MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Powder

If you are thinking have you seen this product before, don't be worried it is the same brilliant Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder from MAC, it has just had a makeover and now features a new stylish black packaging. I love, love, love when powder's come with a mirror so I was very happy about them adding this in. This is my third lot of this little beauty, and I just cannot get enough of it! The powder is light in texture but has great lasting powder to keep those shiny zones of the face at bay. I got it in the colour Medium and it is a great match to my skin, there are 15 colours in the collection so there is hopefully one for everyone. It is not the cheapest product on the market and definitely belongs in the high range category as it costs £23, but I have to say that these last a good 6 months and you really do get your moneys worth.

What is your current favourite powder?

Lucy
xoxo

October Favourites

October has been a five week month meaning that I have had even more time than usual to round up my favourites from this past month. In a recent MAC Must Haves post, it featured Peachykeen and I explained how much I was in love with the colour, and it has become my go to everyday colour this month. Also featured was the Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer  in NW15, I love the smooth texture of this and it is great long-wearing concealer to cover pesky blemishes. The MAC eyeshadow in Sea Worship came from a specialist collection a few months back so is unfortunately not still available. The colour is so pigmented and applies such a pop of colour to your eyes.  My absolute favourite product from the month is the Real Techniques Multi Task Brush  I use it for applying for powder, bronzer and blusher, its just so good for all three! The Ultimelt by Soap & Glory is the best drugstore hot cloth cleanser out there, it feels like it is really digging deep into your pours and my skin feels so clean after application. My first favourite lip product comes from Revlon in the colour in Barcelona Nights. It is from the Colourstay Moisture Stain range and is a real steal at just £7.99. Finally, a good old favourite which still features regularly within my makeup routine is Tanya Burrs's lipgloss in Picnic in the Park.

What's been your must have product throughout October, I would love to know?

Lucy 

xoxo 

Primark Purchases

I took a trip to Primark last week and picked up a few new bits and bobs. I thought that the Little Mermaid makeup bag for £3 was so adorable and is perfect for travelling or to pop into your bag for day to day use. The candles are always so lovely and such a great price, the smaller one was just 80p and the larger one was £2. For winter essentials, Primark always allows you to stock up on this seasons must haves. I just could not leave the Christmas themed cosy socks on the shelf they just had to come home with me, they were just £2.50 for two pairs. The platted headband will be great for those freezing winter mornings to keep your ears nice and toasty and also looks cute in your hair, and for just £2 it is a total steal.

Lucy
xoxo

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet

A month or two ago, I was browsing the huge Boots in Manchester when I saw a huge introductory offer on a new Bourjois lip product. I had seen these feature on a few people's blogs of those who had received samples of them, and I was intrigued as they looked very pigmented. I firstly picked up the colour Frambourjois which is red with a hint of orange to make it more accessible to way to wear day to day.

Then I saw Pink Pong on my next visit and instantly fell in love. I wear this often as it is such an easy way to create an intense coloured lip which instantly brightens a simple day to day look. They are now £8.99 to buy and they come in 8 colours featuring a variety of different colours.

Lucy
xoxo

MAC Must Haves

I've done a bit of MAC shopping over the last few weeks and picked up some of my essentials.
First up the Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder has had a makeover and comes with some new fancy black packaging with a mirror in side which is very useful. My previous one lasted my for at least a year so you are definitely getting your moneys worth as it costs £23. I love the coverage of this, but best of all it feels so light on the skin and the application is simple.
Lingering Eyebrow Pencil is my most re bought item from MAC, I think this must be my fourth re buy of this just because I prefer a soft pencil as it makes application so much more easier and you can get your desired effect with little fuss, this costs £13.50.
It was time to add a new blusher to my minimal blush collection as it is one of makeup item where I have a few favourites and I just stick to what I know. The colour is Peachykeens and it suits my fair skin tone beautifully and costs £18.
Last up I wanted more of a cover up blemish product so I picked up the Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer in NW15. I have been previously wearing this product in NC20 as I was advised that this was best for my skin tone even though my foundation which is a perfect match is NW15. On application I have always found it a bit too yellow for my skin, even though it does work lovely as an undereye brighten. So this seemed liked the perfect solution to all my problems, and I am hoping it is at it's price tag of £15.50.

Lucy
xoxo

Charlotte Tilbury Sexy Sienna Matte Revolution Lipstick

I have always wanted to treat myself to a product from the much anticipated line from the extraordinary Charlotte Tilbury. When I found out they were launching part of the line in Selfridge's in Manchester, I made a quick dash there the day before I moved back to Carlisle.

There were so many products which I had to pull myself away from buying because it is a high end beauty brand which comes with the usual pricey tag, although I could have gone crazy. I have heard a lot recently about the latest launch of matte lipsticks, and there had been a lot of love as to how great they were. The girl on the counter was extremely helpful and due to my fair colouring and blonde hair she thought that Sexy Sienna was my perfect match. She was totally right as soon as she swatched it on my hand, it was love. I do like vibrant colours, but I wanted more of an everyday nude/pink colour as this is what I tend to head for naturally, and this is just what this colour is.

The packaging is absolutely stunning gold and looks so nice taking pride of place on your dressing table. Like I did say, it is in no way cheap as it costs £23. But everyone once in a while you have to spoil yourself.

Lucy
xoxo

Moving Out to University?

I thought it would be a good idea to write a post directed those of you who are heading to university this September. Seeing as I am about to start my second year, I thought some of you would find it a useful to give you a little insight in to how I found my first year.

Firstly I have to say that I am doing a course which requires me to be in uni or placement for 40 hours a week, whereas some of my friends courses only had 12 hours of teaching. So it all really depends on what you are off to study. I would also like to add that I am at a University which is quite small but is still in a city and I also live away from home. However where I am, it is not a huge party town where there are student nights every night and there are tens of thousands of students. Nevertheless, I would still like to share my experience as some of you may be heading on a similar journey to me.

Moving out - For some of you, you will of chosen to stay at home and travel daily to your choice of university as you felt it was the best option for you. For others moving out of your home into an unknown place with know body you know can be a very scary thought. I am not the most confident person and I was scared at this thought out of  leaving my familiar settings at home, but honestly I think it was the best decision I could of made. Everybody is in the same boat when moving out, and everyone is having the same feelings as you even if they are not showing it externally there are differently thoughts whizzing round internally. When you arrive you most importantly just need to be yourself. I took a bit of time to myself once my parents left, to just process everything that had happened. I then just went and introduced myself to everyone and it is the biggest relief ever once you meet everyone and you start to realise that everything is really going to be okay.

Making friends - Once again like moving into your new accommodation you may be scared about approaching people and starting a conversation. But, I can assure you that everyone's thinking the same thoughts as you. Its great because I have friends who I lived with, and friends on my course making a whole new friendship group is great and will differently making you feel more settled in. Your never going to get on with everyone its just not possible, but there will always be people who you find have similar interests/hobbies as you which you find makes conversational talk very simple and easy.

Freshers Week - I am a girl who likes to go out and party and have a great time with my friends, meaning Freshers was something which I was really looking forward too. I know Freshers can be daunting and not everyone's cup of tea, but it is a great way to make friends and socialise in that first daunting week of starting university. I had a fab time in Freshers, it runs for 1 or 2 weeks mine was for two weeks. I did not go out every night as my lectures starting straight away so I was in uni 9-5 most days, however I did enjoy myself and headed out when I could especially at the weekends. If you are living in university accommodation it creates a great buzz around your new flat mates, and you get to know everyone a little bit more by the end of the week. I honestly loved it and can't wait to sneakily join in this year again. If Freshers is not your thing then no problem, there are loads of other events going on around uni for you to join in on.

Your course - I think it can be very daunting thinking about scary it is realising if you have made the right decision to firstly go to university, and most importantly whether you have chosen the correct course for you. Luckily I love my course and I definitely certain that I made the right decision for me to go. For my career, university is the only option which I am actually glad about. But I think it can open many doors in the future post graduation and it can make you realise what you really want to do with your life.

Being independent - Once you have recovered from Freshers and the real work begins, being organised is definitely more important than ever before. You need to know where you need to be and what time, lecturers are not there to direct you constantly you have to stand on your own two feet and be responsible for yourself.  It can be overwhelming in those first few weeks getting back into a routine after such a long summer break, but being organised will just make life a lot easier. I think you learn how independent you really are when living on your own, actually having to look after yourself. You will meet some people who can not cook and wash but it is all in the fun off moving away from home.

Dedication -  Now I am no way saying don't go out and have a good time, but the fact is you are there to get a degree. Most of you going off this September will be paying £9000 a year to go, therefore more than ever it is imperative that you actually put time and effort into what you are studying. You will definitely meet people who you find are there for the wrong reason, as they didn't know what else to do and came to get drunk every night and create as much chaos as they possibly think they can. But do you really want to be one of those people who looks back and thinks I could of achieved so much more at university.

Enjoy! This is the most important point I think out of everything, you have gone to university because you want to better your future. So go and make the most of your experience the months fly by and before you know it, it will be summer and your second year will seem scarily close. I hope this post has just given you just a glimpse into what to expect, like I say this is my experience and everyone has their own.

Lucy
xoxo

No7 Brush Cleanser

Just before I went on holiday, it was time to do the brush washing ritual. However, I was surprised to see that my usual choice the ELF Brush Shampoo was completely used up and I some how had not realised. So when I was next in Boots I picked up the No7 Make Up Brush Cleanser. I have used it s few times now and I am pleased with the outcome, it has a refreshing scent and most importantly leaves them clean and fresh. It costs £8, but Boots are always giving out the £3 off skincare vouchers which you can use on this product making it a very reasonable price. I am definitely going to continue using this until it runs out, but then I am intrigued by the MAC brush cleanser which is a lot of people's go to product. The MAC version is more expensive and I am rather happy with this Boots alternative, and would recommend it to people looking a new and easy to use brush cleanser.

Lucy
xoxo

J'Adore Clutch

After seeing this in my magazine last week, and I headed out to but it straight away and it was love at first site. Zara did this trend of clutch bags not to long along, however they sold out really quick and I never managed to get my hands on one. This is from Miss Selfridge and was £16, which I thought was a reasonable price. I will be able to use this on nights out to add a pop of colour to an outfit with its pastel pink colour.

Lucy
xoxo

Tiger Haul

I have seen a few Tiger hauls doing the rounds on peoples blogs, and was intrigued to see what the fuss was about. Whilst on holiday in Palma there was a huge store, I dragged the family inside and everyone instantly fell in love. It was a kind of a first discovery moment, like going to Ikea for the very first time. Everything was so cheap, literally either 1 or 2 euros, it is a big shop sellling all sorts of things including stationary and household bits. I spent 10 euro and got the entire content of the photos, it was stationary heaven.  It had those little bits and bobs that have cute, pretty prints which make you smile and you know you will get excited to use it. It is definitely one of those places where you can go wild and end up buying anything and everything, but I tried to restrain myself from going too overboard! There is a few located in England, everyone mentions the London one but I think it is slightly pricier compared to the stores in other locations in Europe.

Lucy
xoxo

My Tanning Routine

I have seriously got into a tanning routine this summer and I have been using both instant and gradual. I usually shave, exfoliate and moisturise the night before I am planning on applying my tan which I usually do in the morning. I find this really prepares your body in the best way and creates a perfect basis for your tan to be applied too. I shave using the Gilette Venus and Olay Razor, as it has moisture bars attached to it, leaving the skin soft whilst showering. No matter which product I use, this years must have is my Rimmel Pre-Tan Exfoliator which featured in my June Favourites post. At just £3.99 this is an absolute steal, it has a gritty texture meaning it does the exfoliating job perfectly which is just what you need before applying your tan. Then I finish up using my Body Shop Body Butter in Strawberry to moisturise and leaves the skin silky smooth.

Instant tanning is great for those last minute occasions when you want to add a splash of colour to yourselves and you literally have 5 minutes to do it and for it to dry. If you don't have time for any of the pre tanning routine, I have found that my instant tan still picks up the colour great on your body so do not panic! I think if you are a beginner in tanning to definitely start with instant as it is definitely the easiest option. My favourite instant tan product also comes from Rimmel and it is the Rimmel Sun Shimmer in Light Matte. I did a post back in April on this product and I am still as obsessed as I was with my first impressions of it then. I have been using it on a regular basis especially on those days when the sun instantly appears and your unaware, and also on unexpected plans like having dinner at a swanky restaurant or a dressy night out. At just £6.99 it is definitely one of the most budget friendly tans on the market at the moment.

The more complex tanning option is the gradual tan. Xen Tan Ultra Dark Absolute Luxe has been my choice for this summer season. I only discovered this back in June, the downside to instant tanning is having to keep on top of the applications, and I wanted to see if I could find a gradual tan which lasts longer and makes my life q little easier! Well I am still working hard to achieve the perfect tan as I find it harder to apply as you can not see where you have applied the tan as the colour develops over a number of hours. However I have found that applying in long, circular motions seems to be my best bet. The Xen Tan even though it states its dark its not, I am a naturally pale and this is creates a nice, natural looking tan which when applied well looks great on. I find it does last a good couple of days which is exactly what I was wanting, but I am definitely in needs of brushing up and practicing my application skills.

Lucy
xoxo

July Favourites

This post seems to feature a lot more products that usual, but with being on holiday for two weeks these products have been staples throughout the month.

Yes To Go Grapefruit Wipes -£3.99
Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Blueberry - £3.99
Real Techniques Multi-Task Brush - £29.99 in set from Escentual.com
Rimmel Lipstick in  - £6.49
MAC Sea Worship  - Extra Dimension £16.50
MAC Bronzer in Lush-Light Bronze (Not available)
Loreal Colour Riche Mono Eyeshadow in Nude 200 - £5.49

Lucy
xoxo

Topshop Buckle Geek Shoes

These cute shoes are from Topshop and are know as the Margate Double Buckle Geek Shoes in the colour Camel. I paid £32 as I bought them a few weeks ago, however they have now gone down to £15 in the sale!

They are so comfortable and I find that I have been wearing them with all sorts as the colour is nice and light for summer. The double buckle is a lovely addition to the shoes and makes them a little difference to anything else that I own.

Lucy
xoxo

A Day at Wireless Festival

A week last Saturday, me and my sister headed to Wireless Festival in Birmingham for the day. We booked this last year and it was my first plan of summer which I was really excited about post finishing university for the summer. It was a pretty early start as we were getting the coach from Manchester to Birmingham which was a 2 and a half hour journey. We got there nice and early and headed for the coach, I don't think we quite realised how tired we were as we got on the coach the driver checked our ticket and we sat down. Just as we were setting off, we heard a girl behind us stating how she had never been to Hyde Park. We instantly realised we was on the wrong coach, and the driver said he didn't realise the festival was on in Birmingham and London. So finally on the correct coach we was on our way. We arrived at a pretty stressfree journey, excited for the day ahead. There was so many acts we wanted to say, we got organised and arranged our itinerary for the day.

We had an absolutely fabulous time watching Neon Jungle and Clean Bandit, John Newman is also exceptional live. We found J-Cole likes to use a lot of explicates and this was when we headed for dinner. There was so much food choice but we went for classic festival food in burger and chips which was rather lovely. The prices of festival food always breaks my heart, my burger and chips was £7 and my cider was £6.  A little extra addition was there was a local radio station there which was letting you have free transfer tattoos and they also had a photo booth. The headliner was Bruno Mars, but I was so excited to see Ellie Goulding she is so stunning and her voice is outstanding I had never been lucky enough to see her before and she was soooo good. She made the entire day for me being able to sing along to song after song was brilliant. The weather lucky held out which I was so happy about as my sister seriously does not cope with rain and being wet! Outkast was on next and I did not realise how much they rap which does not really interest me, but they obviously did there most well known and the entire field was going crazy at 'Hey Ya'. We then headed for tea where we opted for pizza and garlic bread. We caught the end of Robin Thicke just before he finished up with 'Blurred Lines', which created such a great atmosphere in the tent. Bruno Mars came on and I have tohe was just as good as we had expected, he has had so many songs and most of them are so uplifting and was able to have a good dance along to them. He finished off the day perfectly!
On the way home we got stuck in stand still traffic as there had been an accident on the motorway and there was also road works - chaos! It took over 4 hours and I was shattered when we arrived back in Manchester at 2.30am. There was some very lively drunken girls on the back of the coach which sang Bruno Mars songs on repeat for an hour in the standstill traffic, which is just what you want after a very long day - utter nightmare.

All in all I have an exceptionally fantastic day, I adore festivals with all the acts and the atmosphere we are planning on doing the same next year which is super exciting!

Lucy
xoxo

Nike Roshe Run

The Nike Roshe Run seem to be very popular by many at the moment, and I have had my eye on them for a while now. I got these little beauties as a present off my parents for my birthday. As I am only a size 3 I was able to get them in the junior size for £40, compared to the £70 for the adult sizes.
I was so surprised at how light they were, they literally weigh nothing. They are also really comfortable, I am planning on wearing these as day to day trainers with my jeans when I am having a shopping / lunch trip. I was originally planning on getting these in the bright pink, but for once I thought that the black were much more practical although the pink are much prettier!

Lucy
xoxo

Birthday Presents!

On Monday it was my birthday and I turned 20! I have been unsure about whether to upload this post or not as I do not want to be seen as I am bragging as to what I got. I love seeing these posts and watching videos of others showing viewers what they got as it gives you ideas as to what to pop on your birthday/wish list. So here is just a click list with links to everything that I got:

Fujifilm S8200
Nike Roshe Runs
MAC lipstick in St Germain
Victoria Secrets Underwear and Body Lotion
M&M World goodies
Abercrombie and Fitch Tee
Nemo Thomas Sabo Charm
Accessorize Headbands
Candle

I would just like to say a huge thank you to my family and friends for being so generous this year, and I have simply fallen in love with my camera.

Lucy
xoxo

June Favourites

Eeek I am once again late with my favourites post, I have been rather busy but I promise I will prepare next months on time.

With all this lovely, sunny weather I have been very much loving tanning and getting to wear all of my summer clothes which have been collecting dust at the back of my wardrobe. I have found a great combination which creates a nice, real looking tan. I bought the Rimmel Sun Shimmer Pre Tan Exfoliator, when Rimmel first launched it at the beginning of spring. It was just £1.99 when I got is as it was an introductory offer, but now it is only £3.99 which is still an excellent price. The exfloliator has a great gritty texture which really leaves the skin refreshed which is just what you need before you tan. I then applied my latest beauty buy - the Xen Tan Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe, Vivianna Does Makeup did a bronzing/tanning video recently and she featured Xen Tan and stated how much she loved it, she I took the plunge and its really nice. Considering it is Ultra Dark, compared to other tans it was light. I applied one layer the night before and in the morning I had a nice colour, but next time I would apply two layers to create a  slightly darker summery glow.

The Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+ has been a firm favourite of mine this month. I did a post recently solely on this lotion, as I bought the travel size version and loved it so much I upgraded to the full size. As I work at Debenhams I get 20% off all beauty, and they also had a tax free on beauty products last weekend meaning I got this for just £19. To me they seemed like such a bargain.

I have rediscovered a favourite lipstick this month, and it comes from Kate Moss' line for Rimmel. The colour is 101, its a nice pink toned velvety matte shade. It is just a great everyday lipstick which I put on to add a little vibrancy to my makeup but nothing over the top. These are just £5.49, and I think Rimmel does high street lipsticks the best.

Finally, another lipstick I have been loving comes from MAC (surprise, surprise!). I actually got this one free when I handed in my 6 swaps to get a free lipstick. It comes in the colour Patisserie which is a great everyday nude. This always comes up as a bestseller, and I know so many friends and bloggers that love this. It gives a create lift of colour to the lips and you can wear it with absolutely anything, a definite staple to keep in the bottom of your handbag.

Hope you all have a fabulous July!

Lucy
xoxo

July Glamour Magazine and Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner

I had to do this post with some urgency so you beauty lovers can rush out on my recommendation. Last week I picked up July's issue of Glamour magazine as I usually do, and I got a little bit excited with the freebie featured with it this month as it was a Eyeko eyeliner. There was a lot of excitement on YouTube recently, when Lisa Eldridge featured an Alexa Chung tutorial on her channel, it was no ordinary video though as it actually featured the Alexa Chung. Coincidentally, Alexa actually features as one of the cover girls on this month’s issue.  In the tutorial she uses some Eyeko products from the range which she created with them, the eyeliner she uses in the video is the Eye Do Liquid Eyeliner which you can get from Space: NK for £15. The eyeliner which comes with Glamour this month is the Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner; you can get the colours in either black or navy. This is actually currently out of stock on the Space: NK website.

I picked up the black, as that is naturally the colour which I would think I would get the most use out of. I have to say I have been absolutely loving this eyeliner, I always manage to get my eyeliner to something which I am pleasantly pleased with, but the flicks just seem to be too technical for me. This eyeliner makes it so much easier; the nib is very easy to control. It allows for precision and the colour is intense and pigmented which creates such a easy daily look. Since I have completely adored the black, I have been trying to pick it up in navy as well. Did I mention that the magazine costs just £2!! Yes £2!! Essie Button has been inspiring me to venture out on the eyeliner front recently, and she recently posted about her new favourite navy eyeliner, and I have to say it looked so lovely on her. In the summer I like to wear more vibrant looks and I think navy is somewhere to start.  Unfortunately, there seems to only be black left in the shops when I went to have a sneaky look today in a store, I am going to have to put my mum and sister on the case. I seriously suggest you whip up a copy of Glamour quickly as the August issue will be being released very soon and I would hate for everyone to miss out on this little gem.

Lucy

xoxo

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion +

I recently bought a travel size 30ml version of this highly talked about and anticipated moisturiser. The product under review is the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion +. I have heard many beauty blogs discussing this, and I had been hearing many rave reviews about it. Whilst doing a little research for the post, I discovered that there is also a Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel which is a version for those with oily skin.

I have been trailing this for a good few weeks now, and I have to say I am really loving the lotion. If you have dry to combination skin, it is very smooth and silky on application to the skin. It gives an instant light, refreshing boost to tired skin in the morning, and it acts as a great base before applying any products. Due to the price tag attached to this, I thought it would make more sense just to buy the smaller size to see if I actually like it, before I jumped in and spent a lot of money of the 125ml full size version which is £28. It comes in two smaller sizes a 30ml which is £9.50 and a 50ml which is £17. I have never thought spending so much money on a moisturiser before but you need the tiniest amount, a little differently goes a long way. I know that the full size will last me a good few months and I am excited to buy it as soon as I can. I want to save this smaller size for when I am going to be travelling and going on my holidays over the summer, just because it is just such a small and convenient size. The lotion is yellow but as soon as applied to the face it turns into the silky clear fluid, and creates such a lovely healthy and glowing look to the skin. The only negative to this is it doesn't contain any SPF, which is inconvenient coming in to the summer months.

Lucy
xoxo

Fashion Fridays: The £7.99 Sleeveless Shirt

I walked in to H&M one day earlier this week and this was on the model at the front of the store. Talk about retailers dragging you in, it definitely had the effect on me. I love bright colours and this is such a beautiful bright canary yellow, the design is a high low shirt and has short sleeves. The weather in the UK has previewed a few rather sunny days recently, which excites me massively. This will be perfect for those days as it is so lightweight and thin. I plan to wear it with shorts, jeans, leggings, tucked into skirts, there are many ways I can wear this and I think it is going to be a staple part of my summer wardrobe. The price tag is just £7.99 which is just brilliant, and an absolute steal. This also came in blue and white, and I am considering going back for them both as they are just so easy to wear. I think the sizing of this is quite big as this is only a size 6 and it is pretty baggy on me. If you fancy taking a look here is a link to the shirt on the H&M site.

Lucy
xoxo