Would you rather? TAG

1. Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lip glosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?

I think palettes can be really useful but I think i'd rather lose all of my palettes and eyeshadows, particularly as I don't tend to use eyeshadows all that often...

2. Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?

I'd rather chop it all off and wait for it grow back! I did use to have fairly short hair (chin length) and while I think I look better with longer hair I reckon I could deal with short hair.

3. Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?

I would say probably pink so long as it's a fairly subtle pink. No bright pink for me!

4. If you had £1,000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup?

Can't I buy both?! Even just a year ago I reckon i'd have said clothes but currently I reckon i'd go for makeup. You'd probably end up being able to buy more as well!

5. Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner or eyeliner as lipstick?

 Hmm this is quite a hard (& odd) one... I reckon eyeliner would be easier to apply as lipstick than lipstick as eyeliner. I'd be avoiding the black liner though...

6. Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?

Being from the UK i've not had much experience of Sephora but as they do a variety of brands I think i'd choose them than have to stick to a single brand.

7. Would you rather only use one eyeshadow colour or one lip colour for the rest of your life?

 I reckon lip colour because it's nice to use more than one eyeshadow for a look

8. Would you rather wear winter clothes in the summer or summer clothes in the winter?

I get hot quite easily so don't think i'd cope with winter clothes in the summer, although my winter clothes often involve layers so would I be able to cheat and take them off if I got hot? If so, then winter clothes in summer!

9. Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?

Hmm, if we're talking neon bright then I'd go for dark but if it just means colourful then i'd chose that!

10. Would you rather give up your favourite lip product or your favourite eye product?

Probably my favourite lip product because my favourite eye product (Laura Mercier cake tightline eyeliner) is possibly one of favourite products overall.

11. Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a ponytail or a messy bun?

I tend to wear both quite a lot but i'd probably choose a messy bun.

12. Would you rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lip gloss?

I'm not a fan of lip gloss to be honest - too glossy/sticky for me! So i'd rather never use that.

13. Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or Sharpie them in everyday?

Either would be pretty horrible! But having none at all does look odd, although I guess you'd get used to it... Guess I would say Sharpie them in everyday...

14. Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?

Without nail polish - that doesn't have to cover my spots & dark circles! 

If you're reading this then I tag you =)

The Beauty Blogger Tag

1. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?

My hair is naturally pretty straight but not dead straight. However, it's straight enough for me to not usually bother straightening it. It's pretty fine so doesn't take long to straighten with GHDs if I want to do so.

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

I don't usually have my hair dyed, despite having a pretty boring natural hair colour (mousey brown) but if I do dye it then i've always done it myself. I wouldn't mind going and having it done properly one time though!

3. Do you wear the same style everyday, or do you change it?

I tend to change it although there are some styles I go to more than others. If I cant really be bothered then it gets pulled back into a high ponytail, if i'm wanting a casual look then i'll do a messy bun and typically if i'm having it done i'll do something to clip back some of the front bits.

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

I paint my own nails but I don't know that i'd call it a mani... It is literally just painting, no removing of cuticles and things like that - which is probably bad I know! I reckon i've had maybe 3 professional mani/pedi's 

5. How often do you change your nail polish?

I'd say probably weekly but I do try to have periods when I don't have any on to give my nails some respite. Also, I have a current part-time job waitressing where i'm not allowed to have them painted.

6. Do you polish your toes in the winter or just the summer?

I tend to only really do it in the summer but I find that polish on my toe nails lasts for aaaaaages so can go on into the winter, in which case I may end up topping it up.

7. How long does it take for you to put on makeup?

 I'd say if i'm doing a full-face then it takes me maybe 15mins or so? I've not really time it to be honest!

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

I do face first, though perhaps if i'm doing full eyes with shadows etc I should do them first but i've just always started with face and think it's now just habit

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

I'd say I used to pretty much just buy what I need but since getting into blogs i've certainly bought a lot more than I need and so am starting to collect...

10. How often do you wear false eyelashes?

Never! I have never worn them... I would quite like to, although it would still be quite natural ones... But i'm kinda too scared to try because I reckon I would be rubbish at applying them.

11. Do you do a full face of makeup everyday?

Nope, usually i'll just do foundation, concealer, mascara and a bit of powder. Full face is usually reserved for nights out.

12. Do you wear makeup when you're home alone or with family?

Most of the time if i'm home alone and not going out then I won't bother with makeup because I think it's good to give your skin some time off from it. However, if i'm going to be seeing people I will usually put just a little bit on.

13. Will you leave the house without makeup?

Yes...I used to a lot more but currently have some red marks that I think are pretty obvious and because i'm self-conscious about them I don't like going out with them covered up at least. And then usually I feel my eyes look pretty tired so they need mascara on too...

14. How many high-end products do you have?

I own a couple of high-end products. Chanel powder, eyeliner, dior mascara, laura mercier eyeliner and lancome foundation. I think that's it...

15. Do you plan your OOTD every night or decide when you're getting dressed?

 I decide when i'm getting dressed. I'll sometimes think about it the night before but often end up changing my mind in the morning anyway!

16. How often do you change your handbag?

 I have 2 main bags I switch between fairly often and then a couple of others i'll swap into occasionally.

17. What time do you wake up and go to sleep?

Usually wake up about 9-10am when my boyfriend is getting up for work and go to sleep probably between 12-1.

18. How often or when do you workout?

My boyfriend and I have just rejoined the gym and are trying to go at least twice a week.

19. Left handed or right handed?

Left!

20. How tall are you?

5'4" 

21. Do you speak any foreign languages?

Sadly no. I think it would be nice to be able to but although I did do French at school I wouldn't say I can really speak it all that well now.

22. How many pets do you have?

None right now. I'm living in accommodation where we're not allowed pets. When I was younger we used to have guinea-pigs, a rabbit and hamster and I loved that!

23. How often are you on Blogger?

I read blogs on Bloglovin' every day but must admit i'm pretty bad at coming blogger to blog (as you can probably tell!)

24. Do you read comments posted on blogs?

I always read comments posted on my blog and fairly often read them on others posts. Quite often if it's a review of a product its nice to see the comments to see if others agree/disagree.

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

 Oh definitely! Mine is huge right now so I don't think i'm going to get through it!

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

I actually started this up quite a long time ago so I can't actually remember but i'd say just because I think i'm pretty much just an ordinary girl!

27. What kind of camera do you use for your photographs?

Currently my iphone because it's actually better than my camera. I'm hoping at some point I will get a new camera though!

28. How often do you clean your house?

I end up doing little bits here and there pretty much every day i'd say.

29. What's your favorite color?

Purple

30. Do you swear?

Not very often

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

Just chilling out watching some tv before having a friend over for dinner =)

Mini Boots Haul

I was perusing the boots website and noticed they had a few good deals on at the moment, and in particular these deals included some products I really wanted to try. So of course that meant this seemed like the perfect opportunity to buy them!

I picked up Hydraluron, which was 1/3 off making it £16.66. I've heard quite a few people raving about this product and as someone who can get quite dry skin this sounded lovely! After using it for a couple of days I already really like it. It comes out as a clear gel type substance but when massaged into the skin it feels almost like water. My skin ends up feeling really nice and moisturised. It's still early days but I am really enjoying this!

I also picked up the Soap & Glory 'One Heck of a Blot' translucent powder and their 'Glow All Out' illuminising powder, which were on offer for 2 for £15. Seeing as each of these cost £11 on their own this seemed like a great deal!
 I've used the translucent powder once and already really like it - it left my skin really matte and smooth but without looking really powdery. As you can see it came with a little powder puff to apply it but I prefer using a large face brush. You really don't need to use much for full coverage, you literally only have to tap your brush into the powder & even then probably need to tap off excess.
I've not used the illuminising powder yet but it looks lovely. Both come in nice compacts with big mirrors, which are always handy! The Glow All Out is cardboard, which seems fairly sturdy but of course has the potential to get ruined if gets wet etc but we'll see how it goes! Whereas One Heck of a Blot is made of plastic so seems more durable.

Overall I'm really pleased with all 3 products but it's only been a couple of days so i'll keep you posted.

What are your thoughts on any of these products?

Review: Diorskin nude bb creme

The second of my Escentual 20% purchases (mentioned here) was the Diorskin Nude BB creme that so many other bloggers seemed to be raving about.

I picked this up in the shade 001 and found that it's a nice pale shade but its also really rather pink. I had seen other bloggers mention it was more pinky but thought it was still meant to be the palest offering and so better for me.
I tend to have a fair bit of redness/pigmentation in my cheeks and at the area between my eyebrows anyway, which I am not a fan of and try to disguise as much as possible. So when I first tried using this BB cream and saw how pink it was applying I immediately thought 'Oh no!'. However, after fully blending (using a Real Techniques buffing brush) I found that actually the end result was a slightly rosy glow but it was very subtle and it had actually evened out/covered my redness quite well. It basically looked like my skin...but better. I tried applying with my fingers at first but found I much preferred the effect given using a brush and found it to end up looking less pinky with the brush.

 It is a fairly light coverage so isn't going to be good for really bad skin days but for hot summer days when you don't want to cake on the make-up, I think this is really nice. It can be built up a bit too to give a bit more coverage, which is nice.

 I think i'd like to try this now in 002 to compare the difference in shade and see whether that still works for me but without the pinkness. But despite the pinkness I actually still really like the product but I just don't love it as much as I wanted to. And I really wanted to!

Have you tried the Dioskin nude BB creme? Do you want to?

Review: Clarins Sun Wrinkle Control Cream For Face

As I mentioned in a previous post I bought couple of items in the Escentual 20% sale and the time has come to now review them.
 I've been using the Clarins sun wrinkle control cream for face SPF 30 for about two weeks now and although i've still only used it a couple of times I thought i'd tell you how I feel about it.

It smells and looks pretty much just like an ordinary sun cream. It does have quite a thick consistency but actually blends really nicely and quickly without leaving you with white streaks all over your face. You really don't need to squeeze much out as a little goes a long way - even with generous application.

I find that my face does end up still looking rather shiny/greasy after applying the cream, even though its all blended in nicely and doesn't feel greasy at all. I like to leave about 5minutes after applying before putting on my makeup to make sure it's all sunk in properly. However, even if putting on makeup pretty much straight away it applies over the sun cream no problem. It doesn't feel like the sun cream is being rubbed off or interfering with makeup at all. Big plus!
I have found though that if I apply it too close to my eyes or over my eyelids it can irritate them a bit and make them water a bit but that's easy enough to avoid.
I've sadly not had a chance to use this anywhere really hot to see how well it protects my face but have been wearing it during the sunny days we've been having here in England (yay) and i've not suffered from any redness from the sun.

I like using this product and think it works well but i'm not overly convinced its any different to just using a normal sun cream on your face. Am I wrong in this? Are they made differently?

Do you use a facial SPF? If so, which one?

10 facts about me

So i've written a few posts now and thought it was about time you perhaps found out a bit more about me.
Here's 10 facts about me (i've tried to make them vaguely interesting...)

1) I'm a student in Birmingham - just graduated in Sport and Exercise Science Bsc and now going on to do a Graduate Diploma in Psychology.

2) I was born in America. New Jersey to be more specific. However, my parents moved back to England when I was about 6 months old so i'm a British Citizen and don't remember American life.

3) I'm a worrier. I worry about pretty much everything. Including the amount I worry.

4) I have light brown hair and brown eyes. My skin is combination - oily t-zone & around the nose but dry patches too.

5) I have a boyfriend of over 3 and a half years (he probably won't be featuring on here at any point).

6) I've only really recently properly gotten into make-up and skincare products but now I have a MASSIVE wishlist.

7) I have a phobia of needles/injections and tend to faint whenever I have one. Just thinking/talking about them makes me feel funny.

8) I've been horse-riding for about 15 years (I'm 21) and love it. Sadly don't own my own horse - one day!

9) I'm 21 years old but still feel about 17. I just can't believe how quickly the past couple of years have gone and how old I am now! Scary!

10) I still have several cuddly toys that I just can't bear to part with. And they're not even ones from my childhood. One is my build-a-bear called Bubaloo (that I made about 2 years ago...).

Well, I hope you've enjoyed learning a little bit about me  =)

Wishlist #2

As i've previously mentioned, I've only recently gotten into blogs - reading and writing, but my wish list is already massive! I have already caved and bought some of the items i've been desiring (mainly the cheaper drugstore items) but that list still remains.

So here's a few more of the items i'm currently coveting...

1) Hourglass ambient lighting powder

I've seen so many rave reviews about this powder and it sounds just lovely! Quite a few people say they couldn't buy just one and a couple of people ended up buying all 6! I think i'd go for the shade Diffused, which has a slight yellow tint as this would hopefully help balance out my redness. 

2) Urban Decay Naked palette

This seems to be the best eyeshadow palette you can get, with again several people owning more than one. I think i'd go for either the basics (a bit easier on my student budget) or the Naked2 palette but think I could make good use of any of them! I'm definitely more of a nude colour girl when it comes to eyes so these would be perfect! 

3) Clinique Take the Day Off cleansing balm

This sounds like just a lovely cleanser to use and removes all make-up at the same time. As i've mentioned, i'm trying to improve my skincare routine and I'm hoping this would make a great addition. It's another Caroline Hirons recommendations so it must be good! It also seems to be sold out on quite a few sites so seems to be popular!

What are your current coveted items? Have you tried any of these?