What I use for my eyebrows!

 

For me when I first instantly meet someone the first thing I look at are their brows. This is just because I am obsessed with eyebrows, as I really think they shape and define someones face. Just look at some of these celebrities without eyebrows, and you can really see how much difference there is. 


In this post today, I will be sharing with you my eyebrow routine. 
I have nothing fancy done to my brows, no threading, no HD brows or anything of the kind, because I just don't have the money or courage to get them done. When I was on my beauty course I would get them waxed nearly every 2 weeks. But since then I have just stuck to the simple and easy self plucking. The reason I play it safe with this is because it's just so efficient, and obviously a pair of tweezers are nothing on the price of getting your eyebrows professionally waxed or threaded. As well as this reason, plucking also allows you to pull out every single hair, even the stubborn ones, which waxing tends to not. 

        A few years ago as far as eyebrows went it was all about eyebrow pencils for me. The Rimmel, or the MUA ones were a typical favorite of mine. Although there is nothing wrong with brow pencils, I have upped my brow game since then and after watching numerous Tanya Burr tutorials on YouTube I have since then discovered the art of brushes and powder. This way of filling my brows for me, gives my brows a more softer, less 'drawn on' effect, allowing you also to still see your visible brow hairs. I prefer this natural yet still groomed look, as it frames the face elegantly and put together. 

        The particular brush I use is the 208 angled brow brush from MAC, this is made out of real animal hair which therefore is more gentle on the brows. I could not live without this brush as it is just amazing. I also use it to line my eyes with black powder too as liner. The powder I use for filling in my brows is also MAC. I got matched to the 'Charcoal Brown' shade, which is apparently great for anyone with auburn to dark brown hair. I hear that the majority of blondes tend to get matched to 'Omega'. However I would suggest to pop in your local store yourself to get matched just to be sure you get the right shade. There's nothing worse than getting a brow colour darker or lighter than your actual hair. After this I also then use a clear brow gel just to set my brows and keep all the hairs in place. These are my brows after using these products I have mentioned :) 

My Life/ Changing College courses!

This is a different kind of blog compared to my usual beauty posts, which you probably gathered anyway due to the blog title. But I thought it would be quite nice to give you a little insight to an area of my life. This being college.

       To start of I currently have just started my second year at college after having an amazingly long two month summer holidays off. So as you could most probably imagine it is rather depressing having to get back in to routine and start focusing again. Although I am trying not to dwell on this too much so I can focus on being motivated and positive. The college I am at is one of the top in the country for pass rates and grades. It offers a wide range of courses, A levels, uni degrees and evening classes. My college is in another county to where I live, so travel is quite an agg, as I have to walk half an hour to the train station (where trains come only every hour, so you can imagine my stress if I miss one) and a half hour train journey and then another 20 minute walk on the other end to my house. Even though it does tire me out, when all I want to do when I've finished college is to go home to eat and sleep, but I do honestly find it worth it as I enjoy my time at college.

       On the topic of courses. I did do a Beauty therapy course last year, which I enjoyed at the time but later I personally found it very non-challenging and I wanted to change my future career path also. Despite not enjoying the course I made a great good group of friends. As we were a small class of around 12-15 we all got on and kind of became a family, which made the lessons more bearable as the learning wasn't for me. The reason I chose to do a beauty course in the first place was because of my passion for make-up and beauty, therefore I aspired to become a make-up artist. The main reasons I have for not loving the course was that it was very client based. So in every class (our typical duration of our lessons would normally be from 2-3 hours) we would perform treatments on outside customers. I did gain a lot of confidence from this and social skills, considering you would be in a very intimate situation with strangers. But for me repeating the same treatments hour after hour, day after day would become very boring, even though I loved meeting all the new customers. Another reason for my dislike of the course was I didn't particularly like any of my lectures and because of my relationship with the lectures I felt I was lacking motivation and not  receiving any support from them to help me achieve better in my assessments. Overall I did achieve a Merit pass qualification, which I was happy with. But as from what I've explained you can probably guess that I wasn't going to continue to do the second year of the course.

      For this year, me and my two close friends from my beauty course decided to apply and enroll for a 1 year business course at the same college. We all felt that it would be the best decision for us if we had changed our mind about our future. For me I chose business as it is a very broad subject which could open up a lot of doors for me and give me a variety of options for my future. I have just started my first day of the course today, however today was more about filling in paperwork and meeting who would be in your class.I found it very exciting to be trying something different and I am determined to do well and achieve the grades I want. I would love to have the option to go to university if I wanted to, which is another reason I want to do well. I would study Advertising and Marketing and this was included within the business course plan, so I am looking forward for learning that unit.

       If I have any advice for anyone changing on courses or starting out at college, I would suggest to think long and hard about what exactly you want to do and don't just make a quick, rational decision. It took me a while to realize that perhaps Beauty therapy wasn't for me. However I am glad I did it, in a way because maybe if I wouldn't of I would always be wondering 'what if i had'. And it also has given me an extra qualification, so that if I did ever want to get involved in the beauty industry again I would be able to.

Thanks for reading, and for all of you, if you're starting college, uni or school, Good luck xox 

Me and my two college friends I mention in this post.

Garnier micellar cleansing water. A quick simple way to removing make-up

If you're one of those people that are lazy with skincare and night-care routines, then I can already guarantee that you would love this product. The thing I find so great about this cleansing water is that it thoroughly removes all traces of make-up on your skin, which other make-up removers, for example; make-up wipes don't particularly do all that well. It does a fab job in getting even the thickest waterproof mascara off and leaves no traces of any panda eyes. This cleansing water could literally remove all types of make-up, no matter how thick the consistency may be. In terms of which skin types it suits, I would agree with what it claims on the packaging which is that it suits all skin types. I have normal-combination skin, and this cleansing water treats my skin brilliantly, leaving it feeling super duper clean and smooth. Since using this remover I have had even clearer skin. I believe that this is due to the water particles within the formula, as obviously water contains no harsh chemicals or scents that would irritate my skin it also contains hypoallergenic particles which mean they cause fewer allergic reactions. This is another reason why this product is great for those with sensitive skins. 

     What about this product that makes it so quick and easy to use is that, there is absolutely no rinsing with water required, which is so useful if you are wanting to take your make-up off where getting to a sink is not easily available. You simply just pour a small amount onto a cotton pad and sweep across your face to remove all dirt and make-up.  The bottle is also made out of plastic which creates it the perfect travel product. For the cheap price of  £4.99 you get a large 400ml worth, which claims it will use up to 200 uses worth. But I do believe that this totally depends on how much make-up you wear, and how often you use it. Despite the cleansing water to be so cheap anyway, you can always rely on trusty old boots or superdrug to be offering great bargains anyway! 

All in all I thoroughly recommend this product for anyone that doesn't want to faff about with a complicated night care routine yet still seeks to have beautifully clean skin. So far since using this I actually haven't found any distressing cons that would put me off , to stop me from using it on a daily basis. The only little downfall I could say would be that the lid does lift up sometimes if you aren't careful in shutting it properly therefore could lead to some leaking. However if you fancy checking out this product you can find it in the links below: 

http://www.boots.com/en/Garnier-Micellar-Cleansing-Water-400ml_1440752/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garnier-Naturals-Micellar-Cleansing-Water/dp/B00HU27GZS

Mac blush in Harmony ( The perfect contour)

 As you may or may not know I am utterly obsessed with contouring and the whole 'Kim Kardashian' image. I definitely don't feel like my make-up is complete until I have finished up my look with contour and highlight. I personally believe that these two steps within make-up are two of the most important, as they give you definition and shape to your face and also to emphasize your cheekbones and areas you most want to accentuate. 
However despite all the pro's to contouring, it can be difficult to get the hang of, especially if you are short of time doing your make-up, as you want it to look perfect, so just a simple functional product is what I was particularly looking for. 

          Mac's blush in Harmony fitted my needs exceptionally well. It's very practical in Mac's famous simple packaging, easy to slot in to your make-up bag if you're on the go, it also has a very secure 'lift up' lid so that there is a limited chance the product would crack or fall out. Although the colour in the pan looks slightly dull and nothing to write home about, a sweep of this across your cheeks and the areas you would contour, looks stunning. Despite this product being labelled a 'blush', I would say without doubt it leans more towards being a bronzer. The pink/red undertones balances out any orangeyness from the formula, which gives a more natural glowing effect. These undertones plus hints of rose/beige in the blush also make it a great product for pale skins, such as myself, this is because the colour is less harsh on the skin and won't give that TOWIE 'tangoed' look, yet gives it a healthy glowing contour. 

              One of the biggest things I believe that intimidate people the most about contouring are 'how to apply it' and 'which brushes should I be using', but do not fear, you don't need a massive collection of fancy brushes to be able to achieve that contoured look- especially with 'Harmony' too. I simply just use one brush and one brush only and that's Mac's '187SE'. However I am certain that this brush is limited edition, as I received it as a present a couple years back as a gift. Another Mac brush that I've heard is brilliant for contouring in their permanent line is the '168 Large angled brush', but you could use practically any blush or bronzer brush with this product and it would still give you the same finish. That's the beauty of this product- it's a contour lovers best friend! When I'm seeking that all round glowy look, I just dust this over my forehead and down my nose which instantly leaves me feeling that I look like I've just been on a weeks holiday in Greece! :) 

I would recommend this product 100% , I use it religiously every day and it compliments any make-up look you could think of! This blush cost me £18, which may sound alot to some, however one pot has lasted me a whole year and I've only just hit pan slightly! I am sure it would happily last me another 6 or so months until it's empty. So I'm thankfully getting all my moneys worth. If your a contour lover just like myself, I am sure you too would be very happy with 'Harmony' too. I shall leave a link to this product down below for you to check out if you wish :) 
http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/156/329/Products/Face/Cheek/Powder-Blush/index.tmpl
Thanks for reading :) 

My Tattoo's!

Firstly I'd like to apologise for the massive time gap since my last blog, the disappearance was mostly due to the fact I was finishing up college and my course, and to be honest just a load of other things that took over from blogging. However thankfully I now have the time to start getting into blogging again therefore hopefully uploading posts more frequently. 

Anyways this post is about my recent investment (should I say) of my tattoos that I got whilst abroad. I'll start of by mentioning that although there is a lot of bad press about getting tattoos In counties such a magaluf (which is where I went by the way), I made sure that I went to a tattooist that had a good reputation and had English speaking people there. The particular place I went too, was recommended by a few reps that are regulars at this tattooist and all their tattoos looked fab. So I did feel confident that mine would turn out how id want, there was also an English girl that lived out there working in the studio so I was able to ask as many questions as I wanted. 

        Now on to the actual tattoos; the first of the two I got was the one on my left upper thigh which is my starsign (Virgo), this was €35 and took around 10 minutes, pain rating 1/10. The reasoning for this tattoo was because I have a massive interest in starsigns and horoscopes and despite some people opinions towards starsigns I do believe that I am very much like a typical Virgo. 

        The second of my two tattoos is just above my right knee which is the quote "Pursuit of Happiness", this was €70 and took around 45 minutes, pain rating 3/10. I adore this quote and the meaning behind it which is that "The pursuit of happiness is defined as a fundamental right mentioned in the Declaration of Independence to freely pursue joy and live life in a way that makes you happy, as long as you don't do anything illegal or violate the rights of others" which I think is a lovely and inspirational quote to have. I actually got this tattoo in the same shop 5 or so days after my first. 

I am sure I will get more tattoos in the future as they are very addictive and despite what some people may say the pain isn't actually as bad as people make out although I can believe that if you we're to get tattoos on an area where it's very bony or you have less fat on that particular area it would hurt a lot lot more. I chose to get the tattoos in the areas I did because I will be able to hide them with certain clothes expecially in the winter and I thought they would be less painful for my firsts. I've had these for around a month now and as far as the healing process is going, I think they are doing okay although I am slightly concerned about scabbing and loss of ink in some places so I will be sure to get those checked out surely. 

Mac Strobe Liquid Lotion

              Mac strobe liquid lotion-     If you're lusting after that radiant healthy glow then this strobe lotion will defiantly help you achieve this look. First of all this strobe lotion is targeted at 

oiler skin types, as there is a cream formula aimed at dry skin types- however I have dry to normal skin, but I find the lotion to feel much more lightweight and breathable than the cream. The packaging is also vastly practical for travel due to its plastic container and clever lid. 

             To gain the best results of this lotion apply all over the face, or ares you would like to accentuate the most using your fingers for an even well blended finish. I personally use around 4 pumps to cover my face as I like to make sure that every area is covered, however it is personal preference to how much you should use.  Once applied, the visual results are immediate. Straight away you are able to see a difference on your skin with the strobe lotion on, the look the lotion gives you is a pearly sheen- almost like a muted down liquid highlighter. Your skin instantly looks; healthier, brighter, and dewy. After this step I tend to occasionally pop on a bit of my tea tree pore minimiser just to tone down the visibility of the pores (although obviously this step totally up to you). Next I go straight in with a bb cream or a foundation, which I apply with a Real Techniques Expert face brush to get a real airbrushed finish. Once completed application of the foundation, you can see the strobe lotion gleaming through, which gives a totally amazing complexion. 

My beauty January favourites

Mac Lipstick in 'Brave' - Throughout January I have been religiously reaching for this lipstick due to its natural, 'your lips but better' finish. This month I have enjoyed keeping my make-up looking healthy and radiant and this lipstick really ties in well with this particular look as it gives my lips a lovely pop of colour, whilst still looking very natural. This Mac lipstick is in the formula 'satin',  which is a matte texture, yet still nourishing on the lips. This lipstick retails for £15.00. 

Garnier BB Miracle skin perfecter cream in 'Light' - Recently I have been really disliking wearing a foundation on my skin, as I often feel suffocated and heavy wearing such a thick product on my skin on a daily basis. So in January I was set out to invest in the likes of a BB cream or tinted moisturiser, which is what I did. This particular BB cream was advertised and came with a packet sample in one of my favourite magazines 'Glamour'- I tried and tested this BB cream sample and instantly fell in love, so obviously the next day I just had to go and buy the full product myself. The cream feels smooth and light on the skin, and doesn't feel tacky or wet like some foundations do (my pet hate). It glides on super well like a day cream/moisturiser and I use my hands to blend it in all the way down onto my neck- as although the shade I purchased was a 'light' it was still a tad darker than my bare skin, however this did not bother me as I love looking tad tanned. This cream retails for £7.49.

L'Oreal Kids sweet pear tangle tamer- Firstly this stuff just smells like heaven! It has a strong but refreshing fruity scent to it leaving your hair smell like summer! This tangle tamer does the job brilliantly, I spray this all over my hair when it's damp after the shower and simply brush through my hair after with a standard hairbrush and it makes my hair so easy and pain free to brush, which is exactly what I was looking for. Retails for £2.19. 

Rimmel scandaleyes eyeliner in 'Nude'- This was a random and recent purchase of mine yet I have fallen in love with it already. It's a nude based eyeliner which you apply in your lower waterline to widen and waken your eyes. As soon as applied your eyes look instantly 10X bigger and more awake. The formula of this eyeliner is creamy and smooth which means it is very easy and quick to apply. Which is perfect for me as I don't particularly have very much time to get ready in the mornings! This  eyeliner retails for £2.99 

The Body shop Tea tree pore minimiser - Although this has been in my collection for nearly a year now, I have only this month started reusing it again. After months of not bothering with any form of primer, I decided to try this out and see how it works with my skin during this season. I was pleasantly surprised at how great this product is, and why I seemed to of forgotten it in my collection. I wear it beneath my BB cream and it makes my pore's disappear in an instant and keeps any recurring blemishes at bay with its 'tea tree' extracts. Despite 'tea tree' being mostly aimed at combination to oily skin types, I found this worked really well on my dry skin type and left me feeling hydrated. It has a mild but calming minty scent to it which is very pleasant to wear on the 

skin. Retails for £8.00 

Mac's skin finish in Soft & Gentle- This is my all time holy grail product, which will be forever loved and lives in my make-up bag every day. I use this product as a highlighter on my brow bone, nose, cheeks and inner eye corner daily. It gives the most gorgeous glowy but subtle sheen on the area's applied and really makes a big difference to your make-up. Making you appear healthier, more dewy, tanned and highlights the areas you want to emphasise the most. Suitable for ALL skin types and ALL skin colours.  Since having this highlighter I simply could not wear make-up without it. It's a winner! Retails for £22.00 

To summarise these are all my beloved favourites of the month January 2014, all of which I have tried and worn often and given my full honest review :)