Today I am having a little chat about some things that I honestly forgot how much I loved. Any Beauty Blogger knows that we all just end up buying the newest products all the damn time so we end up with way more than we actually need which means we just forget what we actually have. So I have started to get rid of some of my out of date products or stuff I just never use which means I am actually finding all these hidden gems in my own stash. Let's get started with something I just used every damn time...
The Beauty Blender
Technically not a product but a tool, I got the beauty blender in a Birchbox bloody ages ago and I probably used it a couple of times and then it kind of went to the back of my shelf and never used it again until a few weeks ago and oh my god. It really just blends everything so effortlessly, even on my neck. I don't use heavy foundation only Sleek Make Up CC Cream (massive fan) which admittedly is a light coverage kinda foundation thang but it looks so nice. I haven't tried the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge but I'm pretty tempted just to see IF there is a difference between the two.
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer
Now, this little concealer I have not used for YEARS! I used to use it all the time but I kinda moved onto more expensive things and forgot all about it. I'm trying to reduce the amount of money I am spending on make up and when I was in Superdrug I saw the Lasting Perfection Concealer and thought I may as well give it a go and I remembered not only why I loved it so much but also why all the bloggers are still banging on about it. Seriously fantastic coverage, glad this little think is back in my stash,
Highlighter
A bit of a broad term I know but I think I just got out of the habit of highlighting my face, I mean in the last two years contouring is like a MUST for me but highlighter was always a bit hit and miss and only really when I could be bothered but I found my little Blushing Hearts blush/highlight and thought oh I'll just whack a bit of highlight on today and it completely change my face! All of a sudden my face just looked bright and full of life. The only thing I would say about this highlight is it's rather sparkly so I have got my eye on the Makeup Revolution Highlighter Radiance Palette - so we'll see.
Clay Face Masks
Until recently I kinda forgot about the wonderful things a clay face mask can do, I kind of became obsessed with the exfoliating face masks which of course are great but can be really harsh to your skin. You guys will know that I have already bought the L'Oreal Purity Clay Mask and to be honest it has kind of swayed me back into using clay masks again!!
Setting Powder
I bought the travel sized Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder from Sephora for no other reason than because it was bloody cute...yes guys, I am that kinda girl I like miniature everything! Once I bought it I kinda didn't know what to do with it as the puff thing it comes with just wasn't working for me, so I used it a couple of times and it found it's way to the back of my make up stash. Recently I spotted it and just though oh I'll give it a whirl with my A04 Spectrum Brush and my god what a difference it makes. This powder has the most wonderful finish an almost blurs out all your little pours, just fab! I'm glad I have rediscovered this little gem again.
What products have you fallen back in love with?
I kinda thought I would just have a bit of a chatty kind of post and more of an update I guess. I have now been back in the UK for nearly 3 months and it's gone so quickly it's actually a bit odd. I seem to have settled back into my routine really quickly in fact it's almost like I never lived in Italy at all like it was one big dream, it's a little surreal.
The first few weeks of being at home was just around Christmas so it felt really nice to just chill and faff around and considering I didn't have a job I didn't feel too stressed because it just seemed like I was on a Christmas break or something. I think the hardest part was looking for a job, because I was back at Christmas, a lot of companies didn't come back until the new year or your email just gets lost among the chaos. I had a mild panic before i got my job, but even finding a job I was fortunately in the sense I found one quite quickly and even had a couple of options so that part of my life fell into place quick nicely actually.
Moving back home is always nice because I'm back to being in a home where there is always someone in so I'm definitely less lonely but of course it's always hard to move back in with the parents a little because you kinda wanna do things your way but you have to remember it's actually their home so I just need to shut up sometimes - I can be just a fusspot about how things are done!
I love being close to my pals again, just the way we can meet up whenever we want now means so much to me. I'm not the type of girl to go out every weekend with a huge group of pals, you know I have my cherry picked pals but now I can sporadically meet up with them. Also being in the same bloody country, let alone the same town as my bf is the best! We can spend a night in just watching a movie and I'm pretty damn happy in all honesty.
I'm still thinking about the goals that I had set in place right at the start of the year but some probably aren't realistic like looking for my own apartment after 3 months of being here, there are so many factors to consider so I think staying at home and saving money for a bit longer may be more beneficial in the long run.
There we have my little life update! How is your year going so far?
It's been a while since I've talked about eyelashes on the ol' blog and that's because it's been a while since I have actually worn fake eyelashes that was until I saw the Fleur De Force - Fleur Loves Lashes Eylure lashes.
The thing that really drew me to the Fleur Loves Lashes was the fact they are actually 3/4 length, so not a full strip lash but just a bit shorter which I though would actually fit a little better on my eye. I hate it when you whack on a pair of lashes and half way through the night the inner corner of the lash starts to lift and which just makes you look a bit drunk in all honesty! I also really like the way the lashes get a little longer on the outer corner.
When I put them on, I immediately fell in love because they looked so damn natural, even my best dear Vernia was seriously impressed and that girl knows lashes. The Fleur Loves Lashes added a lovely amount of volume to my lashes and I must admit I kind of want to wear them more frequently than just on nights out because they are THAT pretty! They didn't lift at all or feel too heavy.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm definitely gonna buy more because I have a feeling that I may start wearing them a little more frequently than for just a night out! If you are looking for some false lashes that will give you the right amount of fluttery volume then you need to check these out.
What are your favourite false lashes?
Beer...on Honeypot Blogs..,are you sure? Well basically, I bought the Meantime Brewery Tour for the geek for Christmas and we only just got around to booking it in. I love a little drinky tour and whilst I'm not the biggest fan of beer I wanted to say I actually really enjoyed it and thought I should share my experience with you guys.
Meantime Brewing is actually based in Greenwich and other than the O2 there is naff all there but don't you guys worry, because the Brewery has their own pub, right outside so if you do rock up an hour early they've got you covered. I have to mention that the tour is a pretty hefty 2 hours long so it isn't for the faint hearted, but there is a rather wonderful reason why. The structure of the tour is firstly, they talk you through a variety of different beers before showing you how they actually brew it all and this is the main bulk of the tour at an hour and a half. Our tour guide Tom is clearly so passionate about the beers and really knows every minute detail as well as being extremely funny.
As you can see, we really did have a variety of different beers, starting with a London Lager which I must admit I was a bit indifferent about tasted like most lagers from an uneducated pallet like mine, I can't remember what the second one was but again I wouldn't say I had a very big opinion of it. Moving onto a rather cloudy wheat beer this is where I started to actually taste the differences, Tom advised that not everyone likes a wheat beer and I totally get why he would say that. It's quite odd because it's a little thicker in taste than some of the others and perhaps a little drier really unusual but I actually quite liked it. This was followed by the Meantime Stout which I bloody hated, it's just not my kinda drink.
The fifth one was easily my favourite called the Yakima Red, which is a deep red in colour but has like a citrus zesty taste to it, being someone who has never ordered a pint of beer in any pub in her life, I could happily order this one again I just found it really light and loved the fruitiness of it! The last one was another "love it or hate it" kind of beer and again, I can't remember what it was but it was hella malty and fruity - think malt loaf in a drink form. I was actually surprised how much I liked this little guy! As you can see the beer measurements were ample, I'd said probably a 3rd of a pint in each glass and they just kept coming.
After we drank all this booze, the last 30 minutes of the tour was when you had to put on your little goggles (not the beer ones, I definitely already had them on) and had to walk around the different machinery learning how it all works which is pretty interesting stuff. Even down to bottling the beer, I was really impressed by the sheer volume of beer their produce daily.
I think overall it was a great tour, a very British laid back tour that I really bloody enjoyed and even though I am not a beer drinker it was fantastic, if you love beer or know someone who does the tickets were only £20 per person it makes for a great gift so just book it in.
Are you a fan of beer?
Ok, Max Factor Creme Puff Blush is nothing new, in fact I even wrote a little review on the Lovely Pink Blush which I am still a huge fan of! However, I was looking for a new product that would actually work as more of a powder and not just a blush.
I was obsessed with my Hourglass Ambient Light powder in Dim Light, I got the mini size and I even bought the big version, I just adored the light it brought to my face but unfortunately I hit the pan a couple of weeks ago and I can't bear to buy it again because let's face it they are bloody expensive. This leaves a great big hourglass sized shape hole in my heart I must admit, so I had a little look in my local Superdrug to see whether there was anything similar on the highstreet. The problem is the Hourglass powder is just so beautiful and not glittery at all it makes it so easy to use as a setting powder and the high st just offers highlighters and that's kind of it.
Just as I was leaving the store I spotted the Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Nude Mauve and thought...could this work? I gave it a quick swatch and the thing about this particular shade, is when all blended together it's not THAT different, it's certainly not to sparkly but it is a bit darker than my actual skin tone. In my pictures Nude Mauve definitely looks more pinkier than it actually is, anyway I thought it's worth giving it a go.
The results, it's a bit of a tricky one because I have used it like I would my beloved Hourglass powder but you definitely can't use it in the same way! It does add a bit of depth to my face but because it is darker than my skin it's kind of like a bronzer, so I have to treat it as such. This being said, I do really like the product, it's not sparkly or glittery like many of the highstreet blushers/highlighters. It's a really good purchase and I will definitely continue to use it, but I'm still on a hunt!
What are your favourite highstreet dupes?
