Duty Free Made Me Do It

I mentioned at the beginning of last month that I was going to try and spend no money on anything  beauty or clothes related. Well that didn't go exactly to plan. To any self confessed beauty addicts out there, if you are able to walk past the MAC counter, or any other beauty counter, in duty free then I salute you. Because it appears that I can't. 

I was innocently (read: naively, stupidly) perusing the different products and brands being sold with no intention of parting with my hard earned cash. I walked past YSL, Dior, Benefit. I even walked past the giant Cadbury's chocolate bar without loosing my will. And then MAC happened. At first it was just testing out multiple shades of eyeshadows on my hand, and then blushes on my arm, and then lipsticks on my other hand. Which if I'm being completely honest with you is how I usually leave MAC (note to self, always bring wipes with you to remove this evidence) so I wasn't worried yet. 

Then the damage happened. The sales assistant asked me if I needed anything. The beginning of the end. Before I knew it I'd asked to have the eyeshadow in 'All That Glitters' and a 217 brush.  And that was it. They were mine. As I write this there is still no feeling of guilt or regret at this impulsive purchase. Perhaps because I have fallen head over heels in love with the eyeshadow, a golden-champagne shimmer. Or I have finally realised why so many bloggers have said (and I have dutifully ignored for the past few years -face palm-) that you do need at least two 217 brushes in your collection. It makes eye makeup just that bit simpler and cleaner. AND to top it all off I made a generous saving. What can I say? Duty free shopping doesn't come around every day now does it? 

Bluebells

Yesterday was spent walking and eating. Typical weekend behaviour except it was even more special because it was Monday yesterday, bank holidays I love you. The bluebells bloomed a couple of weeks ago and I've been meaning to go on this walk so I can see them in their glory as I know that they don't last long. It was such a scenic and beautiful walk. An added bonus, as we were walking through some of the fields there were some very cute lambs running around. One was even brave enough to run towards us, luckily we already had our dog on the lead.  You can see in the last photo just how small the lamb is, so cute!  Until next year bluebells... 

One Wash Wonders

There are some days where I don't want to spend years applying numerous shades of eyeshadows and then spend years blending it all to look 'au naturel'. This is where these products come in handy. One shade, swept across the lid. Done. No fancy blending, no nothing. Just a pretty simple look achieved by using one eye shadow or if I'm feeling very lazy then a paintpot is the simplest and quickest option.  Here are my choices...

L-R

1. MAC All That Glitters

2. MAC Paintpot in Bare Study

3. Rimmel 030 Smokey Quartz

4. Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze

5. MAC Patina

6. MAC Paintpot in Painterly

Pinterest Lovin': Spring Time

I've been stuck in a bit of a rut recently with my clothes. I just feel like I wear the same outfits over and over again and I'm getting bored. So for some added inspiration I headed over to the one and only Pinterest. I find it really helpful to look at what others have been wearing and take some inspiration from that to apply to what I already have in my wardrobe. I already have a 'Fashion Inspiration' board so I thought I'd take a look at what I have pinned and I rediscovered some outfits which I really love. Rather than keeping it to myself I thought I would share it with you lovely people, so you can be inspired and get an idea of what my preferred style is. Because let's face it, we're all nosey and interested in each others lives and fashion choices.  As you can see I have a bit of an obsession with stripes and midi skirts, the latter which has already been mentioned a fair few times on this blog already. They're just so easy and chic! I think that's how I would sum up my style, if you can really call it that. Easy, simple and chic.

Pinterest is my way of keeping inspiration and ideas all in the same place. All the looks you can see here are in the 'Fashion Inspiration' pin board, and many more of my favourite looks if you are interested. What's your go-to spring look/item?

Pinterst Looks (L-R) 1, 2, 3, 4

Summer Nights

A quick post on an outfit I wore one evening on holiday.  I am really loving this skirt, infact throw any midi skirt at me and I'll wear it. It's turning into a bit of an obsession. I am missing the sun so much, but I'm hoping the weather in England will warm up soon so I can wear this outfit again!  There's also a little sneak peak into some of the makeup I was wearing with this outfit, keeping it very 'au naturel' of course.

Outfit: 
Top - Topshop
Skirt - Topshop(not online)
Shoes - Office (2 years ago)

Makeup:
MAC All That Glitters
MAC Satin Taupe
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Kissable Pink

Do More Of What Makes You Happy

Today I want to share a little part of me with you. I found out some very exciting news that is going to take place throughout the month of June and I want to document this moment because it has made me so damn happy! In case you didn't know I want to be a makeup artist, and for the past few months I've been working in a hair salon. My boss is a hair stylist and makeup artist who used to work in Soho in London and still has some contacts in the industry. I was at work today and she told me that she'd got me the oppurtunity to assist a leading makeup artist in the industry throughout June.  I was speechless and I still can't believe it! 

I think about how my life was going less than 6 months ago and it seriously leaves me speechless.  I know this is only the start but this is such a big oppurtunity for me and my career. I am so excited! Can't you tell? I've gone from writing essays to pursuing what I want to do in life, and I can't stress how important that is to anyone reading this! I want to be able to remember this feeling so I thought I would share it on this little blog of mine. 

These two quotes, the bottom on in particular, really helped me in the first few months of this year. And I have to say they are absolutely right. 

'Do what makes you happy and you will never have to work a day in your life'

Images (quotes) - Tumblr 

Travel Makeup Bag

One of my favourite things to read about on blogs are the contents of other peoples makeup bags. I find it really interesting to see what people are using out of the vast choice of beauty items out there. A lot of the time it will also remind me of a long forgotten product or a hidden gem that I haven't heard about before. It's not all about the hype after all. So I'm going to assume that there are other people out there who are just as nosey as I am and show you the contents of my travel makeup bag. In retrospect I didn't need all of these products. 6 lipsticks for a week is a bit drastic don't you think? In particular when I spent the majority of my time lying by the pool sans makeup. C'est la vie! In my defence one of the highlights of this holiday was being able to spend a significant amount of time in the evenings putting on my makeup. It really is one of the most relaxing things for me to do. Something which can become a chore when trying to rush out the door. 

Enough rambling, let me introduce you to the contents of my travel makeup bag. It was all housed in this Cath Kidston makeup case which I've had for a while now. It's spacey enough to fit everything in, palettes included and it didn't take up too much room in my suitcase. 

BASE: NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser (Terre-Neuve), Estée Lauder Daywear Tinted Moisturiser, NARS Creamy Concealer, MAC MSF Natural in Light Plus and Medium/Dark

CHEEKS: MAC Blush in Sincere, NARS Blush in Deep Throat

EYES: Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette, MAC Quad (L-R Pink Freeze, Naked Lunch, Satin Taupe, Silver Ring), MAC All That Glitters, MAC Patina, MAC Paint pot in Bare Study

LIPS: MAC 'Peach Blossom', MAC 'Costa Chic', Estée Lauder Pure Colour Lipstick in Crystal Pink, Revlon Super Lustrous 'Kissable Pink, Maybelline Colour Sensational Shine Gloss in Glorious Grapefruit, Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya

The Playlist

A list of songs that I currently have on repeat. I give them a week before I can never listen to them ever again with the same amount of love. The cons of being a fickle and repetitive music lover, there's always another song or artist to listen to

1. I Choose You - Sara Barailles 

2. Love Is Easy - Mcfly 

3. Nobody To Love - Sigma 

4. Wish U Were Here - Cody Simpson (guilty pleasure anyone?)
5. Oh Cecilia  - The Vamps (I heard this one live before Taylor Swift, surprisingly good and upbeat)
6. Waves - Mr Probz
7. In Love With A Girl - Gavin DeGraw
8. Give Me Love - Ed Sheeran (a classic)

Tenerife

Freshly made strawberry and watermelon smoothie. De-licious!

Some photos from my recent trip to Tenerife with my family. It was a week filled with reading, eating, music listening, sleeping and relaxing!



Can I go back please?

The Weekend Post: Chocolate Overload

It's Easter Sunday! (These posts are a week behind if that confuses you at all) So I have completely scoffed my face with lots and lots of chocolate because in all honesty that is one of the best parts of Easter, right? We had people over for lunch so it's safe to say there is alot of spare food in the house right now, in particular lots of easter eggs of all shapes and sizes. I'm not complaining. Apart from that though it's been very relaxed, just getting back into the routine of being at home again after a week away which you will be reading about very soon!

I hope everyone had a lovely bank holiday weekend! P.S. The cake in the photo above was made by my lovely mother, and it was so yummy! Decorated accordingly for easter, however soon after taking this photo the ribbon was soon removed and the cake viciously cut into. There's about a quarter of it left now so it's fair to say it was pretty popular!