Haultini

Hello!
It's Wednesday, I have done my exam and I bought things! Happy days.
I wasn't going to shop and then it just happenned... This is a totally random not-quite-haul but I though I would share. I'm no good for anything else so let it commence.

See the randomness?  Various embroidery threads for friendship bracelets including NEON GREEN as I am so bored of winter now.  Like, Christmas is over so can the sun please return to our lives... Does anyone else get that? Tesco sweeties, including their cat version of percy pigs and his assorted farmyard chums.
Also some makeup! I was in dire desperate need of a new highlighter and for some reason haven't been able to find one I like so picked up this MUA bronzey shimmery quad colour business. I liked the look of this trio and, for some reason, felt it was appropriate to purchase more eyeshadow. As for the concealer, I was just so excited that it was pale that I had to buy it and have a looksee. It could be shit, I have no idea yet but I think I will follow up on it on the blog because pale-person appropriate foundations/concealers are something I feel very strongly about. My mascara has started to dry up so flakes off my lashes and goes into my eyes which meant I picked this one up on a whim today - it's had good reviews so I am hoping for the best.

MUA Trio eyeshadow in Innocence

MUA Bronze Shimmer Kisses

MUA Cover and Conceal in Fair

L'Oreal black Volume Million Lashes

I hope that this insight into my bizarre shopping habits has been interesting or at least amusing. Most of this was completely at random but at least most of it was cheap... As for the embroidery thread, I have an odd obsession with craft shops and friendship bracelets. Don't judge.
What have you bought lately?
♥

Music of the Moment #001

Happy Tuesday! Nearly halfway to the weekend...
I have my exam tomorrow *lament* so this is a scheduled post (fancy). I am obsessed with music, i can't go through most daily activities without it and I love so many different artists and styles of music that I thought it might be nice to share some of my current favourites every now and again with you lovely people.So, without further ado, here are some songs that I have been listening to a lot recently...

001.
Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Shine.
I love this man, I love this song, this is not so much 'music of the moment' as 'music of ever'. I mostly listen to this in the mornings when I'm getting ready and when I'm in a sleepy snoozy mood.

002.
Aerosmith - I don't want to miss a thing.
My boyfriend and I are watching Armageddon this weekend (not so much a romantic anniversary film but since when has that mattered?) and what with this being 'the song' of the film I've been listening to it more than usual. Also, I am a massive huge fan of Aerosmith in general.

003.
Muse - Map of your head.
I have had some muse albums on recently and have had this particular song going quite a lot. I just love it.

004.
Azealia Banks - Luxury.
I bloody love this woman. And I love this song oh-so much, and it is perfect for when I need to speed walk somewhere, it has that kind of beat...

005.  
Avicii vs Nicky Romero - I Could Be The One.
This song is so good! It's another one I like to listen to as I get ready in the morning because the singing is kind of gentler but the music behind it is more likely to get me out of bed in the mornings.

006.
Frank Ocean - Thinking About You.
I was going to just have five but could not leave this song out. I love it so much, especially this cover by Becky CJ as well as the original. It's so chilled and I can listen to it over and over and be happy.

Well there we have it, six songs that I have been especially loving recently. What have you been listening to?
♥ 

Challenging my Stash #001

Hello and happy Sunday!
I apologise for lack of posts this week and am afraid to say that it will be pretty much the same story for the upcoming week. Exam revision, coursework and essays have given me little free time so the blog has suffered.

I thought I would try something of a new feature and see how it goes over the next few weeks. I have done 'shopping the stash' type posts before but having zero time in the mornings makes it nigh impossible to experiment. Instead, I had the idea of setting myself a handful of 'challenges' for the upcoming week to try and use more of my makeup. This could go amazingly, or could well fail and fall flat. We shall see.

This week, I will:
001. Use a blush I haven't touched in a while.
I don't have thousands of blushes but I have a few, and I tend to stick to the same one just because it's easier.

002. Wear a cat eye flick.
I really like the cat eye flick look. It's just fiddly. So I will wear it at least once this week.

003. Use some different eye shadows.
I have so many gorgeous eyeshadow palettes but since I bought the Soap&Glory quad, it's been the only thing I've used for the past couple of weeks. Again this is pure laziness!

That's it for this week, I don't want to throw myself in the deep end too soon and I also plan to take photos and do little blog posts for each one, or perhaps one bigger post, and because I have a lot on this week it wouldn't be practical to think I can do one every day!

Hopefully this will encourage me to use more of my makeup stash, what do you think of this idea?
♥

It's the little things...

Hello all!
First of all IT'S SNOWING AGAIN! I love the snow far, far too much for an 18 year old but I have to admit, I get overexcited whenever it snows and leap about taking photos and exclaiming at how damn pretty it is. Forgive me. As I write this it's been snowing now for about an hour, is getting heavier and is practically going sideways with the wind. I am quite glad I did not go anywhere today but have been home revising. But anyway, moving on to the point of todays ramblings.

I was at home, revising geology like the *cough* model student I am *cough*. I went downstairs for a tea break because sea levels are boring and I am only human. You can imagine, then, how excited I was to find this had dropped through the letterbox!

Any excuse for a revision break, right?

 
I ordered this back at the beginning of January but because it's from Hong Kong it took about three weeks which is pretty average. Anyway, look how cool this bad boy is! And for only 99p too *smug*.

I particularly love how badass it looks with my gold watch (thank you boyfriend) and rose gold/coppery rhinestone chain style bracelet (thank you Vati*).

I now, of course, want the gold one as well as the gold and silver necklace versions... But I should restrain myself, at least until I get paid. If you are interested I bought it here and I think I was originally sent to it via one of VIPXO's fabulous eBay posts. Oh the joys of shopping, especially online and for mere pennies.
What are the little things that cheer you up?
♥


* He isn't German. I am not German. But when I found out the the German for Father is Vati (pronounced fart-y) the amusement for my 11 year old self was too much and it has stuck. And, yes, I write Vati in all of his Birthday and Christmas cards.

7 Deadly Sins of Beauty tag.

Hello there!
Today is a lovely snowy Sunday and I'm feeling far too lazy to do anything requiring brain power. I spent a long morning in bed with my laptop watching YouTube videos and watched a 7 Deadly Sins of Beauty tag which I decided to transform into a blog post.

GREED
What is your most inexpensive beauty product?Seeing as most of my makeup is all drugstore brands this was tricky until I remembered my growing collection of Sally Hansen nail polishes from good old Poundland. I can't buy Sally Hansen from a physical shop anywhere near me so to find them in Poundland is a super bargain.
What is your most expensive?Like I say, I have very few pricey products so it's my MAC Pro Longwear concealer. Which is £14.50 so really not that expensive! As much as I love makeup, I have only just got a job so high-end products have not been within my reach until now.

WRATH
What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? Tinted moisturiser. I love the theory of just slapping some on followed by mascara and lip balm in the summer but I have oily oily skin. It just seems a little pointless to then go and powder over it every few hours - I want a dewy finish, dammit!
What has been hardest to find?Seeing as I tend to buy nearly everything on impulse, it would have to be my La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo. Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon but it was sold out in my local boots, both boots' where my dad lives and also online. I ended up getting it from an online pharmacy so it wasn't impossible but I did have to wait over the weekend for it to deliver. Sad face.

GLUTTONY
What are your most delicious beauty products?
My cherry coke lip balm! Cherry coke is my obsession and my friend bought this lip balm for my birthday. It smells and taste exactly like the fizzy delight, I tell you.

SLOTH
What beauty product do you neglect due to laziness?
Contour powder. I love the look but it takes too long to get the effect I want when I'm half asleep and running late in the mornings so it tend to get skipped.

PRIDE
What beauty product gives you more confidence?
Can I pick two? Eyebrow powder and concealer. I have silly fine eyebrows and I love making them a little darker and more... solid? That will have to do as I don't know how else to describe it. Surely concealer goes without saying, but I have horrible dark circles as well as the occasional breakout which are made all better with a good concealer.

LUST
What product makes you feel more attractive?
Eye makeup. I'm cheating again here as it's definitley more than one product, but I like how I look when I play up my eyes. I also know that my boyfriend likes my eyes so somehow that works out in my head that enhancing them = prettier me.

ENVY
What item would you most like to receive as a gift?
The Naked palette! I have the MUA Undressed copy but I want the real thing. I really really do.

What are your 7 sins of beauty?
♥

Wishlist 001

Hello!
I have a wishlist for you today, these are a few things that I am really rather keen on at the moment... 

 

Brush - Sunglasses - Boots - Top - CD

I can see the top and sunglasses being snuck into my ebay basket very soon and given the quality of the Real Techniques brushes that I have, this Blush brush will be mine before too long too. The shoes are so amazing, but too much money. It's very sad. Otis Redding, on the other hand, I might buy for me myself or perhaps my boyfriend, who is also a fan of music like this. Lucky for me that most of what I want at the moment is pretty affordable!
What are you lusting after at the moment?
♥

Makeup of the Moment #001

Happy Wednesday!
This is a scheduled post (fancy) and as this goes up I will actually be at my boyfriends house having seen the back of his January exams. Mine isn't for two weeks though, boo!
I thought I would show you what I've been putting on my face of late, as I have bought quite a few new products recently including my first every MAC purchase (courtesy of previously mentioned boyfriend).

Bourjois 123 Perfect foundation 51 Light Vanilla - MAC Pro Longwear concealer NC15 - Collection Lasting Perfection concealer Light 2 - Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder 001 Transparent - MUA eyeshadow shade 19 (for my brows) - Boots 17 cream eyeshadow in Wild Nude - Soap&Glory Lid Stuff eyeshadow quad in What's Nude - MUA Every Lash Mascara - Rimmel blush 041 Bronze - No7 Highlighter - Cherry Carmex - Boots 17 Mirror Shine lipstick in Beehive (not shown)

I apologise sincerely for the colour of my face. Combine a ghosty pale complexion with bad bad winter light and this is what you get. Hurry up summer! It has also washed my eyeshadow out a bit, it's a bit darker in real life.

As I already said, the MAC concealer is in my possession thanks to my ever so lovely boyfriend. He knows what a makeup freak I am and upon his suggestion we went to the MAC counter and they suggested the Pro Longwear which he then bought for me. I am too lucky.

The Bourjois foundation is very new to me, I've had it less than a week but I am really happy with how it's working on my skin. My previous foundation was working perfetly until it decided it just didn't want to stay on my face. I had been using it for about 2 months and changed nothing in my skincare routine so it must be witchcraft. Anyhow, I needed a new foundation and this one stays on my face *dances*.

The blush changes fairly regularly and I might change the lip colour occasionally, but the rest have been staples since I started using them.
What are your current makeup bag staples?
♥

Resolutions 2013

Hello there!
I'm a little late with resolutions, but I don't usually do them as they are traditionally unrealistic and given up by the end of the first crap day at work. But, there are things that I want to do/should already be doing and there is something about the start of a new year which makes me feel more optimistic.

I thought that sharing these with you and maybe updating here every so often would give me that extra push to really make an effort this year.

001. To be more organised.
I am hopeless at being organised and knowing what I'm doing. I have a diary and need to write everything down or I forget, but this year I really want to be more organised! This means planning, to-do lists, actually doing the things on them and generally having more of a clue of what's going on.

002. To lose a little bit of weight.
Now, I don't need to lose weight, and I am happy with my body and how I look but I would like to lose about 5 or so pounds. I used to weigh about 120 pounds and then in April/May time I gained about 10 pounds. I realise this isn't much but I actually have since lost maybe half of that, and it would be really nice to go back down to where I was before! SO, nothing serious but maybe a healthy option every now and again, and I should probably start exercising which leads me perfectly onto my next resolution!

003. To manage my stress.
I am ridiculous. When I get stressed, I can't sleep, I become moody and horrible and consequently become more easily stressed about everything! Anyway, to deal with this I need to actually do some regular exercise and sort out some sleeping habits. And actually make them habits. Going for a run always makes me feel better about whatever I'm stressing about and obviously if I sleep well, life is easier.

004. To be a bit more sensible with money.
I love shopping, I love spending money. But I have decided I need to do less of the impulse puchases and more of the trying to make the balance in my bank account more stable. I now have a job so will have more money, and I really need to be more sensible.


So, these are more like improvements to my life than the traditional resolutions, but this should help me keep them as they are things I really want to do.

Happy (belated) new year! What are your resolutions?
♥

The (near) future

Hello!
As promised, I'm going to give you a bit of a run-down of what's coming up on my blog.

I do have an exam coming up on the 30th so the majority of the posts up until then will probably be along the lines of blogs/youtubers/music I'm loving, wish lists, maybe a quick FOTD here and there.
I love reading hauls and monthly favourites so expect those, and nail polish is an obsession of mine so I will likely have a good few NOTD's to show you.

I am also thinking of branching out into fashion on my blog as it is something I enjoy in all it's forms (specifically shopping and reading Vogue) so there may well be the odd outfit thrown in too.

 I do have to have a quick moan about the fact that England is gloomy and dark right now so it's impossible to get a photo in natural light because there is none! And for that reason I'll probably not have too many faces/nails/outfits because it's very frustrating trying to get decent photos so I tend not to bother.

In the nearest future, I plan on doing a resolutions/goals/thoughts post for the year ahead (I hate resolutions), a collective haul from the past couple of months with maybe some select Christmas pressies and a little 'tour' of my makeup area because I have reshuffled it recently and I want to show it off.

Keep your eyes peeled and happy Sunday!
♥

Look! It's moving. It's alive.

Hello :)
I'm not really sure how to start this...
I am aware that it has been over two months since I touched this blog, in fact I deleted it pretty soon after I stopped posting. I had glandular fever so I was in bed for a week and to be honest I still haven't fully recovered as it's one of those things that leave you super fatigued for a long time. Anyway, while I was trying to recover I had to deal with a lot of college/university application stress and I was just really tired and moody and not especially happy. Then Christmas came with all it's related stress (and a throat infection, which was especially unhelpful after glandular fever), and now it is a new year and I have decided to take up the blog again because, hell, it makes me happy!
Sorry for the rambling there. My brain is somewhat broken. To summise: I felt crap, gave up the blog, now feel more cheery, took it up again.
In other news, I have all five university offers, I had my first day at work today, I have been going out with my boyfriend for almost a year and I have discovered a foundation that matches my ghosty face. These are all equally important... Obviously.
Tomorrow I will post what is coming up for my blog but for now I want to keep this short so I am going to leave you with this

I love pugs damnit!
Much love :)