Keeping things simple.

Despite winter being well on it's way here in New Zealand this last week we've had a mini late autumn heat wave. It's not been breaking records or anything but bare legs and suncream have definitely made an appearance. I've wholeheartedly embraced the warmer weather and my make up has been kept to a complete minimum, as no one wants to slap on a ton of make up when it's going to sweat off! Following the same theme my skin care has become seriously streamlined with one cleanser being almost entirely to blame.

Simple make up

It's all about the skin at the moment, any shift in weather makes my skin a little funny for the first week as it handles the change, so instead of smothering it in foundation I've been reaching for a sheer, dewy tinted moisturiser. The perfect little combo at the moment in Laura Mercier's oil free tinted moisturiser and Collection lasting perfection concealer, these two together provide a great finish, slightly dewy but with great targeted coverage.

Everything else is kept super simple, a little hula bronzer for some slight contouring action, a tiny amount of They're Real Mascara (since it's a pain to remove) and just a slight shimmer shade all over the lid, usually Urban Decay's Sin or Mac's All that Glitter. Fresh, Quick and Simple for mornings when getting out of bed is just hard work.

Simple Cleanser

I actually first tried this when my friend let me borrow hers and I liked it so much I went out and bought it myself. Despite going out to get it I'm not going to tell you this is necessary in your life, although I do think something 'like' this is a necessity. It's gentle, it's calming and it does the trick. I've not seen any magical effects from using it but I know that regardless of how my skin is doing this will cleanse without being stripping, or leaving my skin clogged. 

It's biggest selling point for me has got to be that I really can use it on my eyes and it doesn't irritate or make my eyes water - I definitely don't use it daily on my eyes but if it's a late night and I just can't be bothered it gets rid of your eye make up while you cleanse your face. Ss many cleansers claim to be for skin and eyes, maybe it's just me, but I find half of them way to harsh to use anywhere near my eyes.

Here's hoping the warm weather lasts a little longer here - not likely sadly.

Tiger FOTD

I did this Halloween look over a week ago but for some reason I wasn’t quite happy with it so I never got around to posting it but, looking at it again I thought I might as well- hopefully it’ll give someone out there an idea for what to wear to a costume party :)

This one is just as simple as my other Halloween looks but it just takes a little longer to do, all you’ll need is a foundation, a white eyeliner, a contouring powder, an orange and a black eyeshadow, eyeliner and a mascara.

1. Apply your foundation (I opted for matte full coverage)

2. Sharply contour cheekbones & temples

3. Go around the contouring with the orange shadow

4. Draw on lightened areas with a white liner and blend

5. Sketch on stripes, liner and broaden out the nose with an eyeliner

6. Go over the liner with a black shadow to darken & draw on the lip

7. Conceal lower lip, apply mascara and touch up

8. Do your hair and your ready to do!

The more I look at this the more I like it but I’m still not 100% happy with it, what do you think? Have you decided on what you’re going to be this Halloween? I still can’t choose between the Fairy, the Mermaid and the Zombie!

Hope this has been Helpful!! x

Good Things

I was sent these two products a few weeks ago from a relatively new company which you don’t hear that much about – Good Things. The basic idea is their products supply the same quality of skincare as other brands but without all the nasty ingredients. So it’s free from parabens, sulfates, mineral oils and animal ingredients which is great, it’s also meant to be full of natural ingredients to ‘boost’ your skin.

Face the Day moisturiser 100 ml -£7.99
This is my lleast favourite of the two purely because the scent is too much for me. It is lovely and hydrating though and works quite nicely under foundations and tinted moisturisers. It’s the sort of cream I’ll reach for during transitional months (so autumn and spring when my skin can’t make up its mind what to do!) and it does have UV filters which is a great added bonus

Bright Eyes Eyecream 15ml - £5.99
It’s a good standard eye cream which would work really well for someone who doesn’t really have any issues with their under eyes and is just looking for light soothing moisture, for me though I feel like I need more nourishment from my eye cream as my under eyes are my main hold up and need a fair bit of TLC
Both of these smell delicious and fruity however for me that’s a double edged sword. I don’t mind the strong scent in my eye cream as my eyes aren’t sensitive but I feel like that strong a scent is better suited to a body lotion over a face cream and I generally feel uncomfortable applying as surely something that strongly scented is the result of perfumes and added fragrance which doesn’t really appeal

Overall I doubt I’ll purchase these two again but not because I don’t like them, I do, I just don’t love them as they’re not quite right for me. I do think they’re worth the money though as they’d be perfect for someone who is just getting into skincare, who doesn’t want to spend too much and just wants something that isn’t too drying or too moisturising to introduce them into skin care

Have any of you given Good Things a go? I'm tempted to give their face masks a go!

Hope this has been helpful!! x

Standard FOTD

This is another little fotd I wore while going to the cinema with some friends (this time we saw Horrible Bosses.. it was OK, didn’t love it though)It's pretty much my standard 'go to' make up which i fall back on whenever I'm stuck for inspiraiton!
(click the pictures if you want to enlarge) (I wasn't going to include the picture on the left as I took it by accident but it shows the texture of the products so well and is truer to colour so I thought i'd use it anyway)
Face
BB cream
MAC studio sculpt concealer nc20
MAC MSF in Pearl (I missed the two colours together for a blush – review here)
A light dusting of Lancôme setting powder in translucent
Eyes
Smashbox duo in avante grande (great little combo)
Urban Decay twice baked in outer corner to darken it up a little
Maybelline Lash stiletto mascara

Lips
I popped some of E.LFs baby lips liquid lipstick on as I running out the door
Hair
& I didn’t do anything with my hair, I let it dry naturally and just had it down

Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x

P.S let me know if you like these FOTDs or you prefer my usual reviews and nail posts!

First Date

I recently made an E.L.F purchase when they were offering 50% off(good deal right?) and I picked up one of their lip stains as recently I am really loving stains and I wanted to give a cheaper version a go.
This is normally £3.50 from the studio line available online here E.L.F(eyes, lips face) is predominantly an online brand however it has recently become available in Sephoras in the U.S
I got mine in First date as the hot coral/pink with golden reflexes shown online looked gorgeous and it’s pretty true to colour in real life only the golden shimmer is much more muted and is only noticeable in certain lights.
(L-R Bare lips, just the stain and the stain with the clear gloss on top)
(I think I’ll get the most wear out of the stain and just use the gloss every so often)
You get two products for the price of one with this, a stain and a gloss. The stain looks beautiful on its own if you want a matte finish, and I much more day-time friendly look. And the gloss is actually surprisingly nice! It’s not remotely sticky and lasts really nicely.
The stain wore pretty well, there was some patchiness however it wasn’t horrendous and I did test this out quite thoroughly (going out for a meal and then drinks with friends)The formula isn’t drying either which is a problem I find in most stains like this.

Overall I don’t think I’ll get any other shades as this one suits my needs perfectly however I would recommend this if you’re looking for a long lasting colour on a budget – I do genuinely like this product and would probably pay a lot more than £3.50!

Have any of you tried E.L.F’s lip stains? What were your thoughts?
Hope this has been helpful!! x

Runway Pink

I don’t usually do reviews on just one lipstick but I think this one deserves a special mention as at only £3.50 it’s already one of my favourites and I’ve not even had it a full week yet!
Runway Pink is from the mineral line at E.LF meaning it’s a bit more expensive than their normal £1.50 price tag but you get a sleek matte black case and a gorgeous product!

This isn’t a colour I would usually go for (I tend to stick to mauves and colours resembling my natural lip colour – in other words I play it very safe) but Sara from SWalkerMakeUp recently mentioned it on her 11 most used tag and I’m always swayed to try products whenthey have been highly recomended!

I was making an elf order anyway (they had free shipping) and I popped this little beauty into my basket (still not expecting anything amazing) but when it arrived I understand why it’s so popular!
It’s a creamy, almost matte finish which instantly makes it more wearable as it’s not an in-your-face pink with lots of gloss. I wasn’t sure it’d work with my pale skin (although I have been fake tanning a bit this past month) but it looks gorgeous and I’ve already found myself reaching for it most mornings!

This is definitely going to be one of those products I repeatedly repurchase and I’d recommend trying this out or if a creamy neutral pink isn’t for you (I think this would suit everyone though) check out their other mineral lipsticks as I’ve heard good things about all of them!

Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x

P.S I've finally finished my exams!!

BodyShop face masks.

I own three BodyShop masks and I seriously love them!
All the masks are between £8 and £11 for which you get a tub of 100ml which, although sounds a little pricey, you easily get 20 applications (I normally get about 30ish) which leaves those £1 masks looking surprisingly expensive!
The BodyShop currently has 7 different masks meaning there really is something for every skin type.

Seaweed Ionic clarifying mask
The seaweed range is designed for oily/combination skin, so, since my skin is normal, this is perfect for clearing up any break outs and controlling oil if for some reason my skin is playing up.
This particular mask is also incredibly cooling with a really distinct scent.
(I’ve actually repurchased this mask which just goes to show how much I love it!)

TeaTree face mask
This particular mask is meant for blemish skin however I don’t find this does anything to any blemishes, rather it’s just very soothing, calming and always just balances my skin out. It also doesn’t become hard when it dries like the seaweed mask
(which is a shame as I actually quite like the feeling of the mask drying, pulling out impurities)
This is defiantly the classic bright green, slightly scary, mask! The scent was at first a little overpowering however I quickly got used to it and I actually really like the scent.

Nutriganics smoothing mask
This is my least used, not because I don’t like it, but because I only need this in winter when my skin becomes a little dry. It’s targeted at people with the first skins of aging which doesn’t include me, however I still love this for lightly hydrating my skin.
I’d recommend this to anyone more mature or with sensitive or dry skin as this always works a treat for me when my skin is a bit under the weather!

Hope you’ve enjoyed!! x
(You can always ask for a sample in store if you just want to try out a mask and see how it works!)