My New Labrador Puppy

Let me start of by saying I didn't rush out during lock down to buy a new puppy out of loneliness or whatever reason. While I understand people's reasoning for this, our puppy was very much pre-planned and the deposit had been paid right at the start of March- way before lock down was announced.

Now the disclaimer is out of the way... Meet Knox! 

As you can probably guess by the title, he is a Labrador puppy, and is currently nine weeks old.

Before I go any further, I want to say that puppies are hard. Really hard. I thought I was prepared for the reality of a puppy, but I hadn't appreciated how much they turn your life upside down. I've touched on this is a previous post- it is impossible to do certain things at home while you have a very curious puppy following you around all day. I attempted a home workout this morning while Knox was asleep, only for him to wake up in the middle and cut the workout short by repeatedly attempting to undo my shoelaces. He's currently in the stage where he insists on following me around everywhere, and generally isn't comfortable chilling in a room on his own yet, so I have to accommodate this throughout the day.

Not only are puppies hard, getting a puppy in lock down is extremely hard. There is no way of socialising him with other people and dogs, as we can't mix with other households and he's not had his second round of jabs. We have two more weeks before he goes back to the vets, so I'm counting down the days until I can take him out for walks. He briefly met my friends dog during a social distance friendly chat, and he reacted quite well to that, so I'm looking forward to him getting to meet others.

Now I do want to talk about something that you really have to go looking for if you want information: Puppy Blues. Now I'd never heard of this before getting Knox- in my mind getting a new pup would mean sheer joy and happiness/ rainbows. The reality of this was quite different for me. He initially seemed to really struggle setting in at home, and although looking back I can see it was entirely normal, during that period I was so convinced I was doing something wrong and he wasn't happy. I spent hours trawling the information about new puppies, and there is so much conflicting advice online that I gave up in the end and went by gut feeling more than anything else. I think all those feelings were magnified by being in lock down and not being able to meet anyone and talk to them about it. Overall, it was a pretty hard week or two while I adjusted, and there definitely isn't enough information on the surface of things.

However- after adjusting to having a puppy in this house, I can honestly say I love it. There are still challenging times, but they are forgotten in the midst of his craziness and cleverness. The past few days, as I've been sat in the kitchen working on my blog he's been my little guard dog sat beside me napping away and bringing me toys to play with (as well as hoping for more food to be given to him) and he's really brighten my day.

A typical schedule for us looks like:

6-6.30 am: Wake up time 

7-10.30 am: Breakfast, then this time is split between playing and training

10.30-12 pm: Nap time. This amount varies depending on how active he has been in the morning

12ish: Dinner (happy time)

12.30- 5 pm: Knox spends this time playing, training and napping until Ollie gets home from work.

6- 12 pm: Knox will have his third meal at 6.30 and will spend the rest of the night playing and napping (puppies sleep a lot)

12 pm: Bed time! Knox sleeps straight through until the morning- this took around a week to settle down as opposed to getting up 2/3 times a night.

If you've made it this far, well done and thank you!

 Feel free to comment talking about your experiences with a puppy- I'd love to read them!

xxx

Lockdown Wishlist: Things I can't wait to do

So unless you've been living under a rock, you'll have noticed the world has gone crazy the past few months. What started as something I watched on the news with mild interest rapidly turned my world on its head, and for the past god knows how long we've all had to get used to a completely different lifestyle.

As I work in a special needs school, we responded slightly differently to the lock down than other schools. Initially, we shut our school down even before lock down was announced, due to the vulnerability of out children. After a few weeks, the setting was reassessed on how we could open safely and since then we have been operating on a rota basis, meaning there are only a few members of staff in at a time. Since lock down began, I have only been to work for one week, and am currently furloughed from my other two jobs, so I've had a lot of time to think and reflect.

So here are the top things on my list I cant wait to do (when it is safe to do so of course).

• Go and visit my Mum and Nan (and the rest of my family). I haven't seen my family properly for ages. Before lockdown there were the floods, meaning it was impossible for me to cross the river and see them. My mum doesn't drive, so she is fully reliant on me being able to drive and get her, and due to our hours worked we never seem to have time together. They are both on the vulnerable list, so while I have dropped some essentials off for them it's not the same as actually being able to go inside the house for a cuppa, or even give them a hug. As soon as it is considered safe to meet with other people again, I'll be heading there.

• See my best friend. I'm fortunate enough that she only lives five minutes down the road, so we managed to have a very socially distanced chat a couple of weeks ago while she walked her dog (and her dog could meet our new puppy). While we message each other most days, it just isn't the same as being able to sit down and have a proper chat together and to give each other a hug (there's a theme here).

• Exercise properly. This ties in with the previous point- my friend and I go to a Muey Thai class together every week, and I also go to a Clubbersize class as well as the gym. I'm really missing being able to attend exercise classes and going to the gym as this was something I really enjoyed. The first couple of weeks after lock down was announced I had started to focus on home work outs and going for an hours walk every day, but then we got pup and everything changed again. When he is allowed on walks it will be better, but at the moment its very hard to exercise at home when you have a very curious puppy trying to bite your ankles every five seconds.

• This is a much less important thing to be worrying about, but I really can't wait to be able to get my eyebrows and nails done again. I've only ever had my nails done four times in my life, and the last time was when I was nineteen. I decided a couple of weeks ago that as soon as it was safe to do so, I would treat myself to a set of nails as I get really bored and impatient doing my own. I'm really looking forward to getting my eyebrows threading again, as I tried to get it done not long before lock down was announced but the lady wasn't working, so they are long overdue a thread. In comparison to everything else, these are small things just for myself but I'm sooooo looking forward to it. Except maybe the pain of threading.

• Work. I'm one of those people who really enjoys their job, and while this year has been hard work I absolutely love it and without work I'm never quite sure what to do with myself. I've tried to help out as much as possible from home but it's just not the same. This is the longest period of time I've had away from a job since I was fifteen, so it's taken a while to adjust.

As I'm writing this, the whole of England is waiting for BoJo's speech later on, about what is happening with the lock down. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the lock down being lifted (if it is) as while it means I may be able to return to some normality, it doesn't bode well that we will be the only country in the UK to have not extended their lock down. Unfortunately, I think that even with a lifting of restrictions it's going to take a very long time for life to return back to normal afterwards.

Beauty Bay Haul

So for my first blog post in a very long time, I thought what better than to post my most recent haul from Beauty Bay. It's been such a long time since I treated my self to new make-up and skincare products, and I'm so excited to use these products.

First up, skincare bits.

Mario Badescu- Enzyme Cleansing Gel and Glycolic Acid Toner. 

Truthfully, I ordered the Glycolic Toner as I couldn't get my hands on my usual brand, and this was highly rated on BB. However, I'm really looking forward to using this to see how it compares to other brands and the benefits for my skin. I have used the Enzyme Gel before as part of their 50th Birthday set, so I already know I really like this.

The Ordinary- Squalane Cleanser, Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 and Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

I have used both the Hyaluronic Acid and the Niacinamide before, so I know these both work really well for my skin and are a useful part of my routine. I'm really looking forward to incorporating the Squalane Cleanser in my routine, as some of the reviews I have read say how good it is at removing make-up. Time will tell! 

Also included in this is the Revolution Caffeine Essence Spray- I just haven't got a photo of this! I'm still not 100% sure I'm convinced facial mists really do make a massive difference in a skincare routine like what they say they do on the bottle, but I really enjoy using a mist as if nothing else, it helps to make my face feel refreshed. Hopefully, the caffeine in this will actually help brighten up my complexion.

Next up... Make up bits!

The Ordinary Coverage Foundation (2.1P)

I know I love love love this foundation. I've used it before and it seems to really suit my skin type (oily but dehydrated) and lasts for a really long time when I'm wearing it. The only trouble with this is getting hold of it in the right shade- most places that sell this foundation always seem to be out of stock, especially in my shade so I was very happy to find this!

Florence by Mills- Like a Light Skin Tint (M090)

I'm really excited to try this skin tint- it's part of the new range by Millie Bobby Brown which seems to be aimed at a slightly younger audience than me, but while I was looking for something a little bit more lightweight than a normal foundation, this really stood out to me.

Revolution Conceal and Define Supersize Concealer (C6/ 13)

Now I have used the Conceal and Define concealer in the past and really liked it, which is what drove me to repurchase it. I hadn't initially realised I'd ordered the supersized versions, but I'm really glad I did as they run out pretty quickly. I also ordered the shade C13 as a contour shade, as this is something I've never really experimented with before. 

Nabla Brow Divine (Uranus)

This is a brand I'd never heard of before this haul. I was initially looking for a different brow product and struggled massively to find anything darker than dark blonde. When I checked this out, it had really good reviews and it being a micro pencil was a massive bonus. It was a bit of guess work trying to find the right shade, but on first impression I think I got it right.

wet and wild Mega Protein Mascara (Very Black)

So this is the first wet and wild product I've ordered. Initially I was very surprised at the size of this mascara- it is tiny! At £2.50 I wasn't expecting the world, but even so it does seem very small. I've had sample mascaras the same size as this. However, I'm not going to write it off based off size, I'll wait until I've worn it for a whole day before forming an opinion.

Overall,I'm really looking forward to using these products. There are some old favourites couples in with some brand new items and after being so disinterested in make up for so long, this was exactly what I needed to kick myself up the bum and try again.

my Clarins Skincare: Overview

A few weeks ago, I applied for a free sample of the new my Clarins skincare range through their website (I'm not sure if you are still able to do this). It took a few weeks to actually arrive, although  I'm not sure what date it did actually arrive as I was on holiday when it came. I was initially surprised as to how many products were in the bag, as I didn't realise there were so many. I'm also impressed about how the products are all in tubes (bar the double serum, although you get a few sachets of this) meaning you get a decent sized amount of product to try.

The first product listed on their very helpful explanation sheet is the Re-Boost refreshing hydrating cream. It claims to 'restore balance and glow' and boasts beneficial ingredients such as Organic Coconut Water, Alprenrose Extract and Acerola Seed Extract. I'm really excited to use this, as it's best for use on dehydrated skin, and my skin in in definite need of hydration.

Next is the Re-Move Purifying Cleansing Gel. The clues in the name with this one- its a gel cleanser which gives 'squeaky clean skin without the shine' with ingredients such as Moringa Extract, Meadowsweet Extract and Bitter Orange Floral Water Extract. Again, this is something I'm really excited to try as the promise of shiny free clean skin is all I've ever wanted.

Moving onwards, there is the Re-Charge Relaxing Sleep Mask. this claims to 'hydrate and fuel skin' as well as 'brightening and clearing your complexion' as you sleep. This lists ingredients such as Organic Coconut Water, Alpenrose Extract and Fig Extract. I'm really hoping this lives up to its claims and hydrates my skin as I am in desperate need!

Finally. there is the Double Serum, which is states as being the 'No.1 Anti Ageing Serum in the UK'. While it states it has 20+ active plant extracts, it only names one directly, which is Tumeric. As I'm only in my early 20's, anti- ageing skincare isn't high on my list of priorities at the moment, but I can definitely appreciate a decent serum.

Goodbye 2018

As were now six (how time flies!) days into 2019, I wanted to take the time to sit down and reflect on how my 2018 has been. I realised it's been a year full of massive ups and downs, tears and laughter and many many smiles. 

One of the best things about my year technically started in December 2017, but he's made up such a huge part of my 2018 I couldn't leave him out. That is of course, my cat Lockie. I've managed to get through the demented kitten stage with all my fingers and toes still attached, and he's settled into being a pampered little prince who's greatest pleasure in life is curling up on my lap. You know how when you love someone so much you could just squeeeeeeze them? That's how I feel when I look at him.

The biggest non cat related thing to happen this year is me and Ollie have started seriously saving to buy a house. It's something we've wanted to do for years, but something or other has always cropped up. However, we've managed to really put our heads down and make some progress, and it's looking hopeful for 2019.

One of the hardest things that's happened this year is the battle with my health. The underlying theme for 2018 has been me going backwards and forwards to the doctors, having blood test after blood test and sitting in the waiting room for a very long time. This does mean after years and years of pain I am now getting closer to finding out whats wrong with me, but I know I've got more tests and more hours of sitting in waiting rooms to look forward too.

Throughout the year I've tried to be a "proper" blogger and just found that I way putting way to much pressure on myself, so I decided to relax it a bit more and try to focus on just doing it my way. I've had periods of time where I've not worn any makeup at all, and other times where I've gone all out every single day. In 2019 I'm going to focus on buying cosmetic products I really need, instead of thinking I need everything I see promoted. 

Throughout the year I've made some amazing memories, met some wonderful people and had a real laugh. I've had a rollerco
aster of a time at work and at home, and I've come out the other side feeling more determined than ever. It's so easy in life to only focus on the negatives, but on reflection I've actually had quite a fun year.

Bring on 2019!

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.