Makeup Haul & Snow!

This weekend was so much fun! We had about 3 inches of snow which was amazing and made the whole city look so pretty <3 I really love the excitement of snow!

On Saturday I went to Boots and brought some beauty products:

• Natural Collection (Golden Glow) Bronzer - this bronzer is perfect for an all over bronzer as it has a lovely colour with a little bit of shimmer to give my face a natural glow!
• 17 Shimmer Brush - this brush only cost £3.29 and is PERFECT for bronzer and brush and so I brought another to use with my new bronzer.
• The product I am probably most excited about is the Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix Foundation (colour 52). I usually use the Estee Lauder Foundation and even though I find it has great coverage I think its a little heavy for everyday use. I am hoping this foundation is light and long lasting with a good amount of coverage! 

Sunday Favourites

So my favourites this week are:

• Pilates classes - really feel as though I am working out and toning all of my body.
• Sonicleanse - since using this every morning I really feel that my skin is alot smoother and cleaner which is great! 
• Belvita Breakfast Bar - I love the milk and cereal one, they taste like actual biscuits .. but  healthy ones!
• Simple Moisturiser - I use this every morning and evening before I sleep and it has made such a change to my skin, I really feel like it is hydrated now and my makeup looks alot nicer.
• Haircuts - Had my hair cut at the start of the week and it feels SO much healthier and lighter - I love it!!

Monday Morning ...

So ... Its Monday again! 


This Monday is a little different as I am back in my flat at uni. Today I have a lot to fit in - uni work, gym class, food shopping and then a meal out with a friend.


I have just had a shower and washed my hair and so thought I would give some information about the shampoo I am currently using.


My hair is ... with no better way to explain it 'boob length' and quite thick, I usually have it in a middle parting either straight or curled :) My hair can get quite greasy if I don't wash it everyday and although that's unhealthy for it I hate having greasy hair!! 


I have never really stuck to a shampoo brand, its always been whatever is in the house and whatever I can find in the shops! But 3 months ago I decided to stick to a brand and chose Pantene Smooth and Sleek (what a mistake that turned out to be ... ) At first my hair felt incredible, really soft and sleek (as it promised) and then after about 2 months of use it all went downhill ...


I was getting ready for a date (I know - worst time for a hair disaster) and was drying my hair and realised that it felt really ... weird. So I continued drying it but my roots didn't seem to want to dry .. So I left it and straightened my hair ... that was when I saw the full scale of the disaster. From 2 months of using this shampoo it had built up a sticky oily residue in my hair, I looked like I had washed in oil. It was NOT a good look. Continued attempts of straightening and dry shampoo didn't help and I went on my date looking like a seal caught up in an oil spill. Needless to say, I didn't get a second date. 


I ran out the next day to buy a new shampoo .. just a cheap shampoo which didn't have any damaging products in when it happened again!! The residue was so thick on my hair that it would not come out. In the end I had to buy a shampoo especially designed for oily hair to strip it so I could start again. This shampoo left my hair really dry from using it everyday but worked well and now (*self consciously touches hair*) its back to normal!


I am currently using tescos own brand (I'm a student!!) coconut everyday shampoo which by the 'everyday' title I assumed it was good for daily use and hopefully I wouldn't have the same disaster and a dove conditioner :) this seems to be working well.

Sunday Favourites

Okay so each Sunday I will write about my favourite for the week, this could be anything - beauty products, food, weather .. literally anything!

• Horse riding - I rode a friends horse on friday and LOVED it. Haven't ridden in about half a year so it was great to get back into it :D
• Celebrity Big Brother - I usually never watch anything like this .. but I am slightly addicted to this series and the people in it!
• My flat - now I'm back in my flat I am loving having my own space and organisation :)
• Options Hot Chocolate - brought this to try (the chocolate brownie one) and it is really yummy. Perfect for cold January nights!
• YSL mascara - one word .. amazing

Makeup Routine

My skin has always been VERY problematic - oily then dry with spots then clear and then problematic again! So I never really know what it will do next.
This means that my makeup collection needs to include products that will offer me a lot of coverage but also look after my skin.

I have been using this makeup routine for the last 3/4 months and have found that it doesn't cause breakouts and looks good on my skin.

1. First I will wash and then moisturise my skin to make sure that it is completely clean and soft before I begin with putting any makeup on.
2. Then I use the L'oreal Studio Secrets Primer all over my face which I love! It makes my skin so smooth and reduces redness and pores. I then have a perfect base for my foundation/ concealer.
3. Depending on where I am going/what my skin is like I will either use foundation or just concealer for a more natural look. For this blog post I will use my foundation routine. The foundation I use is Estee Lauder Double Wear Light which gives me a really good coverage when applied correctly on skin that is hydrated. If my skin is a little dry or I use just a little too much it can look streaky. This foundation stays on a lot longer than any other foundation I have used (Clinique, Chanel, YSL, drug store ones) which is great when you are leaving the house at 9am for a full day at uni.
4. Next I make sure the foundation is completely blended in with a foundation brush and sponge and cover my blemishes, red marks and dark circles under my eyes with YSL Touche Eclat. I know that this is actually a highlighter but it works amazingly on my skin as a concealer and makes my face a lot more radiant looking. I will occasionally use my Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer but I really don't like how this product applies. I feel that it is really thick and doesn't blend in well at all.
5. Once I feel that my skin is looking (nearly) flawless I apply my powder. I just use Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder which compared to most powders I have used really does make my skin look matte. I will reapply throughout the day if need be but I really think this power gives my skin a nice finish and doesn't leave me looking like a powder puff doll (my fathers phrase for someone who looks like they have rolled in talcum powder!)
6. Over my powder I will highlight using a bronzer. I picked Honolulu bronzer for about £3 recently and it seems to work well! I brush the bronzer in my cheeks (while making a fish face), on the bridge of my nose and a small amount on my forehead. 
7. I then decide on what blusher to use. I only have 2 colours and they are both from the 17 line. One is called 'Damson Wine' and the other 'First Flush'. They both suit my skintone and give a nice glow but when my skin is looking a little dull during the winter I always opt for 'First Flush' as it brightens up my face :)
8. Using the same bronzer brush I will then blend in my bronzer and blush to create a nice even colour without any harsh lines.
9. The my face is done! YAY! All this only takes about 10-15 minutes.
10. The I will curl my lashes and brush through my eyebrows and use Cliniques Superfine Liner for Brows to fill them in. I never fill them in too much, just a little to add more definition and thickness as I really feel that it frames my face. 
11. After my eyebrows are done I feel that I can start on my eyes. I never really use eye shadows on a day to day basis, I have quite large brown eyes so don't really feel that they need too much defining. Usually I will go for a black waterline with a smokey black line underneath using The Body Shop Eye Definer and then put on a layer of mascara with YSL Volume Effects Mascara.
12. Add lipgloss of choice and then I am all ready to go!!

My favourite products from my routine have to be the primer, mascara, and concealer as I really think they are all great products and even though they are quite expensive I really think they make a difference to my skin and makeup.

Eating 'clean'

For the last couple of months I have been planning to try and eat 'cleaner'. Over the last couple of days I have cut out any junk or pre made food and anything that I couldn't grow myself in my garden.
Even though I have only been on this new diet for 3 days I am noticing the differences already! I feel a lot less bloated and heavy and feel a lot 'cleaner' if that makes sense!
Today I am trying to drink a glass of water each hour in order to cleanse and detox my system  in the hope that this will clear up my skin!
Over the coming weeks I will post some recipes and food diaries on here to show what I have been eating and how I am feeling because of it.

Resolutions ....

Every year I make about 20 resolutions which I can't even remember by January 2nd let alone keep! So this year I have decided to only make 2 which I can make sure that I will keep up! (well ... that's the plan anyway!)

1. Lose weight and be healthy! 
2. Keep to routines

I am a massive yo-yo dieter. At the age of 21 I have probably tried more diets than most. I am probably only about a stone overweight but I really do need to cut down on junk food and get fit! This will be a hard one for me as I can be lazy and skip workouts.

Routines are important to me ... routines in sleep, skincare, food, money, reading and work ... By routines I mean the routines that I make for myself. I love my life to be structured and for me to know what I am doing and when. So this year I will try even 

harder to stick to the routines that I set for myself!

I will update this blog on how I get on ....