hands on this one. It kinda has a Mac Bad Fairy air about it and looks amazing in the sunlight  because as well as being a pink/gold duochrome, there are tiny bits of pink-ish/silver shimmer in there too which you can only see in super bright sunlight. 

There really is nothing else in the drugstore like it and I am SO impressed with what Barry M have done for just £3:99. It's crazy! 

To sum everything up: it's amazing. It's £3:99. If you can buy one, do. 

Monday, 18 August 2014

Things I love about Autumn


Autumn is my all time favourite season. I love how warm and cosy it is, I love the fashion, the colours, the leaves falling from the trees. The crisp mornings, blue skies and the colours of the leaves. 
I love drinking hot apple and cinnamon tea, Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes and chai tea lattes. 
I love burning candles, snuggling with blankets and reading. 
I love the television, all the shows like Downton, Strictly, I'm a Celebrity and The X Factor. 
I love jumpers and leggings, boots, leather jackets and scarves, fuzzy socks and slippers. Sweater weather truely is the best weather! 
I love cinnamon scented bubble baths and Lush bath bombs. 
I love pumpkins, Halloween, rainy days, bonfires, fireworks, toffee apples, sparklers and hot chocolates with cream and marshmallows. 
I love crunching in leaves, foggy frosty mornings, drinking coffee outside in the early morning when the air is crisp and fresh. 
I love the colours, the oranges, the purples, golds, the raspberry oxblood shades, the greens and rich jewel tones. 
I love dark nail polish, winged liner (although I'm yet to master it), berry toned lipstick. Autumn make-up is my favourite! 
I love roast dinners, sweet potato mash, sausage casseroles, jacket potatoes and comfort food.

What do you love about Autumn? 
Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Barry M Guava



Yes, another polish from the Barry M Gelly Hi Shine range! I'm sorry if you're getting sick of these, I do have something a bit different from Barry M coming soon.

One thing I will say about the range is that the names of the polishes are completely nothing to do with the shades. Are Guava fruits a bright blue? 

This is one of the few colours that I don't have a million dupes of so I love that it is unique in my collection. It is more blue than green and is bright without being neon. It's super pretty, love it! 

It applied really well. The first coat gave a good even coverage and was completely okay by the second (you could probably get away with one thick coat but I prefer to use thinner coats and I find it gives a better finish - less gloopy) 

I don't know if I was just being impatient that day, but this colour seemed to dry super slowly and I did knock my middle finger which caused a bit of smudging whilst waiting for the second coat to dry. 

What do you think? 
Saturday, 2 August 2014

July Round Up and Favourites

After seeing my lovely friend Alice's (from Floral Smile) June round up post, i decided to steal her idea and join in the fun too! At the end of each month, I'm going to try and do a monthly round up to tell you about some if the beauty things, nail varnishes and books I've been loving, blogs I've been enjoying, and some of the things I've been doing and the achievements I've made. 

Books

My favourite book that I've read during July has been Me Before You by JoJo Moyles. It is such a good book and a bit different to the chicklit I usually read. It's super sad though, I cried! 



Beauty

I got the NUXE Reve De Miel lip balm for my birthday at the end of June and I have been loving it during July. It is one of those products that you fallin love with the first time you use it! It's honestly the best lip balm I have ever used. I didn't even know a lip balm could be this good! 



I've also been loving the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation again and luckily I've been tanned enough to wear it. I have the shade 100 and the shade 103 which I mix in when I'm a bit more tanned. I've heard that they've added an even lighter shade to the shade range too so I might have to pick that up as well. 



Nail polish

Nail polish faves this month have been Essie Style Hunter... 

 
Essie Tart Deco


And Models Own Pukka Purple



Food Faves (although this month, it's technically a drink) 

This may be a bit of a weird favourite to have but this month (and for a couple of months previously) I have been loving lemon water. I have a pint every morning and I'm seriously obsessed. It helps with digestion, bloating and loads of things, AND it tastes super good! It's basically just the Bomb.com. 

I'm also loving the Starbucks Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappachino, I'm soooo glad it's back again this year. SO bad but SO good! 



Blogs and Youtubers 

I have been obsessed with HelloOctober, her blog and youtube. Suzie is such a babe and she's gorgeous! I love that she has been vlogging a lot more and I'm super excited to see more of her new flat and how she decorates it. 

Talking of more vlogging, I've loved EssieButton and Zoella's daily vlogs this month. Both girls vlogged through June but I didn't catch up with a lot of them until July. Estée is hilarious and I just love that girl. I'm totally in love with Reggie too. Who knew I was a greyhound person? Certainly not me... I'm converted! 

Achievements 

I have been out quite a lot in July, I went shopping 5 times (I've not been shopping that many times in one month in about 4 years!), went out for lunch for my mums birthday, went to the beach, the dentist and for a few drives around and about. 
Yay! 

Things I'm looking forward to next month...

In August, I'm super excited because I'm going on holiday and getting my haircut which is very exciting! I'm going to Devon for a week and I haven't had my hair cut for nearly 3 years.

How was your July? What things have you been loving lately?