August Favourites!

To be thoroughly honest, August has flown by.  When I realised it was nearing the end of the month I started compiling a list on my phone of thing things I'd been really loving, and although it seems like no time at all has passed, that little list got longer and longer!


Makeup...

This month has been all about the lip products - specifically, lip product rediscovery.  All three of these are items I'd semi gotten into previously, but having given them another try this month have fallen head over heels.

Carmex Lip Balm Tube £1.79, Boots (currently on offer)

Everyone had this in their pencil-case throughout secondary school, and oh boy could you tell by the vanilla-menthol scent that followed us all around.  However, I never really found it that soothing on my lips and in the end migrated to Nivea.  Recently though, I decided to give it another go, as the weather was boiling and the idea of a cooling lip balm was seriously appealing.  Now, I'm addicted.  Somehow, perhaps due to the different weather conditions, I find this a lot more soothing than my usual waxy lip balms and butters and I've been dabbing a little of this on instead of my regular gloss day to day.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 'Honey' £7.99, Boots

I purchased this a while back, at the same time as a couple of lip butters.  It's quite a drying product, which put me off at first, but if you mix a little regular balm in it's absolutely lovely.  On some people, it stays true to bullet, but on myself it oxidises to a gorgeous bright berry shade (if you've been eyeing up any colour-changing balms such as the Dior, give this a go!)  Best thing though, is the staying power - it really is a stain.  The colour hangs around pretty much all day, and if you've reapplied a few times, till you exfoliate.

The packaging is a very
bright coral, but the product
itself is almost fluoro-pink.
(Similar in shade to Soap and
Glory SMPGS in Fuschiaristic)

Nyx Butter Gloss in 'Peach Cobbler' £5, Nyx website

Mine was ordered from Amazon, but if you're in the UK you can get it direct from Nyx a lot faster.  This is one of those super messy glosses, that if all you do is use the doe foot applicator you end up with a streaky, sticky mess.  One day though, when my lips were too dry for the aforementioned Revlon balm, I decided to give this another go.  Somehow, when you blend it in with your fingertips, by magic the colour becomes your lips.  And stays.





Clothing...

M&S 5 Pocket Denim Jeggings £22.50

I rambled on about these in a post earlier this week - they're the perfect stretchy skinnies, almost identical to the Topshop Leighs - I've been been wearing them all month!







M&S Footsies £3.50

Earlier this month, I went a little nuts and bought a pair of gorgeous suede loafers.  And then attempted to break them in sockless.  Needless to say, this was rather daft, and I ended up with the King of Blisters on one heel.  After a week of hobbling and tlc, I've reattempted the breaking-in process, this time with much more success.  These footsies although thin, stop any chafing and mean I don't have to go full 'trainer sock' - huzzah!



Food...

Pret a Manger 'Jambon-Buerre' Roll £2.50ish

Thickly sliced ham and crunchy gherkins, all wrapped up in a crispy French roll.  Need I say more?

(Apologies for the lack of picture here, I thought I'd taken one in store but sadly can't find it now :(  )



Movie(s)...

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

I absolutely love each and every film Marvel comes out with, and this was no exception.  Hilarious, action packed - but still thought provoking.  We went to see it at the start of the month, and it's kept popping into my mind ever since.  A fantastic summer blockbuster, which I feel also introduces new viewers to the MCU without utterly confusing them!  A must see.

Till the next one :)

xxx

Makeup chores #3: Storage

Before I left for uni - with a somewhat trimmed down selection of makeup to take, I thought I might share how I store everything at home.  As I don't have a mirror in my room, almost everything lives in the bathroom down the hall.  This means that surface space for storage is pretty limited, so once I realised that everything was piling up in one great big makeup graveyard box I decided it was time to hunt down a decent storage solution and have a good clear-out.  I don't have a lot of makeup at all, as once I really love something I'll tend to stick to it religiously and then change it in and out of rotation (if it's something like a blusher).  However (as you'll see in the pictures below), I have a slight addiction to sheer lip products - so there're a decent number of these!

To start with, I purchased a set of these pop-up boxes from Ikea.  They're great because you can wipe them clean, and they easily fold flat.  These four you can see in the picture are the smallest, and held together with a couple of large paperclips fit perfectly upon the top of my bathroom cabinet.  They also have high sides so you can pile a lot of things up in them, and I could see them being really useful as drawer separators if your vanity drawers are especially deep.  The larger two (which aren't shown), I am using as 'clothing in use' and handbag storage boxes in my room - so they're a very versatile storage solution that I'd definitely recommend investing in.  I keep brushes (in a candle pot) and face products on the left, eye products on the top-right, and moisturisers/primers on the bottom-right.

'SKUBB Box Set of 6' £6, Ikea

Next, I picked up one of these lipstick holders from Ebay.  It's cheap and cheerful, and does the job nicely.  Considering the price I paid, and the fact that delivery was free it feels decent quality and is reasonably sturdy.  An essential if you're a lip product addict like myself, as it means you can see everything you've got (so then won't forget about a product for months!)  It also looks very sleek on your dressing table.

'24 Grid Makeup Organiser' £2.48, Ebay

xxx

A dupe for the infamous Leigh jeans...?

My jeans collection is one that I'm not massively proud of.  There are many pairs that I've barely worn, whether they be too small (meaning that they won't even go past the thigh area) or too baggy (perfect upon purchase and then subsequently stretched out...)  Earlier this year though, I purchased my first pair of Topshop Leighs for an eye-watering £38.  They were in a gorgeous tile print, are ridiculously comfortable and I love them to bits.  They're just high rise enough to prevent you flashing a bit of midriff at people, and are super skinny and stretchy.  However, if I filled my entire jean drawer with Leighs I would be well on my way to bankruptcy.  It also doesn't help that everyone says they wash/stretch out in a year - as you don't want to be replacing circa £100 of jeans on a yearly basis!

Marks and Spencer 5 Pocket Denim Jeggings
£22.50

Topshop Moto Leigh Jeans
£38

                   vs

Recently though I was making the obligatory stop off at M&S whilst shopping with my mother, and we spotted a stand filled with jeggings.  But these weren't your standard jeggings...they had proper pockets and a zip and button closure!  I went and tried them on - and was sold.  They're supersoft and stretchy, fit just like the Leighs - and they come in multiple lengths!  I'm 5'6 and a size 10 in Topshop, and the size 10 medium length fit perfectly...best of all they're only £22.50!!

As I'd already got a pair of carbon black jeans, I decided to get the ones that are officially labelled as 'slate' grey - but are actually more of a worn in black.  They're lovely as they are not too harsh for the summer (and your legs don't bake in the sun!)  The 'light indigo' ones are next on my list, the challenge now is to find somewhere with my size as they're really picking up in popularity!

5 Pocket Denim Jeggings are available here for £22.50.  If your size isn't available online, it doesn't mean it won't be in store (popular sizes are practically all out of stock but my local store have plenty).

xxx

Just another mani Monday...

This week seems to be the one for dreadful-pun-post-titles.  It's probably because whilst I'm writing this that it's been well over six hours since I last ate anything.  Well, apart from one of those Moser Roth chocolate bars a couple of hours ago (but that doesn't really count, does it...?)  Anyway, today I painted my nails with one of the Kiko polishes I picked up quite a while ago.  I've previously only used it on my toenails, but as I was feelin' the vampy mood I decided to go matchy matchy and use it on my fingers too...

Kiko Nail Laquer in 286

Its a gorgeous dark wine, that's almost berry-red in the bottle but translates much darker on the nails.  As I said before, it is quite a vampy shade and I can only really get away with it now as we're approaching the end of summer.  It is one of those reds that you've got to be super careful with as it'll go everywhere if you haven't got a steady hand (I think I got through about five cotton buds tidying it all up!) but the finished effect is beautiful.

Kiko's polishes also dry very quickly, so if you need a third coat on one or two nails (like me) you aren't going to end up with a splodgy sheet-marky mess come the next morning.  The brushes are nice and wide, not quite as tapered as I'd like - but I'd much rather be swiping the edges with cotton buds than dealing with streaks.

And here it is on the nails.  This is true to colour - you can
almost see a bit of reddish brown peeking through.  Very 90s chic.

Kiko Nail Laquers are available here, priced at £3.99.  My shade (286 Purple Red) is currently reduced to £2.50 - bargain!

xxx

Taking the plunge...cleaning your Lonchamp tote

I've had my Longchamp le Pliage tote for well over two years now.  It was practically abused for the first (as a college bag stuffed with folders and textbooks), and then rehabilitated slightly and used as an everyday handbag for the following year.  The handles have definitely worn, and I've had to seal up the corners with superglue - there's also a little cracking of the vinyl interior where the most creasing has occurred.  (I have asked in the Longchamp store in London about cracking vinyl, and they will carry corner repairs out free of charge - but I don't think I could be without a tote bag for over a month!)  However, now that it's being properly looked after I think I'll be able to get good few more years out of it.  The one thing I'd been avoiding though, was giving it a good wash.  I'd been wiping it out with a damp cloth every month or so, but had never given it a proper clean (some people fling theirs in the washing machine, but I could never be brave enough to do that!)

But last week, disaster struck.  I'd (as per the usual) popped a bottle of water in my bag, to keep hydrated for the day.  We were on a long car journey back from holiday, and I'd just left my bag on the seat of the car whilst I had a nap.  Upon reaching our lunch stop, I reached in and encountered approximately 3-4 inches of water in one corner of the bag...immediate panic ensued.  Luckily, the phone was safe, but various other items were drenched - and I'm forever thankful that I'd chucked in several packets of tissues for the journey as these had absorbed a lot of the water.  In the end, after leaving the poor bag and its contents on the dashboard to dry out everything was okay - but the bag itself had a massive black tide mark where the water puddle had sat for several hours...

Anyway, once we got home I decided to give the bag a gentle cleanse in warm water to see if it could be returned to an acceptable state.  I'd taken a few pictures along the way, just so I knew afterward what I'd done - and as it was so successful I thought I'd share it with you all!  (Excuse the rather dodgy quality in some photos - these were originally just for personal reference so I didn't worry about the lighting at the time.)

The red area indicates where the staining was
(as being rather disorganised I've managed to lose the picture
of the original damage...oops!)

First of all I filled a washing up bowl with warm water,
and gave the bag an initial rinse.  In the end I didn't
bother keeping the leather dry, as it would've been too fiddly.

I then added a capful of gentle detergent to a fresh
bowl of water, and set to work... 

After thoroughly rinsing all the soapy water off
I then patted out as much of the water as I could
with a clean towel.  Especially focussing on the leather.
I then stuffed the bag with several towels and put it in
 the airing cupboard overnight.  The leather flap was still
a little damp the following day, but it had completely
dried after 24 hours. 

I then used some clear shoe protectant (this is the 'Natural' one
from Clarks) to recondition the handles and flap closure.
I also sprayed the bag with a canvas protectant (also from Clarks)
to give it a little more waterproofing.  I'll also be going in with the
superglue again to tidy up the corners when I get round to it...

And here's the finished product! Good as new, and smelling
fresh as a daisy :)

xxx

Budget brand focus: Essence

When you're counting the pennies (especially after that little trip to Space.nk turned into a full on splurging spree), it's a relief to come across a new budget brand to try out.  I'd seen a few posts about Essence recently, but as my closest Wilko is 45 minutes away I hadn't yet gotten around to picking anything up.  Price point wise, they're somewhere inbetween MUA and Rimmel - but the products I managed to get were well up there in quality.

I just wish I'd gotten more things to try!  In total, these
cost £4.30, an average of £1.43 each (bargain!)

I was especially impressed by the 'Colour and Go' nail polish I picked up - the brush was just the right shape and size to cover the nail in a couple of swipes and it dried super fast (I believe I did my nails in 15 minutes, which is a complete record!)  The shade 168 is a gorgeous dusky lavender, slightly more purple than Barry M 'Almond' but very very similar.

Apologies for the slightly shaky picture here,
but I thought it was definitely worth showing
the brush shape - it's just like the Essie polishes.

The blush I chose was from their Silky Touch range - and is very highly pigmented.  The texture is very soft and not chalky at all, and it lasts all day on my combination/oily skin.  This, like the nail polish felt comparable to much higher end products!

L-R: One swipe, Blended out

As the whole range was on 3 for 2, I also chose a glitter topcoat (for fun!) which I haven't yet tested out.  It's a gorgeous rainbow glitter, that I'm sure I'll use coming up to Christmas/New Years - and as it was so cheap I won't feel guilty for not using it all the time.

All in all, my first experience with Essence as a brand has been stellar!  I'll for certain be popping a few more of their polishes in my basket next time I'm in store.

The entire Essence range is available online at Wilko, and there's also a limited range in store.

xxx

Nars 'Red Square' vs Bourjois 'Hot Pepper'

I'm pretty ashamed to admit that my lipstick stash is about 80% sheer products.  Despite this though, I'm a sucker for the perfect bright red lip - and when reviews started popping up all over the place for the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets I had to go pick one up!  The main reason I tend to avoid brighter lippies is that they'll wear off my lips in no time at all - even the longer lasting formulas, so I decided to give 'Hot Pepper' a go to see if it lived up to the hype.

'03 Hot Pepper'
The packaging feels very sturdy, thank goodness
(you wouldn't want this stuff getting all over the
inside of your makeup bag!)

As a matte lip cream goes, it feels very comfortable and gel-like on the lips.  The first time I applied it, I slathered it on like nobody's business as the colour was coming out quite sheer.  Unfortunately, this meant it never dried properly and it wore off in under an hour.  In subsequent applications, I worked a small amount into the lips and to waited for it to dry properly and then layered up.  I also didn't use a lip balm immediately before, instead patting it on afterwards to stop my lips drying out completely (this does mean you lose a little of the matte effect, but I otherwise I'd end up with lips like the Sahara!)

A couple of weeks later though, I caved and purchased the one lip product that had been on my lust-list for months - Nars' Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in 'Red Square'.  Immediately upon using it I realised that the colour is almost identical to the Bourjois!

You get 2.4g of Nars, and 6.7ml of Bourjois.
However, as the latter is in lipgloss-esque packaging
it's likely to expire earlier (much harder to keep hygienic.)

The pencil form is easier to use on the go, and the scent is much nicer - tart cherries compared to the almost industrial plastic-y Bourjois.  The wear time is pretty similar - although I have noticed that the Nars oxidises to a berry shade (underneath, not on top, you only see once all the product has worn off i.e. in the evening).  This also happens with a lot of lip products with me, so it may just be the pH of my lips (sorry!)  Having had a little Google, a couple of other people have recommended using 'Hot Pepper' as a base to stain, and then topping up throuout the day with 'Red Square'.  This definitely works well, as 'Red Square' is a lot less messy to apply and it means that you don't end up with any patchiness (and I can justify the purchase of both to myself - oh dear...!)

L-R: Bourjois 'Hot Pepper', Nars 'Red Square'
Pretty much dupes, right?

I've also found that using a proper lip scrub dramatically improves the wear time.  The Lush one called 'Mint Julips' tastes divine, but if you're on a budget there are plenty of recipes online to make your own.  My favourite balm to prep with is Nuxe's 'Rêve de Miel' - this completely healed my lips one time when they were wrecked by windburn and I can't live without it.  I'll leave this on whilst doing the rest of my makeup, and then wipe the excess off before applying the lipstick.  A fantastic cheaper option is the Body Shop's Cocoa Butter balm - which smells delicious and really does help to clear up dry areas (I've even used this on patches of dry skin on my face in emergencies!)

And here's a pic of the prep 'n' prime products, tacked on at the end.
Not the most travel-friendly packaging, but it sure does feel luxe!

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets are £8.99 at Boots.
Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils are £18 at Space.nk (free delivery code here).
Lush 'Mint Julips' is £5.50 here.
Nuxe's balm is £9.50 at Space.nk.
The Body Shop Cocoa Butter Lipcare Stick is £4 here.

xxx

What happened post results...oops!

Yesterday, results rolled around and I spent most of the day grinning like a loon.  It was such a relief to know I'd got the grades for uni - waiting all summer is rather stressful (and it's always at the back of your mind!)

Regardless, the wait was worth it and I'm already firing up the uni shopping lists (hell yeah!)
I'll probably chat about the things I'm getting for uni when it's closer to the time (or do a review once I've used them a while), but I thought I'd share the couple of little 'present to self' items I picked up last night...

It's listed as £10, but here's
the 10% off code I used:
000110204242314

(N.B: Since they're all online purchases, I'll do some proper little reviews of them once they've arrived.  Hopefully all the offers will still be on!)



Kate Moss for Topshop scarf £9 originally £45 

I already tweeted earlier this week that I'd popped one in my basket - but decided to hold off until Thursday to see if it would be a 'congratulations' or 'commiserations' purchase.
It's a gorgeous vintage-y coloured lightweight scarf, that I feel will mute down any outfit you pair it with.  This should be great to take brightly coloured summer clothes through into autumn, and it was such a bargain.  It's made of a polyester chiffon, not silk - but definitely worth the money.  And c'mon, how could you resist an 80% discount?!

Sadly, I saw this go out of stock
 as I was typing up this post - but
 there's still a few available on ebay
 for about the same price.

Laura Mercier Colour Wardrobe for Eyes and Cheeks £30 originally £78 (holy moly!)

This was more than a little bit of a splurge.  It's one of those things that you don't really need, but is such good value that you have to snap it up!  I was taken in though by the eyeshadow shades - as I'm in love with cool toned shadows (and nearly all of these fell in that category!)  The brushes also get great reviews, and I'm hoping this will be a fab option for when I'm travelling back and forth from uni and don't want to carry much.  Overall, you get 8 shadows and 3 blush/bronzer shades, 3 brushes (one double ended) and 3 liners (plus a pencil form brown liner!) - working out at about £1.50 per 'item' :O




Sleek Blush in 'Life's a Peach' £3.89 

I'd been hankering after an orange toned blush for a while, and was on the verge of purchasing Stila's 'Gladiola'.  I wasn't quite sure though that it would suit, so was looking for a more budget-friendly option to try out.  I was also still kicking myself for not picking up a similar shade at the Essence counter (mini haul to come there) when I was in Wilko, so really was searching for something around the £3-4 mark.  Then this morning, I saw a post featuring Sleek's blush in 'Life's a Peach' and though why not give it a go?  I got it from Ebay as it was about 50p cheaper than Boots (and I was also feeling stingy after the aforementioned Space.nk accident) - fingers crossed it arrives soon!



There we go.  That's my little results day haul complete.  Of course, there's more to life than chucking stuff in your shopping basket - this past summer has for sure been a special time to spend with family and friends.  It's really starting to hit home how much I'll miss them, and it's times like these where you're all celebrating together that you realise how much you love them all and are so grateful for everything *cries a bit*.

But anyway, enough of the emosh-ness!  There's going to be a lot of stuff to do over the next few weeks, and it's all going to get very busy very quickly - but I can't wait for it all to start!!
Here's to the next year :D

xxx

The perfect coral nails.

Coral lovin' 

When Bobbi Brown came out with her 'Nectar and Nude' Collection, I was all over it.  Everything was b-e-a-utiful, and I immediately wanted to go have an accident in the John Lewis beauty hall (I mean a purse related accident - not the other sort - haha!)

As it usually goes though, by the time I'd gotten around to visiting the Bobbi Brown counter the items I'd specifically wanted had all sold out.  This happened too with the Dior spring collection, where I desperately wanted the coral coloured 'Lip Glow' - but that's another story...

Anyway, the one thing I'd really had my eye on was her nail polish in 'Nectar' - the perfect reddy-pinky-orangey coral.  I ended up keeping an eye out for it on Ebay - eventually I found someone who was selling one!  I'd wondered whether it was worth doing a post on a limited edition product, but if (like me!) you were hunting for it online and were unsure if you should bother - this might be of some use.

The bottle is lovely, Bobbi Brown's packaging is always very chic and sleek.  The colour really does translate beautifully to the nails, although it can be a little streaky to apply.  I'd also prefer a slightly larger brush, like the ones on Essie polishes (especially since it's rather pricey!)  As I'm very messy painting my nails, I knew I'd probably run out of it quickly so I've been hunting around Boots for a close enough, budget-friendly dupe.  Max Factor do a shade in their 'Glossfinity' line called 'Cute Coral', which seems to be pretty much identical.  Thank goodness for that!

The picture online looks much more orange -
but it really does look like 'Nectar' in reality!

Max Factor 'Cute Coral' is £5.99 from Boots (a bargain considering Bobbi Brown polishes are £11!)

xxx

A mini Space.NK haul! (plus free delivery code)

I love high end beauty products.  There, I've said it.  Nearly always, you can find something similar in the drugstore - but it's just feels a little more luxurious to be applying your makeup in the morning from a shiny compact or ritzy tube!  As a stingy student on an even stingier budget, I can't really justify buying most of the stuff from Space.NK.  This month though, it was sale time and I stumbled across a real bargain!

Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss in 'Sweet'

Chantecaille's Brilliant Gloss gets a lot of hype in the blogging world - and at £26 a pop it had better be worth the money.  Space.NK had discounted the shade 'Sweet' to a mere £6.50 - about the same as a Revlon gloss!!

It's a regular sheer coral-pink  with a little shimmer - not as bubblegum pink as it appears in the pictures online - and absolutely gorgeous formula-wise.  If the Clarins 'Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors' and the Dior Addict glosses had a baby - this would be it.  Very gel-like and hydrating and it sticks around for at least an hour or so.  I just wish I'd bought several so I had a back-up, as I'm using it up like the clappers!

I also bought their Brow Definer in the shade 'Cedar Red' for a fiver (instead of £19).  I've always used powder shadow for my brows, so this was new for me.  I've sort of managed to get the hang of applying it - but unfortunately it's just too ginger for me as my hair is more of a dark-auburn colour but I think I can get it to work by using a little brown shadow to darken the red slightly.  Will keep you updated on that one!

And here's both products swatched.  You can see the brow pencil
 is very warm -  and as my brows are light in colour it looks really red on.

Space.NK also have free delivery on orders at the moment, but once this offer ends just use the code SNKBATH so you don't have to pay £5 for postage!

xxx

Wears of the week #2

It's been pretty hot this week in the UK.  As in almost 30 degrees hot.  Most countries can cope fine with weather this warm, but the majority of us lot begin to melt as soon as the thermometer goes over 21!  Either way, I've been donning torn up Levis and loose tops as much as possible - but I still thought it was worth posting about the few other things that I've worn a lot recently.  (Warning: these are all basically shoes/socks - sorry!)


 'Traditional' Converse £45

I got my first pair of Converse approximately ten years ago.  They were red, and I absolutely wore them to death!  These are the bog-standard black ones with white detailing - they go with practically everything and are so comfortable.  (Sidenote though: make sure you wear these in well with thick socks or you'll end up sporting super-fetching, little-toe blisters...)

F&F Trainer Socks £4

When the weather is cooler, I'm usually fine without socks.  However, the aforementioned Converse tend to rub my feet at the moment - so I picked up some of these cheapo socks from Tesco which do the job nicely.  These have been on constant rotation in the wash recently, and it's on my list to pick up another pack.





Birkenstock 'Relax' Sandals £20

I'd toyed with getting a pair of Birkenstocks for a while, and had even gone to Office and tried on a pair of 2-strap Arizona ones.  Unfortunately, my feet are such a funny shape that the size 6s were too large and clumpy and the 5s were too tight - and I gave up on the idea of ever getting a pair...

When I was on holiday, I saw these in a discount store and tried them on for a laugh - the style is similar to the Madrid but I believe the lining is smooth as opposed to suede.  They happened to be a size 5, but they fit perfectly!  The colour is also a really pretty dark grey-blue, called onyx.  (As I got them in a random discount store, I couldn't find a link online for them - but if you spot them in a store where you are I'd thoroughly recommend trying them on!)


There we go, a rather footwear heavy post...hopefully next time the weather will have changed and I'll be able to chat about clothes!

xxx

Makeup chores #2: Brush cleaning

Washing your brushes can be a pain in the rear - especially if they're the sort of ones that need a whole day to dry (i.e. kabuki brushes).  As I don't have a massive brush collection, I've got to wait for a no-makeup day to swing around so that I can do a full brush clean...

I'll usually just rinse the brushes out under warm running water, after swirling in a little gentle hand soap/shampoo.  Then I'll lay them all out to dry at an angle - it's imperative not to let the water get down the brush ferrule (the metal bit that pinches the bristles) as it will over time break down the glue and you'll end up with shedding.  Whilst washing aswell, I'll try to only let the bristles themselves get wet and will point the brush downwards.

You can roll up a towel like I've done here, meaning
 there's a nice little slope for the brushes to sit on.
Ta da!

When there simply isn't enough time to let the brushes dry, I'll use a bit of the No.7 brush cleanser squirted onto some kitchen towel.  Swirl the brush around it it, and see the colour come away like magic!  Obviously this doesn't substitute a thorough clean, but I've found that even doing this helps with controlling bacterial blemishes.  It's also great if you're low on brushes and want to change eyeshadow colour, for example.

Here it is.  I'd also recommend using strong kitchen towel sheets such as 'Plenty'.
Means the paper doesn't break down and get all over the place.

The brush cleanser is available from Boots for £8, but you can use the £3 off makeup coupons and get it for a fiver.  No.7 makeup and accessories are also buy one get one half price!

xxx

One for the paleys: The Body Shop's 'Honey Bronzer'

Bronzer is one of the most difficult things to get right if you've got extremely fair skin.  Everything tends to look just a little too muddy and orange, and until discovering the Body Shop's offering I'd just stuck to a dusting of blush on my cheeks.

Last time I was stocking up online on body butters and shower gels though, I spotted this bronzer in the 'popular' section of the website.  I remembered hearing Estée from Essiebutton raving about it, and since her skintone isn't too dissimilar to mine I thought I'd give it a whirl!

The honeycomb pattern is so cute, and the exterior
 packaging is all pretty and reflective.
If you're ever toddling past a Body Shop, go take a look!

The 'Honey Bronzer' is completely matte, and comes in four shades.  I've got the lighest, and it's perfect for my skin. Just enough to add a little bit of colour, and if you're accidentally a little heavy-handed with it (like me when I'm half asleep in the mornings!) it's very easy to correct as it's so subtle.

Here's a relatively heavy swatch on my arm - blended
 out it gives a lovely lovely glow to the skin.

It also works great as a contour, or just dusted on the points where the sun catches naturally. Overall, a wonderful product that I'll for sure be repurchasing!

It's available online here.  Full price, It's £13, but you can almost always get a 40-50% off coupon from places like Vouchercloud :)

xxx

A little trip to Cardiff (Part 2)...

Here's the second part of my pictorial summary of our trip to Cardiff (the first is here).  This is the exciting bit, with some pictures from the Doctor Who Experience!

If you've ever been on the Warner Bros Studio Tour, this is like that but quite a lot smaller.  There are lots of costumes - one from each of the Doctors and several from the most recent seasons' companions.  There's also a few Tardis sets - one of which was part of the interactive experience section (which involved you getting captured by Daleks, Mam was quite confused!) - the one I was really excited to see was 9 and 10's from the new series.

When you go upstairs there are more costumes - most of which are the monsters!  There are also a few 'outisdes' of Tardises (Tardisi?) for you to pose in front of, and some displays showing you how they make the sets/alien models.  I do wish they had put more props in, but I guess it's because they're constantly using them in filming so wouldn't want to keep changing the displays.  It took about an hour and a half to go around in total, and of course there's a 'little shop' at the end!

The first Tardis console from the new series - it's so detailed (and pretty battered!)
I haven't got many more decent pics from downstairs as the lighting was quite low.

'Daleks through the ages' - they'd also got Davros there!

In the evening we went for another toddle around the Bay, and managed to find the 'secret' entrance to the Torchwood Hub.  It's now been turned into a shrine to Ianto Jones - there's a plaque and many many lovely tributes!  Quite corny but it's rather nice as there are no Torchwood sets to go look around.

We also went for supper at an awesome place called Pie Minister.  The food.  Is.  Amazeballs.
 I believe there's one in London aswell, so we'll be hunting that down next time we're there for sure.

All in all, we had a lovely time in Cardiff.  I'd thoroughly recommend a visit there!

xxx

A little trip to Cardiff...

This summer, I made a list of places I wanted to see and things I wanted to do.  Once I've headed off to uni the time will fly by, and before I know it three years will have passed.  Therefore, on impulse Mam and I booked a trip down to Cardiff!  We spent several days there, and went to most of the tourist spots.  I've also loved Doctor Who for years, so was really excited to see some of the filming locations for the show and to visit the exhibition down in the Bay.

Since I took a helluva lot of photos, I thought I'd split the trip up into a couple of posts.  (Just so I can chat a little about each one and not give readers information overload!)

We wandered around for a while, and ended up at Cardiff Castle.
The sky looks quite dark here, but I promise it was really hot and sunny!

Here's Roald Dahl Plass (home of the Torchwood Hub), with a nice view of the Millenium Centre.
I (being daft) thought that this was the Millenium Stadium - oops!

There was a really cute funfair in the centre of the plass, and a mini beach too!
(Oh, to be little again *sighs*)

This is the Pierhead building.  We popped in to shelter from the heat, and there was a really interesting film rolling about the history of the docks.  The building itself is also a work of art.  It's in the Gothic Revivalist style - like the Houses of Parliament and Natural History Museum in London.
Right next door to it is the Sennedd, which has a quiet little coffee shop upstairs (if you're in need of some refreshment!)

We also went to the National Museum of Wales, which is close to the Uni.
There's a really great exhibition on the 'Evolution of Wales' - if you're
 interested in geology or natural history I'd definitely recommend checking that out!
(They also used this as the filming location for 'Vincent and the Doctor'.)

We also visited St Fagan's - which is another part of the National Museum (about 25 minutes out of town).  It's made up of many many examples of Welsh buildings throughout the ages, which have been moved to the grounds of a castle.  They filmed 'Human Nature' and 'The Family of Blood' here too.  My Mam absolutely loved looking around all the houses, and there was fresh bread available from the bakery at lunch time!  A great day out :) 

Part 2 soon to come...

xxx