Plouise Palette Review

So I ummed and ahhhed about actually posting this review, as not long after I bought this palette it was announced it had limited stock left as Plouise was making room for her new palette and products. It felt a little unfair to be reviewing a product that you may not be able to buy soon. However, I thought that it may provide some knowledge on the future palette if the quality is the same, and this palette is giving me so much joy I just had to blog about it.

So for those of you who may not know, Plouise is a Make up academy, and she also has a cosmetics range. The academy currently has over 500k followed on Instagram, as well as a large and thriving group on Facebook. The academy began in 2014, and has gone from strength to strength from then.

She became well known for using MAC Select Cover up as a base for eyeshadow, which then led to her releasing her own eyeshadow base. Following on from that, there came the plouise palette, which is what I'm going to be talking about today. In the future, there seems to be a new palette coming, as well as new pigments and coloured bases. 

The palette itself cost me £28 (reduced price) which is the most expensive palette i own. I did nearly cry when I ordered it online, but I decided it was absolutely worth it after seeing everyone posts online. I then had go pay for shipping on top of this, which bumped the price up even more. 

Inside the palette are 12 decent sized pans, with shades ranging from light beige to deep marron/purple. There are also two shimmer shades which will complement pretty much every shade I can think of as they're so universal. The colour payoff of these shadows is insaaaane. They are just so easy to blend all over the eyes, and you only need the tiniest bit to get decent pigement on the eyes. I really enjoy using this palette, as it's just so easy to use, even for a non-skilled person like me. I would say for my first 'high-end purchase, it was definitely worth it.

Left to right: Plouise, Sunkissed, Burnt, Latte, Queen, Charm, Trippin, Prin, Bestie, Contour, Martini, Slay. (I screwed up and put Prin in the wrong place)

The only issue I personally have with the palette is the white shade 'charm' can seem to fade on my eyes after a while, which means the blinding whiteness of the look disappears somewhat. It's not a massive issue for me as I only really use it towards the inner portion of my eyes so it's not overly noticeable, but it might be an issue for some people.

Overall, the palette is definite win for me. It's still currently listed on their website, but I don't know how long it'll be on there for. I will say it's made me more excited to try more of their products in the future, especially the new palette. 

Swatch Perfect Stencil Review

Not so long ago I discovered the brand Swatch Perfect over on Instagram. They're a UK based brand with over 3000 followed on Instagram, and they produce stencils for makeup swatches. Their page states they have over 170 designs, which is absolutely crazy.

I decided there and then I needed to get some stencils. I'd always been unhappy with the way my swatches looked, as they never seemed as straight and uniformed as others I'd see online. I fell in love with the way the stencils looks. The only problem was, how did I decide which stencils to get?

In the end, I went for the XL Leopard Print, the Rounded Stripes 10 pan, the Cutout Heart Stripes 14 pan and the Lips Mini single pack. When the order arrived there was also a small 'swatch perfect' stencil.

In terms of reviewing the products, there's not really a lot I can say. They make searching products a lot easier for me than before, and they are so easy to use. It's a case of simply peeling the stencil away from the backing, placing it where you want and then applying the product over the top. To keep them clean and maintain them, I wipe them over after use with miceller water and then replace them on the white backing.

Overall I'm very happy with the prices I received, and will definitely be adding more swatch stencils from Swatch Perfect to my collection

Skincare &+ Random Haul

I'd noticed the other day that my skincare has been lacking recently, so I decided to treat myself to some new bits and bobs. Along the way I got a bit distracted and fell into Primark, and may have accidently bought some new candles (don't you just hate it when that happens?)

Whilst almost everything here is new to me- there is an oldie but goodie. The Naturally Radiant Brightening Radience Balm is something I used to use a few years ago, but somehow it had dropped off my radar. I decided to pick it up again as part of my new skincare routine, and I'm so glad I did.

I also picked up the Naturally Radiant Brightening Eye Cream, and the Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser. Both of these are new to me, and I'm really looking forward to testing them out.

Surprisingly, there are still some people in the world who have never tried Snow Fairy from Lush. I am in that category so I decided this would be the year I tried the all famous Snow Fairy. I Was won over the minute I smelt it in the shop, and now I see why so many people obsess over it. This is very quickly working it's way up my favourites list!

So here are those previously mentioned candles from Primark. I'm shocking at trying to describe scents, so I won't even bother. I will say that they are both scents that really appeal to me, they're quite fresh smelling and just lovely. The packaging of these candles are also a huge winner for me. They're also a steal at £1.00 And £2.00 (larger size).

Keeping in the theme of skincare, these products are from a free kit that Superdrug are giving away when you buy three skincare items. As I'd bought the Brightening balm, Brightening Eye Cream and the Hot Cloth Cleanser, I received this for free. I've tried other products from the Vitamin E range and loved them, so this little kit will prove very handy for me.

Recent Clothing Haul

So I wanted to do something I haven't done in a while, and post a clothing haul. With the weather turning, I've started to look for more jumpers and autumny clothes. I've also managed to find some beauties in the charity shops! 

First of all, here are my charity shop finds. I've been wanting a denim skirt for ages, but as it's  not my normal style I didn't want to pay a lot for it. When I spotted this skirt, it just seemed perfect for me and I had to have it- and it was a bargain at £3.50! The trousers are right up my street- they're highwaisted, checked and such a gorgeous colour. Also a bargain at £4.00! 

On to the jumpers (the best part). The orange jumper is from the men's section in Matalan. We were shopping for clothes for Ollie, but I may have gotten a little distracted! It's quickly become one of my favourites as it's so warm and comfy. It's a little more expensive than I'd normally spend on one thing (£18) but it's worth it.

The second jumper is from Primark (£13). This jumper is so soft and smooth, and the colours in this are beautiful. They had so many gorgeous jumpers in there, so I'll definitely be going back for more.

Finally, the beanie. Now anyone who knows me will know I can't resist a good beanie, and this one just screamed my name. I've got a real thing for the mustard colour at the moment, and at only £4.99 I couldn't resist. 

Something Bright and Colourful!

Now that the weather is transitioning from Summer to Autumn, I'm getting more and more excited for my big coat and thick woolly jumpers. However, I before I dig all of those out I really wanted to do one last festival/ summer inspired makeup look. I thpught id go all out for this one, and this was the result!

The products used for this are
Base
Estee Lauder Double Wear (not pictured)
Collection Lasting Perfection concealer (not pictured)
RCMA No Colour Powder (not pictured)
MUA Matte Bronzer
Revolution Skin Kiss Highlighter
Revolution Sports Fx setting spray

Eyes
Plouise Palette- shade Queen used
Nyx Ultimate Brights palette- Purple Shades
The Witches Lab Loose Glitter 
Illamasqua Presicion Gel Eyeliner- Infinity
Lashes- EBay
Barry M Glitter Glue
Bourjoius Volume Clubber Mascara

Lips
Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink- Seductress 

Face
The Gypsy Shrine All in One Face Jewels 

My fitness journey

(I was so proud when  I lifted this)

So it's been a really long time since I blogged about my lifestyle and my health, and over the last few months I've realised more and more how important it is to not only discuss the good things in our life, but to include the bad things as well. I decided it was about time to start talking more about how for far too many years I've allowed my own perception of myself be shaped by the world around me.

So as I'm typing this, I'm currently classed as being overweight. While I'm not going to include specific numbers on my blog, I can tell you that whilst I've never been considered 'underweight' I've suffered from disordered eating in the past and am still battling with it today.

In my very early teens, my weight dropped considerably as I became more focused on what I ate, or rather how little I ate. Part of this came from the belief I was fat, whilst the other part came naturally through me being a fussy eater. My teenage life was spent with me locked into a cycle of obsessively watching what I ate and going through phases of only eating certain foods. Sometimes these foods would be calorie dense, meaning I would gain weight, whilst others had minimal calories, meaning I lost weight. Throughout this period I was also very active, meaning I burnt more calories through exercise. 

Turning 16 bought on some massive changes for me however. First of all, I'd been with my current partner for a few months then, and I'd started to see that he didn't care what size I was so maybe that meant it didn't matter. I also began eating more homemade foods and expanding the variety of foods I ate, which made it harder to track calories. Because of this I slowly stopped tracking calories and began to relax a little. Finally, I started the combined pill (which I was later taken off and swapped onto the mini pill due to adverse side effects). This combination meant I was starting to gain weight, but I didn't care about it.

Fast forward a couple of years and I'd become overweight. I was incredibly unhappy in myself and was desperate for a quick solution. In come the influx of fad diets which included overly restrictive calories, slimfast and the 5:2 diet amongst others. I didn't realise it at the time but all this was doing was allowing me to continue the cycle of starve/binge and I ultimately gained all the weight back and more. Even at the beginning of me creating this blog, what I believed to be a healthy relationship with food and exercise was far from it. This culminated last year in me not eating at all throughout the day, and then going massively overboard in the evenings. 

All of this was masked however by the fact that the nature of my jobs means you have to be relatively fit. This allowed me to believe it wasn't that bad and I just masked my unhappiness by wearing baggy clothes and a cheesy grin. While I haven't got a trigger photo like some people have, I do have a series of photos that I look back on now and think bloody hell, what was I doing to myself?

Fast forward to a few months ago, I decided it was time to switch gyms to one with better facilities and redownload the myfitnesspal app. I've spent the past few months educating myself on Nutrition and exercises that strengthen the body, not just burn calories. I've learnt about maintaining a suitable calories deficit that includes a little big of everything, which is by far a much more sustainable way to live as opposed to fad diets. More than this, I've learnt to stop punishing myself if I have a slip up. Along the way I've got my partner to keep me grounded when it seems like I'm getting too obsessive.

It's not a smooth road. I'm currently undergoing tests to see if I have a bowel disease amongst other things, and sometimes the last thing I want to do is focus on tracking macros when my stomach is tearing itself in two. Sometimes in life we really do need to eat a shitnload of food and feel good about it. I just know now that I'm steadily loosing weight and learning to love my body for All the amazing things it can do, which is something I thought I'd never say.

If you made it this far, I just want to say a huge thank you for reading and please feel free to share your stories too xxxx

I took a break (again)

Oh how I've missed blogging. When I first started this blog, I had dreams of always being able to produce really good content, of having the most beautiful Instagram layout ever and always having good photos. The reality of it is, my camera skills are dodgy at best, this takes a lot of work and the Instagram algorithiam means my content hardly gets viewed.

For a while I let this really get me down. I would compare myself to others and think that to become more popular, I would need to post just like them. Then when that didn't work, I just had a break from it all. For a while I didn't wear any makeup, I didn't purchase any makeup and I quite frankly couldn't be arsed. I felt like I had no makeup skills and there was no point continuing my blog.

However, one random trip into town meant I ended up picking up the I Heart Revolution Multisticks. This was a complete impulse buy, at that point I couldn't remember the last time I'd worn makeup. There was just something really cite about the multi-function pens that screamed to me. I bought the silver one and the nude one and started to play with makeup again. 

I quickly fell back in love with creating makeup looks again, and decided to slowly start posting more IG looks. While it's painfully slow to be recognised in there, I'm slowly getting more followers so that gave me more motivation.

I decided that I would make my blog my own, I would stop trying to be like others and focus more on what I would want from blog. So, here we go all over again! And if you're reading this and remembering my previous posts, thank you so much for sticking around xxxxx

(Quick little self reminder that a year makes all the difference)

Maybelline Superstay 24H Foundation Review

I think I've mentioned before on my blog that I'm always on the hunt for the perfect foundation to suit my skin type. For reference, I have mainly oily skin that can sometimes be prone to dry patches. Because of this, I find that foundation can simply just slide off my face throughout the day and it separates in really weird, unattractive patches.

As you can imagine, I was then very excited to hear about Maybelline's Superstay Full Coverage 24H Foundation (Boots, £9.99). Boots website claims that this foundation "completely corrects visible flaws and imperfections making it the perfect base for a hi-impact make-up look", and that it is suitable for all skin types, and dries down to a 'soft matte' finish.

It seemed like this was the foundation to answer all my prayers. I love matte foundations, and with the claims for it to last 24 hours I thought it would be a perfect all round foundation that I could also wear to work. I checked a few shade whilst I was in Boots and with Ollie's help I chose the shade 10-Ivory. My usual method of application is to use a flat foundation brush to spread it around my face, and then a sponge to blur out any brush strokes/ patchiness that may be left behind. On really lazy days, I will just use a damp beauty sponge to apply this all over.

My first impression of this foundation was that it was full coverage. I get quite red, patchy blotches on my cheek and this foundation covered them perfectly, without looking too heavy or cakey on my face. It lasted really well the whole time I was at work without breaking up or separating and with minimal shine at the end of the day. Initially, I thought this foundation was absolutely perfect for me.  

However, as with most products, there's always a but. The main problem I've discovered with the foundation is that it oxidises really badly. The shade match at the beginning of the day is spot on for me. However, shortly after application I've found that its actually a completely different colour to what first went on my face. The worst example of this is actually when even Ollie noticed that my face was pretty much orange. I've found that when I use fake tan it's fine and matches my neck, but without tan I just end up with that beautiful tide line that nobody wants.

Not the best photos, but you ca see the first photo shows when it's first applied, and the second photo shows how once its blended out the edges are already changing shades. This was within a few minutes. 

My skin has also been a lot more oily than usual recently (I so need to up my water intake) and because of this I've noticed the foundation does tend to break up more on my skin and it starts to look claggy and separated after a few hours or wear, compared to when I first started wearing it. This isn't purely the foundations fault though, as my ski has definitely altered over the course of my using this foundation.

My overall thoughts on this product is that I still really enjoy using it. It's such a full coverage foundation for a really reasonable price that does last for a really long time (bar oily skin probs). However, I would definitely recommend buying a shade lighter than what you need unless you regularly use fake tan to offset the oxidisation. I do still continue to use this product on a near daily basis. 

I'd be really interested to see if anyone else has experienced the same issues I have with oxidisation! Feel free to leave a comment below whether you have or not xx

London Haul

So as you may have seen, I recently went on a trip to London for my 22nd Birthday. While I was there I just had to check out Oxford street as I've heard so many good things about the shops there, especially Oxford Circus Topshop.

I can tell you now I was not disappointed. Never before have I been into a Topshop that has a beauty bar, a cafe or a milkshake bar. Topman even had a barbers inside.It truly is a crazy place to be inside, and I'm so glad we got Topshop out of the way before it started getting too busy in there. From Topshop I brought a gorgeous brush roll from Skinnydip (£15), and a pair of Freedom earrings (£6.50). 

After this we worked our way over to Carnaby Street, to find a Dr Martens store for Ollie. It goes without saying that I couldn't go to Carnaby Street without having a look at the makeup shops such as Too Faced, Urban Decay and Mac and most definitely Irregular choice. I have made it my life goal to have a pair of Irregular Choice shoes now as I've fallen in love. Although I was surrounded by lots of amazing makeup, I restrained myself and only brought a travel sized version of the Urban Decay All-Nighter (£10), as I've been dying to try this for ages.

It was then on to the craziest Primark I have ever been to. We chose to go to the Primark near Marble Arch (I think there's more than one on Oxford Street) as it looked huge, and my god we were not dissapointed. If I ever go again I'm definitely going to this Primark first, as everything was a battle to get close to. I did however manage to pick up four nice vest tops (£4.00 each- in anticipation for the sun we never get) a slogan tee(£8.00) from the mens section and a gorgeous new rucksack (£12.00).  

We finished our shopping day by heading over to Five Guys for the first ever time. I was so excited to try Five Guys and a Burger is one of my favourite things in life, however (unpopular opinion) I really don't think that Five Guys is all it's hyped up to be. I felt it was over priced for what you get, and the only plus I found was that the drinks are refillable. 

London was definitley one of the craziest, but best experiences of my life and I'm already making plans for my next visit!

Revolution Re-Loaded Iconic Division Palette Review

For a while now I've sat back and stared dreamily at swatches and photos taken using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture palette. It seemed like in a world full of warm, red and orange tones this would be the slightly cooler, grungier answer to our prayers (I will admit the colours also scared me a little bit). However, at £43.00 (Beauty Bay) this palette was waaaay out of my price range.

However, along came Make-up Revolution with another dupe to save the day! Revolution Re-Loaded Iconic Division (£4.00, Superdrug) is a 15- pan eyeshadow ranging from more neutral transition shades, to deeper greens and purples. It also contains two shimmer shades- one being golden and the other one with a  more greeny-gold reflect.

As mentioned, I don't own the Subculture palette so cannot personally speak of the likeness of the two, especially on how they swatch. However, from looking at pictures I personally feel that the two palettes are very similar, and I've seen reviews that say the two are very similar. I'll leave images of the two side by side below for comparison.

My own image on the left of the Revolution Palette- An image of the Subculture taken from Google Images on the right.

Out of all the shades, the top two left shades were definitely the hardest to swatch. The peachy shade looks lovely on the eye, but just seemed to merge with my skin tone on my arm too much to see decent colour pay-off, and in general I find the white toned shade looks very chalky, although the pink reflect is beautiful. Arm swatches are taken in the evening, using a Nikon Coolpix with flash on.

Overall, I find that this palette has been a welcome addition to my collection, bringing me shades I didn't previously own and I've really enjoyed experimenting with different looks. While the pigmentation may not be as good as the high-end equivalent (and I'm only speculating here as I don't own the Subculture palette) it comes at a fraction of the price, and without the enormous bad press that came with the release of the ABH palette. 

A recent look created using the Iconic Division Palette below.

Nyx Ultimate Brights Palette Review

I'm a bit of a bore when it comes to eyeshadow, and for years have only ever worn browns and neutrals shades. It's only been within the last year or so I branched out into including more reds and oranges in my looks as they become more popular across the make-up world. However, around Christmas time 2017 I decided I needed to step my game up a bit and venture out into using brighter eye shadows- stand forward Nyx Ultimate Brights!

Nyx can be found in some Boots stores throughout the UK, and online. I've always liked the look of their products, but I'd never really got round to buying anything more than a liquid lip or glitter pigments. However, when I was given a gift card for Christmas, I decided to spend it on some Nyx products that has been winking at me every time I walked past. By using some clever coupon-ing skills when buying these products, I racked up enough points for me to purchase the Nyx Ultimate Brights Palette (Boots, £16.00) using only points (Yay for freebies).

Straight away I fell in love with this palette. It has 16 very bright shades, which includes both matte and shimmer shades.Visually, this pallette is very pleasing to look at  as the colours are all laid out nicely in similar colour groups, which makes me far happier than it should. 

When swatched, it is definitely the orange shade that comes across as being most pigmented and the red toned shades seem to fade on the skin. However, I've found that when used on the eyes all the colours I've used are really pigmented and show up well. These shadows have really good lasting power to them as well- I did a pink eye look at around 10am, and was receiving compliments about it at around 8pm which really did make my day. Arm swatches are taken during the evening with a Nikon Coolpix with flash on.

It's safe to say I'm truly in love with this palette. I'm trying really hard to step out of my comfort zone more and more, and this palette is definitely helping me achieve that. Whilst I am in no way, shape or form a make-up artist, I really do enjoy playing around with new products and this palette is really helping me step up my makeup game!

Below are two of the looks I've created using this palette. As I've said, I'm not a makeup artist so my skills are lacking compared to other peoples but I do try my best! Also, the bottom photo is taken using an iPhone 6s+, whereas the top is using a Nikon Coolpix which accounts for the differences in quality. 

Unicorn Brushes

 It seems like for quite a while now, unicorns have been a massive thing in the makeup community, with brands bringing out a million products all associated (sometimes very loosely) with 'Unicorns'. I am definiley one of those girls who absolutely adores the whole unicorn aesthetic, and I think that everyone around me knows that now as well. Based on this fact, you can imagine the look of joy on my face when I opened my Christmas present of my Brother to find a whole new set of Rose Gold Unicorn Brushes.

I already own a set of white unicorn brushes, which were bought as a present from a lady I work with, so I already knew I would love these ones. In addition to loving the unicorn style, I also love anything rose gold and have a whole collection of items in my makeup area, so these brushes were a double winner for me.

The brushes come in a set of ten, ranging from large face brushes to small eye brushes and everything in between. I can honestly say I think I've found a use for every single brush in this collection one way or another, which I don't always do with whole collections of brushes. The quality of these brushes really impressed me, as the bristles are really dense and have not yet shed at all, and the handles/ ferrules feel really sturdy when being used and cleaned.

The face brushes work amazingly well with power products, but I'm yet to try them with cream/ liquids. They get used to the most for applying loose and pressed powder to my face, and the angled brush is the perfect size for contouring for me. The eye brushes all work really well too, and my two favourites are the flat shader brush which works really well for applying my eye base and carving out the brows, and the small blender brush. I also love how overall, the bristles on the brushes are so brightly coloured!

Please feel free to comment on any unicorn inspired makeup products you love as I'm always on the lookout for new things!xx

Ka-Brow! Review

Hi Guys!

So today I'm going to be looking at the Benefit ka-BROW! eyebrow cream-gel colour. This is another new high-end product which I received in my Pick and Mix Box, and I was so excited to use it as I have never used a Benefit product before. It retails on the Benefit website for £20.

I opted for the samples in shades five and six, as I felt these would be the closest to my natural brows. In all my brow products I'm usually the deepest shades, so this worked out to be the best match. In my normal brow routine at the moment I go between using a Brow Gel or a Micro-Pencil, so it did feel different going back to using a pomade style product. 

However, the Benefit one is so simple and easy to use. The sample came with a tiny brush which is actually really good, although it hurt my hand after a short while to use. I imagine this brush is supposed to be a smaller version of the brush you receive with the full sized product. When I started using my normal Spectrum angled brush, this product went on so smoothly and quickly and I definitely feel that when I wear ka-BROW! I have a good brow day. 

I did start off by using shade 6, but decided that shade 5 would suit me better. I've managed to use my sample a few times now and every time I do I still really enjoy using it. I've worn it on nights out, out shopping and even to work and it hasn't budged once throughout the day which is what I look for in a brow product.

My brow using ka-Brow! with no concealer around it, and without brow gel over the top.

However, my only concern is that my sample shade 6 dried up after two days and literally fell out the packet, which I'm hoping isn't a sign of what happens to the full sized product. I'm going to remain hopefully though and just assume that because the packet had been opened and I couldn't re-cover shade 6 properly, that is what caused it to dry up.

I'm definitely going to splash out and purchase this when I need a new brow product,and will consider trying out some more of Benefits products now I've seen how good this one is. Feel free to let me know what you recommend!xxxx

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W7: Legend Foundation Review

Hi Lovies!

It seems like it's been forever since my last product review post- what with Christmas and the New Year, and the start of a new term it just felt like time was running away from me. I vow that in 2018 I will be more diligent with my blog posts! So on that note, today's post will be me reviewing the W7 Legend Foundation.

 I've actually had this foundation for a little while now, but I wanted to test it a for some time in different situations to ensure it was a fair review. I've worn this foundation to a black tie event, a works do, on casual days and frequently to work.  This foundation retails for £7.95 direct from the W7 website, although I paid £2.99 from BnM. I've found that out of the two shade I chose, Sand Beige works the best for me and my skin tone. 

So, on to the good bits! Overall, I've found that I really enjoy using this foundation. While I will praise this product for its own merits, I will mention that this has been mentioned as the drug store alternative to Estee Lauder's Double Wear Foundation. Double Wear is a true Holy Grail product to some people and it's personally one of the most raved about foundations I've heard of. In that respect, Legend foundation is a very similar thickness and consistency to Double Wear Foundation, and it offers a similar level of coverage.  

However (shock horror), I don't actually like the Estee Lauder Foundation that much. I've really, really tried to get along with it, but it just doesn't seem to sit well on my skin. In comparison to this, the W7 Legend Foundation is actually a much nicer foundation. Its a full coverage foundation that feels lightweight and breathe-able on the skin. I've used it for special occasions and found that my skin really did look a lot nicer once its been applies. 

As with anything though, there is always a downside to a product. I do find that my skin does go a little bit oilier around my t-zone throughout the day when I'm using it, especially when I wear it to work. In this products defense though, I work in a very busy environment where I'm always running around and I don't have time to touch up my powder throughout the day. I apply this at roughly 7.00 in the morning and it will last till around 4.00 in the afternoon before I really feel like my oils are too noticeable, which with my job is a pretty decent amount of time for a drugstore product. 

Overall, this foundation is definitely a winner for me, especially when considering the price of it! I'll attatch some photos belore to show the difference on my skin when this is applied, and how well other products apply over the top. 

Thanks for reading! xxxxx



Photo 1- Bare skin, Photo 2- Foundation covering half my face, Photo 3- Makeup completed.
Swatch Photos- Natural Beige on  top, Sand Beige on the bottom (I apologise the lighting wasn't the best on the swatch photos)

Below is the same two shades on top, and the shade 2N1 Desert Beige on bottom. It is a little bit warmer/darker than the shade Sand Beige in W7, but they swatch very similar to each other.

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Happy 2018!

Hi Guys!

Yes, I know I'm actually now 21 days late in publishing my 2018 post (hangs head in shame). The New Year just passed in a blur for me, and due to changes in my job in the new term I've not really had time to sit and think for a while. However, I think writing this post from what is basically the middle of January offers a new perspective, different to the kneejerk 'New Year New Me' posts.

So I actually saw in my New year in the most chilled way possible- watching the fireworks on the telly with Ollie, in  my pyjamas. Before this Ollie had treated me to a nice meal in the local pub. This may not be a typical wild night that most 21 year olds have, but it was truly a perfect way to see 2018 in for us.

In the buildup to 2018, I decided (as I normally do) that I wasn't going to be making any resolutions this year. I always feel that the minute I set myself a resolution, I'm destined to fail it, and that actually in 2017 I'd already smashed a typical resolution of quitting smoking, without waiting for a new year to achieve it. 

I did however decide that I would set myself 'Goals'. Now I know that pretty much seems like a resolution, but it allows me to not put so much pressure on myself, and they're not really things I can fail on.

My first goal for 2018 was to increase my water intake. I found that during the day I wasn't drinking enough water, which was led to me developing really bad headaches in the evening. Halfway through the month, I can say for the most part I've definitely stuck to this and can really feel a difference.

My second goal was to continue building on just leading a healthier lifestyle in general. It's not just about loosing weight or numbers on a scale for me- it's continuing developing a healthy relationship with food and taking part in exercise that I really enjoy. Although the food side is still a work in progress (hello Christmas Chocolate), I have started going to Clubbersize classes again, as I'd really missed those.

My final goal for 2018 is for me and Ollie to move into our own place together. We have actually been in a relationship for over six years now, but for most of that we were either young, students or just not in the right place financially. Hopefully, this will be our year and we can finally move into our own place, be it a flat or a house!

So thanks for reading my (late) 2018 post. I hope you've all had a wonderful start ti the New Year, and I'm excited to see where 2018 takes us!xxxxxx

Feel Unique Pick and Mix

Hi lovelies! 

Today I'm going to be talking about one of my little pleasures in life: Product Samples. I'm the sort of person who really begrudges paying full price for a product I may not even like, so I find that samples are the best way for me to try new products without shelling out a fortune.

One of my favourite ways to receive these samples is through the Feel Unique Pick 'N' Mix box. (Here). The Pick 'N' Mix service allows you to choose 5 samples for free- you only have to pay £3.95 for delivery. You are able to choose 5 samples per person per month, and following your purchase you are then emailed a £3.95 discount code that can be used on the Feel Unique website (Not on the Pick 'N' Mix box).

I personally feel that £3.95 a month is a steal considering you get to choose your own 5 sample products, and you get the money back in the form of a discount code for future purchases. There is a range of brands you can choose from, including many brands I wouldn't have even considered trying if I didn't have the option to purchase samples first. I usually aim to choose  two make-up products, two skincare products and and perfume. 

December Pick 'N' Mix

Now onto the good bit! I stuck to my usual 2:2:1 ratio of products when choosing this months box, and I went for brands (except one) which I had never used before.
My makeup samples were: Benefit Ka-Brow! In shades 5 and 6 and Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear in shade 005. Both of these products are highly raved about so I'm very excited to try them out. 

My skincare samples were: Clarins SOS Pure Rebalancing Clay Mask, and Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer. I've heard amazing reviews from both of these brands, but not about the items specifically so I'm looking forward to seeing how they work.

My perfume sample was Angel by Mugler. Now I have tried Alien previously, and I loved it so much I put in a request for it to be bought as my Christmas Present, so I'm hoping I'll really like this one as well. 

As always thank you for reading! If you have any thoughts on the products listed please let me know xxx

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