GRWM: Going Out For Dinner

Right, this is a bit different for me, but I'm just going to do a step by step process of how I got ready for my night out.

1. I showered using my Herbel Essences Shampoo and Conditioner, as well as my Frizz Ease Hair Mask (I also used soap, but I didn't take a picture of it). I used my Tangle teaser in the shower to brush through my conditioner.

2. When I got out the shower, I sprayed in the Leave in Conditioner and blow dried my hair, I then left this till later.

3. I then used my Garnier Micellar water to remove any residue from my face, I then toned and moisturised using the other products mentioned.

4. The makeup then begins. I start my using my Real Techniques Buffing Brush to put my Loreal True Match foundation onto my skin. This foundation has amazing coverage.

5. I used my Collection concealer with the Real Techniques Contour Brush, and my Speedy Blush with the Real Techniques Blush Brush.

6. I fix all the cream products with my Rimmel Stay Matt Powder and my Beau Belle Powder Brush.

7. I then applied my Rimmel Bronzer generously with the Beau Belle Contour Brush.

8. I used my Spoolie to brush my eyebrows, before proceeding with my Angled Brush and Barry M Shape and Define Palette. 

9. I used Belle Pierre Makeup Base to prep my eyes. I then patted on the shimmery gold shade with my eyeshadow brush.

10. I then add he darker, more coppery shade in the outer corner, and then used the blending blush to get rid of any harsh line.

11. I then use my Barry M Palette, which has the white shade, which I use to highlight in the inner corner of my eye.

12. It's then time for a quick little flick with my Rimmel Scandal Eyes.

13. I apply a few coats of my Benefits They're Real Mascara, and thats eyes done.

14. I then applied my Rimmel Nude Lipstick, which I chose because I was going out to eat and I wants a neutral lipstick so that when it budged while I was eating it wasn't obvious.

15. It was then time to get changed.

15. When I knew I wasn't going to be messing up my hair again, I used my texturising spray to make my hair less soft, and then put it into a side fishtail braid to keep it out of my face.

No.7 Anniversary Present

This is a cheeky way for me to do some shopping... and a review... all in one! No7 in a Boots brand that I don't own much of, except from a Toner and a Lip Liner. But with two offers on I just had to go! 

Boots are currently giving out those tokens they do all the time, £3 off No7 Make Up and £5 off No7 Skincare. On top of this, No7 have an offer on to celebrate their 80th Anniversary, and so this is my views and thoughts of this.

The No7 80th Anniversary Gift Box is worth £24.00 and is free with the purchase of any two No7 makeup products. The box contains three great products, as well as a golden ticket entitling you to a FREE Match Made Lipstick of your choice.

The three items I purchased (yes, I know you only have to buy 2, but, I can't help it);

 - High Shine Lip Crayon in Delicate Pink £9

- Precision Lip Pencil in Pink £6.75

- Stay Perfect Metallic Eyes Pencil in Purple £7.50

And then with this I received the box. In which contained three little products. A skin illuminator, and intense volume mascara, and a glittery purple eye shadow. Inside was also a voucher to get a free No7 lipstick, this is probably my favourite thing. When Boots usually do offers, they just contain a lipstick, which although is still nice, it's not always a shade that would suit me, or a shade that I would wear, and so having a token to buy my own... yup! I'm happy!

This offer is amazing, No7 makeup is high quality, well priced, you have a £3 off voucher, AND you receive this free gift. Seriously, what more could you want?!?!?!?!?

Five Minute Makeup

I very rarely have enough time to get ready in the morning. I start work at 4am in the morning, and sometimes it's just too hard to get out of bed! And so, here is a streamlined version of my makeup routine that makes me look presentable in just a few minutes!

Clean and Moisturise - This is probably the most important part of your makeup routine. If your skin looks good, you need less makeup, so I never skip this step! So I clean using my micellar water, to get any impurities out, and then I use a moisturiser, and try to use one that contains an SPF, and I both moisturise and protect my face at the same time.

Skip Foundation - I just use concealer to cover up any problems, and so saves a lot of time. If I'm having a bad skin day, then I use a light tinted moisturiser or BB cream.

Dark Shadow - Use a small pencil brush and dark eye shadow to line your eyes. This is much quicker and easier than using an eyeliner, but it makes your eyes look more defined and fuller.

Curl Your Lashes - I never used to curl my lashes, but have recently started, and now I can't skip it. It instantly makes your eyes look bigger, and when I've barely had any sleep, it makes me look more awake.

Mascara - Mascara will be your best friend. It takes less than a minute to apply, but instantly changes your look, makes you look more put together and awake, never skip mascara.

Tinted Lipbalm - if I'm in a rush, I always use a tinted lip balm. It moisturises my lips, gives them a bit of colour, and is so easy to apply. You don't have to use lip liners, and you don't have to apply a separate lip balm, and so it saves so much time!

Plan Ahead - I always get my makeup together on the desk, so that when I wake up, I don't have to decide what makeup to put on the next day, it really speeds it up!

Easy Peasy Bunting

These were great fun! They were super easy to make and look so cute hung up over my bed. I absolutely love them. And when I get to my university room, I have a feeling it will be covered in these.... 

Anyway, this is how I made these super cute 'Easy Peasy Bunting'

What You Will Need:

- Patterned Material

- Ribbon or String
- Card
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Needle and Thread or Fabric Glue

1. Cut out and isosceles triangle from the card, using your pencil, ruler, scissors and card.

2. Lay the card on your material and trace the triangle onto the back of your material (so that your don't get the pencil marks on the front of your bunting)

3. Cut out the triangle

4. Repeat 2 and 3 as many times as you want, I cut out 10 triangles.

5. Cut the length of string/ribbon you need to place your triangles on, making sure it's the short side of the triangle on the string/ribbon.

From now on, this will differ whether you are sewing or glueing. I can't sew to save my life, and so the next steps are if you're using glue. (Note: PVA glue will work as well as fabric glue, but your bunting won't be as strong)

6. Lay the triangles upside down, and lay the string/ribbon over the top of the triangles.

7. Using a brush, coat the string/ribbon and the top of the triangles. (Note: the glue will soak through the material, and so be careful what your making this on. I used a varnished wooden table, and my glue was washable, and so when it dried I had to peel the material off, and then wipe down the surface with some soap and water.)

8. Leave to dry.

9. Your bunting is now finished, hang up somewhere, and it will look adorable.

Top Ten Tuesdays: Favourite Foods

1. Ice Cream - need I say more...?! 

2. Macaroni Cheese - this is just comfort food at its best. I love pasta and I love cheese..sooo

3. Pizza - thick crust, triple cheese, nom!

4. Roast Chicken - roast dinners at my house are a weekly thing on a Sunday evening, and although I love roast dinners as a whole, roast chicken it my favourite, because not only do I love chicken, I also love chicken gravy!

5. Chocolate - I don't think diamonds are a girls best friend, I think it's chocolate, I mean it cheers me up when I'm down.

7. Cucumber - starting to get healthier now. I've grown up next to a nursery that grows cucumbers, and when we used to go round there as kids they would give us the ones that didn't fix in the boxes and I would sit there and just eat the whole thing.

8. Red Grapes - I can't buy a punnet and not eat the whole thing. Seriously, I think it's a problem, a real problem...

9. Toast - with butter and marmalade, my boyfriend eats like 7 slices of toast each morning, so I think he's more obsessed than I am, but still.

10. Tomato and Cheese Pasta Bake - I ate this all the time in my first year of university, buying the ASDA own brand jar and literally adding it to cooked pasta. Nom. It was filling, and tasty, and hot and... god I miss it now I'm home.

Bedside Beauty

These are the products I use basically every night, just before I go to bed. I take off my pandora bracelet and my necklace my boyfriend bought me 4 years ago (which I wear more of less every day). My Kissy Missy Lipbalm by Zoella lives on my bedside table just because it now comes everywhere with me, and I always put it on my bedside table, just so I know where it is (rather than it getting lost in a bag somewhere in the bottom of my wardrobe). 

The rest of the products are all different moisturisers of sort. Most of them are fairly heavy, and leave my skin looking a little greasy until they are absorbed into my skin overnight so that I wake up looking super soft and smooth.

Cath Kidston Lip Balm - this is a super thick lip balm that leaves my lips feeling really sticky, but I wake up in the morning and they are really soft, so I don't mind, but makes it a perfect 'leave-in lip balm'.

Nivea Hand Cream - this isn't a heavy moisturiser, it's just my current hand cream, and working in a restaurant situation dries out my hands, so I have to apply this as much as possible.

Liz Earle Superbalm - I often have dry and cracked skin around my eye, and so I apply some of this over the skin at night and it helps repair the skin while I'm sleeping. It takes a while to sink in, and when you first apply it, it looks quite greasy, so I like the apply it just before I go to sleep. This was really expensive when I bought it, but it lasts for ages.

Caudalie Huile Divine - I'm growing my nails long after biting them (I know eww) for the first 19 years of my life, and so they are super brittle. I got this sent in a lib box, and you are meant to be able to use it on your nails to repair them. So, I'm giving it a go... I'll let you know what I find out.

Top Ten Tuesdays: Favourite Places

1. Blunham - my home village, this place is amazing, it's just so homely and I couldn't be happier than at home

2. Southwold - so many childhood memories of this place. It's a little coastal town in Suffolk, and it's basically my home away from home.

3. Pembrokshire - this place is BEAUTIFUL, rolling countryside, sandy bays, the pembrokshire coastal path, lots of crafty shops, what more could a girl want?

4. Bed - ha! need I say more

5. Italy - in some ways this is cheating, because I've never actually been, but this is THE place I want to go to. I have 10 photos of Italy going round on a loop on my laptop and I have countless articles and things saved about Italy. Im obsessed.

6. Cambridge - I don't live far from Cambridge, and it's my local city, and so I'm forever there shopping or going to the theatre. Love, love, love Cambridge, it's so beautiful.

7. London - I couldn't live here, because I couldn't deal with.. well everything all the time. But, nothing beats the capitol, everything's there, and the shopping is amazing.

8. Cromer - another on of those coastal towns (this time in Norfolk) we used to go all the time as kids. Plus, my uncle owns a flat here, so I get to go for nearly nothing.

9. Northumbria - this is a county and so I don't know if it's cheating. But this county is full of castles, which I love to wander round, and I love to go here for a winter break. We used to go to Seahouses to the same apartment.

10. Paris - the first destination I've actually been to outside the UK (I'm not well traveled..). But Paris is in some ways similar to London, but is somehow just more romantic. If you haven't been to Paris, go! 

July Favourites

I can't believe another month is already over! But it has, and it's been a great month! I'm home from University, and so back at home and near the boyfriend. At the beginning of the month we went on holiday to Cromer and it was a massive heatwave and was insanely warm, and will go down as one of my best holidays ever. I've been to Woburn Safari Park and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo this month as well, and I love animals and so these were both amazing days out! So, here are my favourites that I've been loving throughout the month of July.

Hair and Skincare

Most of these products are so summer appropriate, because, as a whole, this month in England has been hot and so these have been essentials for me. 

Simple Kind to Skin Moisturising Facial Wash - I absolutely love this! It comes out as a thick gel and gently foams as you apply it to your face, which are my favourite kind of face wash. It's 100% soap free, and has no fragrance, and so is really gentle on my skin. It also contains multi-vitamins and skin-loving ingredients. This, for the price you pay for it, is incredible. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Loreal Paris Express Pro Self-Tanning Dry Mist - This is in the shade 'medium', and is a spray on fake tan, and so it doesn't streak or get my hands covered in it. This tan is a gentle fake tan that looks natural, it's not REALLY dark, but makes me look like I've gained a sun-kissed glow, and as my legs are really pale, I use this all summer long on my legs.

Pampered Bath Smoothies Strawberry, Raspberry and Pomegranate - This smells divine, it's so sweet and summery, and creates the best bath soak. That's all I have to say..

Batiste Dry Shampoo Cherry - This is a cult favourite for everyone. And this one smells of cherry... what more could you want?! I use this for two purposes, either to clean my hair when I haven't got the time to wash my hair, or to add some extra volume into my roots or some grip into my hair when I want to do hairstyles that require less clean and silky hair.

Umberto Giannini Salt Spray - Salt sprays are a summer essential for me, they add some texture to a simple hair style; whether it be just down or in a high ponytail, and this one is amazing, just spray it in, scrunch it up, and BAAM your hair has more texture and volume in it. 

Umberto Giannini Leave-In Conditioner - Sun and wind damage my hair, and so this conditioner creates a silky-soft hair and controls any frizz. I spray this in just after I come out of the shower and then either leave it to dry naturally or blow dry it and it leaves my hair really sleek and soft.

Tangle Teaser Wet/Dry - I'm so late on this bandwagon, but this is a life saver, it gets knots out of your hair without pulling any hair out with it. As my hair's got longer I feel like it's got thinner, and so, although I feel this is quite expensive for a hair brush (especially as I tend to lose them), I feel like this is a great investment in my haircare. 

Make-Up

Real Techniques Buffing Brush - This is perfect for applying my foundation and concealer, especially around the nose and eyes and all those difficult places. I love this, and I think everyone, and their mom, and their cat, and, yeah, everyone they know, love these brushes.. so ...yeah

Beau Belle Powder Brush - I bought a set of brushes on Amazon, there is a review on my blog earlier, which you can read here. This one is my favourite, I love this powder brush, it's so soft and applies just the right amount of powder on my face, it's also just the right size to cover my face, and I can't recommend this brush enough, however, I only think you can buy it if you buy the set, but it was so affordable, and all the eyeshadow brushes in this set are incredible too.

Collection BB Secrets in Light - I've been loving BB Creams recently, and currently I've only tried two, and so I may be not the best person to ask about this, but it feels light and moisturising, while still applying a decent amount of coverage. Plus, it has SPF15 in it, which is an additional bonus

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer - I absolutely love this Concealer for under-the-eye concealing, and it's illuminating as well. I don't think it's as great at covering up imperfections or spots, but this is by far my favourite for covering any bags and brightening up this area of my face.

Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder in Beige Clair - I've been using this over the top of my BB cream, as it is gently coloured and so adds an extra layer of coverage, it also keeps me looking matt all day, as well as keeping my base products in place. So it's a multi-use product, which is definitely a plus point.

Sleek Make-Up Blush Palette in Californ.i.a - This is a sleek palette containing 3 cream blushers, which are all summery shades. I love to wear cream blushes in the summer, and this palette comes with 2 shimmery shades and one matt, and they go with every makeup look I would ever do in the summer, and so this comes with me everywhere. 

Rimmel Natural Bronzer - This isn't a very good contour shade, which some other bronzers are, but its great at adding a little colour to my face, and I've been wearing it whenever I'm having one of those 'no makeup makeup' days, as it's such a natural shade.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Creamy Beige - I use this as a eye shadow primer, it is such a natural tan shade, and covers any redness on my eye lid, it stays put all day, and it means that any eye shadow I apply ontop also stays put all day. I own 4 of these now, and my other 3 are more colourful, but this one is a great base for any eye look, and I use it more or less every day.

Maybelline The Colossal Go Extreme Volume Express Mascara - This is just about to dry out, and I am definitely picking up another one. This mascara is great. The brush is huge, and dense, and so makes my lashes look very voluminous. I then tend to use a lengthening mascara to help separate and perfect, but this is a great mascara, and is something else I've been using everyday. 

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Stellar Pink - This could be considered quite a dark shade for summer, but it's one of those lip colours that you can build up, so it can be quite sheer or really vibrant. It's a shimmery pinky-red-nude shade (I know a lot of colours), and is so easy to wear, the formula of these are incredible. They are moisturising, and stay put for quite a while, and I love these lipsticks!

Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in 32 - We all know my obsession with these lipsticks, but I love this shade because it's a coral colour, and so summery, and I get so much wear out of it in the summer. Nothing more to be said really...

Non Beauty

Tanya Burr - Love Tanya - I recently got hold of this book, and I love how it's written, I love that it gives you space to write your own thoughts and views and I love the content. Basically, I love this book. It's also in a really nice hard back copy and so will stay really nice for long time. 

Ben and Jerry's Half Baked - Everyone loves Ben and Jerry's, but this is one of those flavours you don't often see, but I really love. It's a combination of Cookie Dough and Fudge Brownie, which are both mine and my boyfriend's favourite flavours, and so we often share this.

Tesco Sweet Vanilla Candle - I love vanilla flavoured anything, so this candle is delicious, and it was only £2.

Sophie Kinsella Confessions of a Shopaholic - These have been out for ages, but I love them both. The books are so witty and funny, and are a great light reading. The film is also amazing, I watch this when I'm having a lazy, girly evening. Plus, it makes me feel so much better about my own spending problems....

ZSL Whispnade Zoo - I included in this photo the stuffed, because I went to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, and it was one of the best days of my life. I can't recommend this day out enough, it's quite expensive, but we were there all day, and so it was totally worth it.

This or That

High End/Drugstore

I don't own many High End products, so I feel I'm a little bias in this question, so I'm all about the Drugstore, the products here are perfect for me, and they're all so affordable, which is perfect for me, because I have a slight shopping problem.. haha

Straight/Curly

This is one of those things where if you have naturally straight hair you want it to be curly, if you have curly you want it to be straight... I naturally have straight hair, and although it makes it easily manageable, sometimes I wish it was naturally curly so it actually did something, my hair doesn't hold curls because it's so long, so...

Summer/Winter

Although I love jumpers and Christmas, nothing beats the sun, the warmth, the seaside and everything that comes along with Summer. A blue sky instantly puts a smile on my face, so I'm definitely a Summer girl

Coffee/Tea

I basically live off tea, and don't like coffee... so this is easy, tea all the way

Late Night/Early Morning

I'm really not very good at late nights, I get grouchy, and I'm one of those people who are far more productive in the morning, so I'm definitely an Early Morning person.

TV/YouTube

I only really watch TV on Netflix, which I am obsessed with, but not sure if that counts as TV or not... and so, I guess it's YouTube, I love to binge watch Beauty Bloggers or Cover Artists for hours... because I have too much spare time..

North/South

Well, I live in the South (I spend half the year in Southampton, how South can you get?!), and I hate being cold, and so it has to be South

Heels/Flats

I'm terrible of walking in Heels, and I'm all about comfort, plus I'm only 1cm shorter than my boyfriend, and so I'm all about the flats.

Night In/Night Out

I don't really drink, and I love sitting at home in my PJs, with my family or friends, binge watching Netflix with my cuppa, so I'm definitely a Night In person

Save/Spend

I am a slight shopaholic, and I'm terrible at Saving, so I guess it has to be Spending... 

My Summer Holiday Makeup Bag

So I've packed all of my makeup for my holiday, and thought you'd like to see what I chose to take with me on holiday. It's all able to be picked up from the drugstore, and so all really affordable.

During the summer, I like to wear a light coverage foundation, and so I decided to take me favourite; Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in the shade Ivory. This foundation is amazing, it makes your skin look really awake and healthy. For the days we chose to spend being lazy, or I'm just being lazy, I'm bringing my Collection BB Secret Beauty Balm in the colour light, for a light coverage. Both of this products have SPF15, which, for a girl who burns really easily and goes bright red, is really handy.

For concealer I'm taking my trusty Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer also in the shade Ivory (I'm really pale..), I absolutely love this, and it is great at covering up bags under your eyes. I really want the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, but it's always sold out in my shade.. so I'm still waiting.

For setting powder I literally couldn't make up my mind between two powders, because I love them both so so much... so I'm bringing both, because I am incredibly indecisive. Bourjois Healthy Balance unifying powder is great for adding a healthy glow to your skin, and the packaging is really compact, and so will definitely be the one I carry round with me to touch up with. However I have recently (I know, really late) discovered the Rimmel Stay Matt Pressed Powder, and it's really new to me and so I really want to try it out. The packaging it not quite so compact, and doesn't come with a mirror (which my Bourjois does), but I just had to take it because it's so great at keeping your foundation/concealer put.

I'm taking my Bourjois Bronzer and Highlighter, and I love the smell of this, it smells divine, and the highlighter is wonderful. But, the bronzing powder has a bit of a shimmer to it and so I prefer to use my Rimmel Natural Bronzer because, as the name suggests, it looks far more natural, which is that I really like about this product. It only comes in one shade, but it really works for my skin, and so I'm not complaining. 

In terms of eyes, I'm taking my two neutral Maybelline Colour Tattoos in the colours 65 - Pink Gold and 35 - On and On Bronze. I tend to use this as an eye base and they are such beautiful summery shades. To add the extra highlights and to go over the top of this I am taking my Revolution Redemption Palette Essential Mattes, because it contains every shade I would ever need, and I tend to wear matt eye shadow in the crease of my eye, and so this palette is perfect!

For my eye pencils, I'm taking my Maybelline Scandal Eyes, which is a liquid eye liner pen, with a perfect thin pen, it's like just using a felt tip! So easy! and it stays put all day. Absolutely love this product. In terms of pencils I'm taking my MUA Intense Colour Pencil in the colour Rich Brown for those more subtle days, I love wearing brown eye liner when I'm going for a more natural look. I'm also bringing my No. 7 Stay Perfect Eye Pencil in the colour Bronze, which I love to apply and smudge out, and it creates a really quick, natural and lovely eye look!

I'm taking my favourite mascara, ever, like ever. It's the Maybelline the Falsies Volume Express, the waterproof formula, because this makes my eye lashes look incredible! It's also great because it's waterproof, so while I'm getting in and out the pool, and maybe even in the sea... or maybe not.. it'll stay put and I wont be walking round with panda eyes until I get hold of some make up wipes...

For lips I'm taking my two Nivea Lip Balms. I own both the Hydro-Care one, which is great because it has an SPF15 to keep my lips safe and it's also really moisturising, but also rather boring, and the Pearly Shine one which makes it look like you're wearing a really moisturising lip gloss.  I'm then taking my three favourite Rimmel Kate Moss Lipsticks, in the shades 38 (a perfect pink-nude for those days when I'm going natural), 32 (a coral colour, absolutely perfect for summer, it is the most summery shade, ever) and 1 (which is their Red Nose Day special, and is a vibrant, bright red, for those days when all you want is a bright red lip). I'm taking my No. 7 Precision Lip Pencil in the colour Soft Blush to help my lipstick stay in place for longer, I absolutely love this because it's so easy to apply, and you don't need to sharpen it, I mean yes! (I hate sharpening makeup pencils.. it's the bane of my life)

For nails it has to be the Barry M Gelly range, because they're so easy to apply, they stay put for ages, they don't chip easily, and they are really glossy and gorgeous. I am absolutely in love, I mean I think me and these nail polishes need to get a room.... I've only photographed two shades here, but I'm taking five.. whoops, just couldn't choose. In the summer I love to wear pastels on my nails, and so the colours I'm taking are all pastel shades, and I love them so much! I have the shades  11 (a baby/pastel pink), 6 (the most gorgeous pastel purple ever), 5 (a sky blue), 13 (a pink toned orange) and 21 (which is an unusual colour for me, but I love it, it's a pastel, mint green, you should really buy this one) . I'll insert a pictures here;

I'm storing all my makeup in my new Primark Makeup Bag, I absolutely love it, it's such a summery makeup bag, the colours are just wonderful, and it's huge! And it was only £3, what more could you want?!

I know I'm probably taking way more than I need, but I'm driving to where I'm going, and it's only me and my boyfriend, so.. don't need to worry too much about space! Which is great for me, because I am the worst for making decisions! But I love all these products, they're great value for money, and this is basically my summer makeup bag, so I thought I'd show you. I hope you found this interesting, as these are the products I use all the time, and so am completely loving.